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My first weekend getaway whilst here in Europe was to the Netherlands - though as it turned out, I managed to visit a very small portion of both Germany and Belgium as well (more on that later). This blog covers the photos from three albums: "24/07/2009 Amsterdam", "25/07/2009 Maastricht" and "26/07/2009 Drielandenpunt".
Upon arrival at Schipol airport I managed to make my way down to the platforms without seeing one single ticket vending machine. After much confusion about whether I could actually get on the train in front of me, I decided to head back up stairs. There I navigated the sea of vending machines and finally found one that accepted coins instead of this Holland-based debit card that residents have.
At Amsterdam, I was disappointed to find that Centraal station was undergoing major renovations due to the installation of another metro line. This meant that a big portion of the station was behind (graffitied) tall walls. Still, the area in front of the station was magnificent - it really felt like it was alive - with so many pedestrians, cyclists, trams, busses, cars, etc. You really need eyes in the back of your head here - not for the same reason as when you're visiting Milan mind you ;). Here there are commuters coming at you from literally every angle - and the fact that I'm still confusing my left and right directions (in terms of which side of the road people walk/cycle/drive on) doesn't help.
My hotel was very conveniently situated <5mins walk from central station and by 3pm, I was checked in and ready to start my sight seeing day on the canal bus tour. The canal tour was organised similar to a hop-on-hop-off bus tour and took me directly to all the places I wanted to go to (with little or no traffic congestion :) ). The first stop was the Anne Frank Huis. Of all the places in Amsterdam, this was the one I Wanted to see the most. Unfortunately though, when I got there, I realised 90% of tourists who visit Amsterdam have exactly the same idea as myself. I decided not to waste an hour or more of my time queuing up and grabbed the very next canal bus.
The next stop was the Rijksmuseum, next to the Van Gogh museum. I encircled both, as well as taking a photo by the "I amsterdam" letters nearby - which appear to be a sort of tourism gimmick. Cute enough, and obviously works well - it was hard to squeeze in an get a photo taken. I imagine the museums would have been lovely to visit, but as I was on a tight schedule I pressed on. I then walked over to the Leidesplein, past Vondelpark, nabbing a cache on the way.
At the next canal tour stop, I visited the only floating flower markets in the world - the Bloemenmarkt and the Muntplein (Mint Square). Following on from that, I had a quick visit to Rembrant Huis and the Amsterdam City Hall and Opera complex (Stopera). After that, I grabbed dinner and headed back to my hotel for a brief reprieve before assaulting my feet yet again with an evening walking tour.
I'd always wanted to see the Red Light District in Amsterdam but I didn't' much like the thought of heading there on my own at night. So, I looked on the net for a tour - and of course, these days, there are tours for everything. It turned out to be a very interesting tour - not only of the red light district, but also the oldest part of Amsterdam. The first port of call was the PIC - prostitute information centre. This was set up as a non-profit centre to assist the sex workers in the area - but also for helping answer all the questions of those pesky curious tourists :) It even had a vacant 'window' out the front - I managed to get another tourist to take a photo of me in it.
The tour was very educational. We saw quite a number of girls in windows that were packed three-to-a-house - the houses which couldn't have been more than about 5m in width. Thus, each girl had about 1. 3m of space to pose in, and they are more than aware of the tourist groups coming by - many gave us a smile as we walked past. Most of the girls were on their mobiles or chatting with their friends in the next window. They pay a fee to rent the window for an 8-12 hour shift and it comes with an adjacent room with bed and sink. They would typically see around 10 clients per shift (depending on whether 'business' is slow or not), but would need to see about 3 clients to cover their window rent. It certainly was weird to see so many sex worker windows amongst other 'normal' stores, such as designer boutiques, or near kindergartens, or around the churches. After the tour, I headed back to the hotel for a well earned rest.
My Saturday started with an early morning brisk walk past the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) and the Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace), then over 3 canal bridges and over to the Anne Frank Huis, where I had seen the huge crowd the day before. I arrived at 8:30am (opening time 9:00) and there was already a family in front of me. The Anne Frank Huis was very moving - regardless of whether you've read the book or not, it would be hard to get through without shedding the odd tear or two. The secret annexe that Anne's family lived in for two years is unfurnished, though models of how it had been furnished can be seen as part of the museum. However, you can still see the height marks on the wall showing the girls' heights progressing as well as the map of Normandy where Anne's father used pins to follow the Nazi invasion. Incredibly moving stuff - and well worth the visit for anybody considering visiting Amsterdam.
After the Anne Frank Huis, I checked out of my hotel and went to meet up with an IRC friend of mine, Sander. We'd never met up in person - what with living on opposite sides of the globe :) - but I'd seen photos of him. After some confusion regarding what side of the mammoth Centraal station to meet at, we caught up and headed over to the Jordaan neighbourhood for a drink and breakfast. It was interesting to compare life in Holland with life in Australia and after a short meal and conversation, we headed back to Centraal station, found a geocache, and parted ways. After missing two half-hourly trains, I was finally on my way to Maastricht.
The train trip was 2. 5 hours long, though it went by quickly enough with some happy-snap-taking and GPS-based-position-following. I also saw (in no particular order): the PSV Einhoven Stadium, a couple of windmills, lots of cows grazing, heaps of wind generators and copious amounts of greenery, little roads and little villages :)
After arriving at Maastricht, I'd hardly walked a carriage-length before I spotted Tim & Suuz. It was great to see them again (this time in their 'natural' habitat :P ) and we exchanged stories and asked/answered questions as we walked back to their unit on the Eastern side of Maastricht (in the neighbourhood called Wijck).
In the afternoon, we followed two walking tours of Maastricht, based on a tourist map kindly left behind by Michael on his last travels. The walks concentrate on the fortifications around the city and some of the history is amazing - with walls/towers dating back to the 1200's. The church near the centre of town was built in the 11th century!!!What rich history…
We sat down to dinner at one of the al-fresco-style restaurants in the main square and Suuz & I ordered mussels. Mmmmmm. I could not believe the pot of mussels they brought out - steamed in a white-wine & vegie soup were 40 mussels!Yes, that's right, I counted them - as did Suuz. So we stuffed ourselves silly with delicious mussels, either as served in the white wine soup, or with a choice of garlic or mustard mayonaise sauces. Tim had a taste of 1 of Suuz's mussels, but I'm not sure he was convinced. I on the other hand, downed the lot and was feeling very sated at the end of dinner :)
Back home the three of us chatted a bit, looked through some old photos from when Tim & Suuz were in Australia and started planning our day for the morrow. It was a nice, peaceful night and probably the only 9-hours-sleep I've had since leaving home :) In the morning, after a hearty sit-down breakfast, we headed off in the direction of the Drielandenpunt. That is, the point where three "lands" meet - Holland, Germany & Belgium. On the way (and heading home, too) we found 3 out of 4 attempted geocaches, including a slight trespass over part of a german golf course. I think Tim & Suuz are hooked now and have registered their own account :)
At the Drielandenpunt, I did the obligatory photos with my feet in different countries, and had my photo taken with the 3 flags. We also checked out the highest point in The Netherlands - a whopping 322m above sea level ;) - and also went up the tower which allows you to see out a fair distance into all three countries. At the top of the tower, is the European Union flag.
We sat down to have a Vlaai, which I am told is a traditional Netherlandic treat - often served at birthday parties. Once back to Tim & Suuz's place, they kindly offered to cook me pancakes (another traditional Dutch food), before quickly driving me to the station so I wouldn't miss my train. Tim took me down first, in the car, and Suzan ran the whole way with my second pancake, which she'd finished cooking only minutes before. This along with an apple, and a coke from the station vending machine made for a delicious packed lunch.
Thanks again to Tim & Suuz for being such wonderful hosts and letting me stay with them :)
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