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First things first, I had no idea that Amsterdam was a floating city!
It has canals, canals and more canals. And 1200 bridges! I mean wow!
It is a small city and the minute I landed there I could feel the vibracy in the city. The streets were chock a block with people. Tourists, tourists everywhere. And souvernir shops, weed shops, sex shops...just craziness everywhere. I loved the 'feel' of the city instantly.
My hostel was a Christian hostel, which was against everything Amsterdam stood for. And guess what, it was barely metres away from the Red Light District. To my amusement I realised that RLD was bang in the middle of the city.
I started off with a one hour canal tour that shows you 100 interesting things about he city-including it harbors, architecture, different bridges, historic places etc. There were a couple of spots, from where you could see 7-8 bridges lined up one behind the other. All little and cute and all lit up. Oh how my eyes lit up when I saw on. So in my boat, I was the only single person, I was surrounded by couples who seemed more interested in each other than these wonderful sights. I was the only one hopping from one side of the ferry to the other, clicking pictures at super human speed and gasping in wonder at the beautiful city.
Then the night proceeded into a tour of the RLD. It was so much like what the movie Queen played it out to be. The poor prostitutes standing behind the gladd doors inviting you in, the glow underwear, the sex shows, peep hole shows and strip clubs. Wow! It was quite mad. Anyone from India was bound to have a heart attack here. I just strolled about, taking it all in. I was quite fascinated I must say.
<< Space cake episoe>> Etched in memory forever, don't have to put it down I believe!
The next morning I decided to take a cycle (I think the space cake still controlled my decision making power which obviously wans't sound). Turns out I was too scared to ride a bike (after a gap of 8 years) in a crowded city filled with cars and people. So I ended up walking the bike everywhere! Felt like the biggest fool alive!
And then I spent 1 hour in the queue to Anne Frank house.
It was a great experience for me. Anne Frank was my coming of age book. I read it when I was 12, the same age as Anne. It was my first sneak peek into life. The book had a profound impact on me and I ended up reading it several times over the years. So to actually walk through those same rooms and to look at the little things like pictures, furniture etc. It was quite emotional, I teared up and wasn't a bit embarassed about it. Anne Frank was the testimony to the tens of thousands of nameless, faceless people who had died a death that nobody could possibly deserve.They died for no sound reason. They were delivered from a horrible life to a death that was probably a relief compared to the days and nights of unending suffering.
It was the closest I had come to feeling their pain and it sobered me up like nothing else could have.
Amsterdam all in all was a crazy mixture of experiences for me. And the fact that I was travelling solo made it all the more unusual and exciting for me. When I look back now, I can't help but redden over my space cake stupidity!
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