Lessons from Amsterdam - by Rachel Neer

I always come back from traveling on the weekends with a slight cold. I think it’s a combination of fresh, dirty, cold, wet city air, a lack of sleep, and crossing time zones to get there and back that doesn’t really help the situation much at all. It can be guaranteed, though, that I will be back at Harlaxton on Monday morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, in plenty of time for lecture. My voice may be slightly altered, if it is there at all, and I may have the sniffles, but there I’ll be. This weekend wasn’t any different, but then again…why should it have been?
It was Amsterdam, and everything about this place was different.

The people were different. The rules were different. The houses were different. The sights, sounds, and smells were all different. Even the modes of transportation were slightly off the beaten path from what I was used to.
This weekend I made a lot of lists, and I have decided that this week’s travel blog is going to be a simple explanation of some of the lists that I made while spending time in the Netherlands. I will explain these lists, and expound on these lists so that you aren’t at a total loss for what is going on. I feel as though Amsterdam and the Netherlands in general is a place that everyone should visit…don’t let these lists deter you. Let them be…lessons.

On Travel
1.) If you can’t read a map, don’t even try. Let those with you read it, or ask for directions…usually a combination of both. There is no use in getting even more lost. I should use these words more often, simply because I forget that the best advice that I can give is often also the best advice that I can use. Always travel with other people, because it’s just more fun that way, unless you are a very seasoned traveler…in which case I don’t guess it would really matter. I am directionally challenged, and even when I ask for directions I can’t remember where it is that I am supposed to go…so, as a general rule, I try to avoid it at all costs.

2.) Travel with people. It may be called independent travel, but it’s much more fun with people. This one is self-explanatory. People are fun. They are your friends for a reason. There is no reason why you shouldn’t share travel experiences, be they at home or abroad, with them.

3.) Not all cities are bad. They just get a bad reputation. Give them a chance. I visited Amsterdam this weekend, which has a reputation for all things risky and that are illegal elsewhere in the world. That is three blocks of the city. There is so much more to Amsterdam than the Red Light District…a walk through the Red Light District was enough for me to continue on my way; I had seen it and that is what mattered. Yes, you still have to watch out for yourself and you still need to keep a close eye on your surroundings, but not all cities are bad. I would go so far as to say that there aren’t really any cities that are bad, but that could just be a matter of personal opinion.

4.) Be prepared to sleep in the airport. In the same manner, be prepared to not sleep in the airport. You may or may not be traveling by plane. If you aren’t traveling by plane, then change the location based on how it is that you are traveling. In any case, be prepared to spend the night there. If the airport is an hour away, and your flight takes off at 6:50 in the morning, then you’ll have to be through security by 5:50, which means you have to check in at 4:50…and who wants to leave at 3:30 in the morning to get to the airport? By that point, I’m just getting tired and ready for bed. Bring books to read and games to play with you. Some people can sleep in airports, and some can’t. It’s okay. Just be prepared in one way or the other.

5.) Weather.com lies. Always be ready for cold weather, especially in places with a lot of water (i.e. Budapest, Amsterdam, Edinburgh). The weather is always colder in places beside the water. It’s a fact of life. It’s always windier in those places as well…so be ready for that, too.

6.) Public transportation is amazing, and I wish the US would figure it out. When it is available to you for use, use it. Trains, buses, and subways make it so easy to get around cities, and often times they cost less than a taxi would even if you are splitting the fare with a large group of people. Often times you can get day passes for these methods of transportation, meaning that you can get on and off whenever and wherever you like. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that there are different lines of these modes of transportation. Be sure to purchase tickets for the line that you are going to use the most, not for the cheapest or the one that you need to take to one place.

7.) Always have the currency of the country you’re coming from and the country that you’re going to, and all places in between. There was one weekend where I used 4 different currencies. It is important to keep in mind that not every country uses the same kind of money. One weekend I paid the taxi driver in pounds, purchased food with euros, the hostel was paid for in dollars, and the rest of the time there we used the kroner. Keep in mind that you also have to get back. Remember that…you always want to get back.

Amsterdam was amazing, and keeping all of these things in mind when we went was a huge positive to the weekend. We were able to pay for everything that we needed to pay for and it all worked out just fine. We got off the plane and purchased train tickets that allowed us to get on the train that took us into town. Central Station was where we got off and headed toward our hostel, which was on a boat. The room that we stayed in was tiny, with barely enough for one person to move around in, much less four people. It worked out nicely, though. It’s a good thing that Caitlyn and I get along…otherwise, the weekend may not have worked out so nicely.

Thursday night we wondered to various parts of town, looking for places to eat. Shaorma (lamb) won the vote for most meals because it is good and fairly cheap. We’re really good at finding the off the beaten path places to eat, and that makes it nice because those are the places with the friendliest people, best meals, and tastiest pastries. After dinner we just walked around town, finding the places that we needed to be for the coming days and just wandering in general. We were a few blocks from the Red Light District, so we decided that we may just as well go there. It wasn’t so bad as everyone says it is…I won’t say anymore words about that one, and I’ll let you judge for yourself when you go. I think that people get a hard time, though, and it’s just not deserved.

Friday morning we went on a tour of the countryside of the Netherlands (I can’t remember the name of the towns that we went to, but they were beautiful). We saw a wooden shoe being made and the traditional windmills that used to litter the countryside but don’t so much anymore. We saw where they make cheese, too, and went to a small fisherman’s village. I enjoy seeing how people used to live and comparing that to how they live now…and while most of the things that I see are old and no longer relevant to life anymore, it’s good to see how things used to be and how far people have come. Of course, that is what arguably has caused the downfall of society; the people who have been through these industrial revolutions and have bettered the way that industry works, especially within the cities and society as a whole. Personally, I like how far we have come. I think that things have to get worse before they get better, and that if industrialization and urbanization is how we are going to get better, then it needs to happen. It’s just a matter of opinion, I suppose.

Friday afternoon/night we went back into town, stopping by the Anne Frank House for a while. It was amazing, again, to see how people lived and what they lived through and what they faced. It must have been hard, to live all alone behind a bookcase in a cramped space, and not able to make a single noise. You do what you must do to keep yourself safe, but can you imagine not taking any steps during the day for fear of making noise and someone hearing you from below? I can’t imagine living in utter fear and terror day after day, never knowing if you are going to live to see the next day and having to blacken your windows at night just so that you don’t get taken to a concentration camp. There was an interactive exhibit at the end of it all about freedom and rights, and you got to voice your opinion about whether or not you agreed with the things that it said. That was probably my favorite part of it all…being able to voice my ever-present opinion.

After the Anne Frank House, we went to the Van Gogh Museum, which was nice…it was a lot of art. I like art, and if you like art then you should go as well. We were there for an hour and a half or so, and then went on to bigger and better things…namely, dinner. It was at this time that my next list developed, and it has been elaborated on since I have been back…you see, Jeni got the hiccups as we were making our way through town, and she didn’t know how to get rid of them. If you ever have the hiccups, here is how you are supposed to get rid of them:
1.) Hold your breath.
2.) Hold your breath and swallow three times.
3.) Breathe in as much as you can, and then a little bit more. Let all of that air out, and then blow out a little bit more.
4.) Suck on a spoonful of sugar or a sugar cube (like a horse).
5.) Stand on your head and drink water.
6.) Lie down and drink water.
7.) Stand up and turn yourself over, and then drink water that way.

And that’s what I’ve got for the hiccups…surprisingly, no one said anything about frightening the subject to the point of no hiccups.

Saturday morning we started at the hostel, where we had toast and about three different kinds of spread, all unique and all delicious in their own way. We made it out of the boat okay as well, which is more than can be said for the day before when we almost had a casualty (not a casualty, but a person in the water…and that person was not me!). We found a market and stayed there for a while, and saw several monuments of various things. We split up after lunch into two groups…Jeni and Alicia went to the Bible Museum while Caitlyn and I went to the House of Bols, which was across from the Van Gogh Museum.
The House of Bols was amazing…it is a cocktail bar where you get to interact with the various flavors, sights, and smells that go into making a cocktail…essentially, how all of your senses besides your sense of taste affect how it is that you are able to enjoy your drink…and at the end, you get a cocktail of your choice. Just hand the recipe to the bartender, and they will make your drink for you. For my first cocktail ever, it was actually not that bad. Actually, it was really good. You can visit the website and check out more about this place here: http://www.houseofbols.com/index.asp. Caitlyn and I found out about it on an in-flight magazine on the way to Amsterdam.

After Bibles and cocktails, we went to one of the local parks there and climbed on the letters that stood taller than me. The word that we climbed on was “Amsterdam,” and getting to the top proved to be the biggest challenge. From there we went to dinner again…since a person has to eat. That night was spent wandering yet again, but it’s the wandering that I like the best.

Sunday morning Caitlyn and I went on a canal cruise while the others went to the zoo. We fed the pigeons that can be found in mass groups in various cities and went on to the airport. There we stayed, until 12:45 in the morning because there was a problem with the engine on the plane. At least it was fixed, and at least we made it back…a little tired, but none the worse for wear. Everyone was tired when they got back from that trip.

I have one other list, this one specifically for Amsterdam. If you consider a trip there, take these things into account…and find out for me if you can get a version of a DUI while biking. Maybe it would be called a BUI…?

When in Amsterdam…
1) Before you cross lanes of traffic, you have to cross the bicycle lane. After you cross lanes of traffic, you have to cross the bicycle lane.
2) People get drunk and act stupid. It happens. Ignore them.
3) Always be cautious. Be aware of your surroundings. You may accidentally end up somewhere that you don’t want to be, like the Red Light District, if you’re not.
4) The Red Light District isn’t as bad as people say that it is. Just don’t buy anything and don’t talk to strangers.
5) Don’t mess with bicycle traffic…you’re much more likely to get run over by a cyclist rather than a motorist.
6) Life happens. Take it as it comes. (Yes, these are my words for those of you out there who know me as a person…I’m learning this semester!)
7) Just because you’ve heard all about Amsterdam doesn’t mean that you know all about Amsterdam…the same goes for any city.

I went to Amsterdam with a whole different mindset about me as to what the city was going to be like, and I wish that I hadn’t. It was amazing and I loved every part of it…even the part that wasn’t the city. There is so much more to the city than just the Red Light District…and I encourage you to see all of it.

I must admit, however…I am glad that this coming weekend is going to be slower-paced than the others. I’m looking forward to it.