Amsterdam

I had never really wanted to visit Amsterdam. I assumed it was the Vegas of Europe. However, a French friend I trust very much had suggested I visit, as he said it was a beautiful city. Our last appointment was scheduled for Friday near Frankfurt, Germany. Amsterdam was close by, and I have a friend that lives there as well. Might as well just see what it's about.

I spent 2 days cooped up in the flat, working until after 9pm, as the time difference doesn't allow me to end my work with the office back home until around then, if I'm lucky. We finally ventured to the city Friday night and the very moment we exited the train station to the city center, I was in love. The buildings, the lights, the atmosphere, all of it.

We went to Bar Joe, a bar lounge kinda place, to meet up with some fellow Couch Surfers. Not too many were there that night, but we had a fun time playing Cards Against Humanity with people from various parts of the world. This proved to be interesting, as the game is American and the humor didn't directly translate for all parties involved. I also had the worst hand I've ever gotten and don't think I won a single card that night. Of course, the French and his horrible humor won. Defeated by the day, we surrendered for the night.


                             

Saturday, we headed to the city to check out a few museums. The city is so quite without all the cars. So beautiful and so peaceful! After our delicious Italian lunch, we couldn't help but make a stop into this cute little bakery and to a chocolate shop as well. Everything here is tiny and cute.

                 

       Passion fruit mousse cake                                                            Rose Meringue

First museum was Electric Ladyland, a tribute to Jimmy Hendrix. Everything inside glows with UV and black light. The museum had everything from office supplies, money from around the world, to artwork, old marbles, security features, and black light tattoo ink. It was the entire history of fluorescence and it was absolutely fascinating. We were shocked, and horrified to discover that many people that visit the museum don't find it all that intriguing. They were more concerned with what their ID card or passports looked like under the lights than the natural stones or art piece the owner made from scratch over 7 years. To date, the most interesting museum I have ever crawled down a little ladder through a basement into.

The museum owner crushed the powder to make the pigments, sculpted, and painted this piece!

                       

Next stop, the Cheese Museum! Of course, I couldn't pass this up. I picked up a couple of cheeses for home, and we selected a few for that night as well as some delicious jams to dip in. After a trip to the grocery store for pickles and sliced meets, we headed back to relax a little before going back out to meet up with the Couch crew at Joe's again.

Even the Red Light district wasn't what I expected. Yes, there are shows and girls in windows. But the girls were in cute clothes (not much, however) and stood in the windows of cute buildings that matched the surrounding areas. They were selling sex, but it didn't come off as trashy and disgusting as I had imagined. The streets also weren't flooded with drugs. Most enjoyed their joints within the comforts of the cafes, and I didn't see a single person acting a fool on the streets. The energy here is just amazing; people are calm, friendly, and helpful. Maybe otherwise can be said about the spring and summer; I'll just have to find out in a few months when I return.


 The Bar Joe experience turned into CS making friends with everyone in the bar. We stayed for hours chatting with locals and travelers alike, but mostly locals. Then, off to a club where we did some dancing until the wee hours and finally had to call it a night. Have I told you how awesome the CS community is? Well, here I go again. 

I almost missed my flight back to the states. This has been happening too often recently, for various reasons, different each time, 98% out of my control. I did sleep through my alarm...once. This morning, my phone decided it wouldn't pull up my boarding pass. I decided to restart it, and it didn't want to turn back on. Throughout all of this, the ticket counter had closed, and they closed the security entrance I was about to head through. Phone finally started cooperating and I made a mad dash to the other side of the terminal. Of course, the cheese and small bottle of sand from the bull arena in my bag caused concern, so they searched my bag. Definitely the nicest TSA I have ever encountered. So of course, I took advantage and asked some questions that might get me pulled aside, asking the wrong agent on the wrong day. How many drugs do you find on a daily basis? How do you find them? What happens when this occurs? All happily answered by a friendly agent. This was also the first day I stepped foot into the body scanners because I sure didn't want to request a pat down in Amsterdam. No strip search for me, thanks.

I made it to the gate just in time to be one of the last people on the plane. And off I went, back to America, after being questioned again at the gate per my normal European exit as a solo traveler that frequents Europe several times a year. Suspicious? Apparently.