Days 120, 121, 122, and 123. Amsterdam

Days 120, 121, 122 and 123. Amsterdam. Day 120. Woke up at Malta's house at 3:15am to catch a taxi to catch a plane at 6am to Amsterdam. It was too early. We got to the airport with enough time to eat breakfast at Jamie Olivers restaraunt. I did not want to eat that early, but Malta was hungry. I had granola with yogurt and fruit. Really nice. I spent most of the time on the plane sleeping. The pilot announced after take off, that there were heavy winds and that we might need to circle Amsterdam for awhile to get in line to land and "we should see you on the ground in about twenty minutes." Malta did not like heading the word should come out of the pilots mouth. She is not a good flyer. I am still alive to write this so we landed very safely. We got off the plane, and onto a train into central Amsterdam. From there we bought a 72 hour pass to museums and transport. It included a boat trip through the canals, so that was our first item of business. It was lovely to float through the canals of Amsterdam, just like I imagined it to be. This town is quaint, but large, nice people, less noisy than London, and small intriqute streets. After the cruise we walked for hours through streets, shopping areas, and canals. We found a chocolate shop and picked a few pieces. We were recommended a cafe down the road, where I enjoyed a nice soup and crusty bread. We kept walking. We went to Rembrandts house. Yep. The former house of Rembrandt has been turned into a museum to replicate what it was like in his time. The rooms had bed boxes (wardrobes with beds in them), there was not a room that was made to be a bedroom. In some of the rooms, they had workshops going on, we jumped on one for an etching/print class. I etched with a scraping tool a picture of one of Rembrandts works on a plastic sleeve, they covered it in ink, then wiped off the excess ink, and ran it through a press on paper to complete image. It turned out pretty cool, and a nice souvenier of the trip. We stopped in shops, walked a bit more, and sat in a cafe for a bit to rest ourselves as we waited for the guy to get home from work (Malta's friend) whom we were staying with. We headed off on the tube and chatted about how we had been in a car, plane, train, boat, and tube all in one day. We had transporation covered. We met the guy at the tube station, walked to his house, got settled, and headed out for dinner. We wanted something local, and not toursity. We went to a restaraunt that was a former car dealership. It had the high walls and wide open space of a dealership, but filled tables filled with people. The food was great too. I got deep fried risotto balls with saurkraut (I like the homemade stuff way more than the jar), and roasted squash. I was so tired, I was in bed by 11pm, but we had been up since 2am Amsterdam time, so that is pretty good day I suppose. Day 121. Next day we slept in tell 9am AMS. We got breakfast at the modern art museum cafe before heading over to the Vincent Van Gogh museum. I love his works. I should have warned Malta of my love for Vincent before we went, but I read every plaque & stared at every painting. And there were a lot of paintings. The texture, the layers of paint, the way he moves the strokes of his brush to create a simple flower, a garden seen, were amazing to see up close and personal. It walks through his life, from his early work to his last year, to how his family determined to promote his work after his death. It was truly educational. It was lovely. Truly a great museum. The guy told us that he really enjoys the modern art museum and thinks that we would too. Well, after being in it for about 20 minutes, I was ready to leave. Modern is not my thing compared to Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet. Malta didn't really care for it either, so off we went. We took pictures with the crowds at the I amsterdam sign. By this time, the Rijksmuseum was closing in an hour and that was not enough time to beat that monster, so we headed over to the Diamond Museum next door. It had a lot of replica's not a lot of real things. Lame. We went back to the guys house, and headed out for dinner at a Chinese place, and the guy showing us around town. Ahem, the red light district. I had no idea what it was, so don't judge. The guy said that whenever people come visit him, they always want to see the red light district, get drugs, and see a strip show. Um, yah not that type of person at all. We walked around town a bit more before settling into a pub for drinks (I got an apple pear juice) and conversation. Day 122. Sunday. The day known as my birthday. I asked Malta Saturday night if we could get up earlier than Saturday so that we could beat the crowds at the Rijksmuseum before going bike riding for the day. She said she was up for that idea, but she actually got up at 930. The guy and I had been up for an hour, making small conversation over soft boiled eggs and toast when Malta appeared. 'Happy Birthday." She said. The guy didn't say anything at all. "Thanks." She left a card on my bed, and that was the last I heard it was my birthday all day. It was rather strange, but made the day like any other day. The guy told us it was going to be windy, and Malta said "We're absolutely not going bike riding then" with no consultation on what I wanted to do. I told them I really didn't need to go to the Rijksmuseum as it was just a Rembrandt [and it was not included in our tourist card, so it would cost extra. They both laughed at me, "Just a Rembrandt?!? Hilarious." I decided I just be quiet and go along with the day and whatever they had planned. Yes, I am complaining. Malta and I went to the Rijksmuseum, saw just the Rembrandt and other famous paintings, sculptures, and art. After that we met up with the guy who was an amazing guide through the streets of Amsterdam, he took us through "the nine streets" -- small local shops lining a # grid in an area of town. I got some great hot chocolate Sent from my iPad Day 123. We got up at 730 to get ready for the last day in Amsterdam. We headed out to the Anne Frank House. I was so glad i went. It was really sad to think about all that went on during the war, but nice to see how they lived. For some reason, I thought that they all lived in a single room with a bucket in the corner for "deposits" but it was an actual livable apartment. Yes, they could not move during the day when the workers moved below, but they had beds to sleep on, a kitchen to cook in, and a bathroom. Anne's dad prepared for a long time before hand to have a place ready to be livable. The helpers sacrificed a lot to help them. It was really hard times. It was a sobering experience, and i am glad I did it. After that, we headed to Winkel's for the best apple pie in town. It was really good. The crust was most like a sugar cookie, and there was a hearty amount of cinnamon in the apples. Seriously lovely. So good. Go there if you are ever in town. I got a hot chocolate with it too #whynot. It was served in a tall glass drinking cup. So good. We walked the canals to a photography museum, it was around the edge of one of the larger U's of canals around town. I really did not mind the walk. Sure it was cold and windy, but it was quaint, lovely, homey, quiet, and enjoyable to see how one place could be a house, and the next row house was a business. It was fun peaking in the windows as we passed to see what was going on inside. The photo museum was closed, but there was another one down the road, so we walked on....and should have kept on walking past the photo museum we ended up at (foam) it was worse than the modern art museum. On the way to the Museum Willet-Holthuysen I thought Malta would enjoy the museum of purses and handbags (she has LV & Michael Kors) so we stopped in there..... bags from the 16th century to the current day. Amazing that purses and bags have been around for so long and that we still carry around large bags full of unnecessary things everywhere we go. The Willet-Holthuysen was a museum bringing back to the late 1800's where a couple bequeathed their house to the city. Amazing to think about the US in the late 1800's and where these high society types were around that same time. Our classmate from Amsterdam recommended the Food Hall for a place to eat. It was a former tram station, turned into an eating place with many built in booths of all kinds of food. I got a quiche and soup. Malta said that she was going to the ATM and the loo as I was ordering my food. She was gone for over a half an hour as I ate. I was beginning to wonder if she left me in Amsterdam alone with no return plans (I did know how to get to the guy's house). It was about this point in wondering where to look for Malta, that a tall ruggedly handsome backpacker approached the long table I was sitting at and asked if he could sit down. I said, 'Sure!' but after that I was too shy to talk to him. In my head I had a whole conversation with him, how we would chat for the next two months via text/FaceTime and then I would join him backpacking the world. But instead, we both sat in silence eating our food. After about forty-five minutes of no Malta, I started walking around, before I found her. She said that the queue was nothing when she went to the ATM, but when she came back to order her food, there was a massive order that had been placed, and that was the delay. I could have been talking to my future husband, but instead I was worried if I had a ride on an airplane later that night. Future husband did go to the counter where he got his sandwich from after ordering, and thanked the man for an excellent meal. I drooled silently over him wishing I would get up out of my seat and start a conversation, but I was held back by shyness. Note to the backpacker that ate at the Foodhaal in Amsterdam at 2:20pm on Monday 12 January: Hi! I was too shy to talk to you, but if we ever meet again, please introduce yourself. I really wanted to know where you were going with your life on your backpack, and I want to know if I could join you on your next adventure. :) After our late lunch we did another canal tour. #whynot #maltawascold #ilikedridinginaboatseeingthecityatdusk #itwasgreat. We headed back to the guy's house after that to organize our bags and head out. I thought our flight was at 730, but I am not good with the 21:00....22:00 stuff and found out that we didn't leave tell 930pm. The guy was an excellent host and guide. We got to the airport with plenty of time to mill around before our gate was announced. The flight was good, quick, and I managed to get in a nap. Got back to Gatwick, took a train to transfer to another train only to miss it by 30 seconds, and the next one left in 30 minutes. Luckily the train station where we were was the one I went to Southampton from, so I knew how to get home from there on the bus. Malta said that she would take a cab home from here. We said our goodbyes as I boarded the bus, and from there walked home under my umbrella in a drizzle of rain. That is the end to my Amsterdam adventure.