Wednesday, December 01, 2004
European Vacation
We're back! Two very exhausted travellers got home last night around 6:30. We had a lot of fun, so I'll try to recap as much as I can.
We left Thursday morning and flew to Chicago after only standing by through a couple of flights. We were able to get business class for our flight to Brussels. American has improved their business class since the last time I flew. The seats recline more, you get a personal book light attached to your seat, and everyone gets a portable DVD player with a bunch of movies. We watched some movies and tried to sleep. I hadn't been able to sleep Wednesday night, so I wanted to sleep a lot on the flight, but I only got about an hour of sleep. We got to Brussels and caught a train to Amsterdam. I think I may have slept about an hour or so on the train. Still, I was working on about three or four hours sleep (total) in the last two nights, so I was feeling pretty jet-lagged and awful when we got to Amsterdam.
We got to our B&B, which was really just a room in a family's house. We had our own shower and bathroom, which were located in the hallway outside the room. The room itself was really cute. We took a much-needed nap and showered, then headed to the Anne Frank House, which is a museum in the house where Anne, her family, and some friends hid during WWII. It was pretty sobering. It was amazing how much I had remembered of the story, since I haven't read her diary in years. We found a Dutch restaurant for dinner, which was very warm and hearty.
Saturday, we were able to see some of Amsterdam during the day. We strolled through the Albert Cuypmarkt, a market in our neighborhood selling clothes, shoes, cheese, seafood... well, just about everything. We walked over to Museumplein, which is where the major museums are located, and toured the Rijksmuseum. We also did a lot of shopping that afternoon.
Sunday, we wandered around some more, did some more shopping, and walked around the Red Light District. Needless to say, we saw a lot of prostitutes. In the mornings, the prostitutes seem to be rather older and more plump than the hotter hookers available in the evenings. Amsterdam is full of sleazy sex shops, selling vibraters, porno, and various other aids. The Red Light District also has a lot of sex shows to offer. We thought about going, but they were pretty expensive. Of course, Amsterdam is also full of coffeehouses, which are establishments where you can buy marijuana leagally. The term "coffeehouse," to me, conjures up a nice image of people sipping coffee, reading books, and doing the crossword... while enjoying a joint. In reality, they're really tacky. It's all Bob Marley posters, giant neon pot leaves, pumping reggae music... generally awful. As Victor said, "It's a gorgeous and very old city; however, you'll have this beautiful 15th century building and right next to it, you'll have Smokey's Coffeeshop with a big neon pot leaf and posters of Bob Marley or Jim Morrison. The coffeeshops really ugly up the city." All of the prostitutes and pot also bring really annoying tourists... we saw big gangs of guys roaming around, checking out hookers, clearly stoned... at 11am! Wake and bake, I guess.
So obviously I'm not into the whole pot scene, especially the reggae/Phish/stoner vibe that was going on in Amsterdam. However, we did manage to do something there that is illegal in the US. We had some absinthe. There is a bar in Amsterdam, conveniently called Absinthe, where it is legal to buy and drink it. We didn't have much, so the only real effect was a feeling of lethargy (in the body) accompanied by an energy rush (in the mind). Absinthe really makes you chatty. I'd like to try it again... if we ever make it to Prague, where it is readily available, I think I'll experiment some more.
The food in Amsterdam was very good... we had Dutch, Indian, Surinamese, and French. Also, there are a lot of french fry vendors around, probably to cater to those with the munchies after going to a coffeehouse. The fries there were SO GOOD. They use a thick, yummy mayo on top that tastes really nice. Victor was so enamored that he bought a special bottle of "fritessaus" to take home. We also walked around Albert Heijn, the major grocery store chain there. It was chock full of deliciousness.
Monday we took a train back to Brussels. We got there when it was almost dark, so we didn't get any pictures. Our hotel, Catalonia Forum Art Hotel, was really cheap, newly renovated, and super cute. The room was pretty modern looking, and the shower was amazing. We headed down to the main shopping district, ate a Belgian waffle from a street vendor (amazing!!), and found a super cute restaurant, the Living Room. We have decided that we want to properly see Brussels sometime, so we will probably head back in the next year or so. We left early Tuesday morning and luckily got business class seats again. More movies, more sleep.
So that's pretty much it. Oh, here are a couple of pictures:
Victor on a canal bridge:
Me in the Museumplein:
A canal with St. Nicholas's Church in the background:
Victor in front of a sex show:
We're back! Two very exhausted travellers got home last night around 6:30. We had a lot of fun, so I'll try to recap as much as I can.
We left Thursday morning and flew to Chicago after only standing by through a couple of flights. We were able to get business class for our flight to Brussels. American has improved their business class since the last time I flew. The seats recline more, you get a personal book light attached to your seat, and everyone gets a portable DVD player with a bunch of movies. We watched some movies and tried to sleep. I hadn't been able to sleep Wednesday night, so I wanted to sleep a lot on the flight, but I only got about an hour of sleep. We got to Brussels and caught a train to Amsterdam. I think I may have slept about an hour or so on the train. Still, I was working on about three or four hours sleep (total) in the last two nights, so I was feeling pretty jet-lagged and awful when we got to Amsterdam.
We got to our B&B, which was really just a room in a family's house. We had our own shower and bathroom, which were located in the hallway outside the room. The room itself was really cute. We took a much-needed nap and showered, then headed to the Anne Frank House, which is a museum in the house where Anne, her family, and some friends hid during WWII. It was pretty sobering. It was amazing how much I had remembered of the story, since I haven't read her diary in years. We found a Dutch restaurant for dinner, which was very warm and hearty.
Saturday, we were able to see some of Amsterdam during the day. We strolled through the Albert Cuypmarkt, a market in our neighborhood selling clothes, shoes, cheese, seafood... well, just about everything. We walked over to Museumplein, which is where the major museums are located, and toured the Rijksmuseum. We also did a lot of shopping that afternoon.
Sunday, we wandered around some more, did some more shopping, and walked around the Red Light District. Needless to say, we saw a lot of prostitutes. In the mornings, the prostitutes seem to be rather older and more plump than the hotter hookers available in the evenings. Amsterdam is full of sleazy sex shops, selling vibraters, porno, and various other aids. The Red Light District also has a lot of sex shows to offer. We thought about going, but they were pretty expensive. Of course, Amsterdam is also full of coffeehouses, which are establishments where you can buy marijuana leagally. The term "coffeehouse," to me, conjures up a nice image of people sipping coffee, reading books, and doing the crossword... while enjoying a joint. In reality, they're really tacky. It's all Bob Marley posters, giant neon pot leaves, pumping reggae music... generally awful. As Victor said, "It's a gorgeous and very old city; however, you'll have this beautiful 15th century building and right next to it, you'll have Smokey's Coffeeshop with a big neon pot leaf and posters of Bob Marley or Jim Morrison. The coffeeshops really ugly up the city." All of the prostitutes and pot also bring really annoying tourists... we saw big gangs of guys roaming around, checking out hookers, clearly stoned... at 11am! Wake and bake, I guess.
So obviously I'm not into the whole pot scene, especially the reggae/Phish/stoner vibe that was going on in Amsterdam. However, we did manage to do something there that is illegal in the US. We had some absinthe. There is a bar in Amsterdam, conveniently called Absinthe, where it is legal to buy and drink it. We didn't have much, so the only real effect was a feeling of lethargy (in the body) accompanied by an energy rush (in the mind). Absinthe really makes you chatty. I'd like to try it again... if we ever make it to Prague, where it is readily available, I think I'll experiment some more.
The food in Amsterdam was very good... we had Dutch, Indian, Surinamese, and French. Also, there are a lot of french fry vendors around, probably to cater to those with the munchies after going to a coffeehouse. The fries there were SO GOOD. They use a thick, yummy mayo on top that tastes really nice. Victor was so enamored that he bought a special bottle of "fritessaus" to take home. We also walked around Albert Heijn, the major grocery store chain there. It was chock full of deliciousness.
Monday we took a train back to Brussels. We got there when it was almost dark, so we didn't get any pictures. Our hotel, Catalonia Forum Art Hotel, was really cheap, newly renovated, and super cute. The room was pretty modern looking, and the shower was amazing. We headed down to the main shopping district, ate a Belgian waffle from a street vendor (amazing!!), and found a super cute restaurant, the Living Room. We have decided that we want to properly see Brussels sometime, so we will probably head back in the next year or so. We left early Tuesday morning and luckily got business class seats again. More movies, more sleep.
So that's pretty much it. Oh, here are a couple of pictures:
Victor on a canal bridge:
Me in the Museumplein:
A canal with St. Nicholas's Church in the background:
Victor in front of a sex show:
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