Amsterdam

I think I mentioned last time that I was thinking of going to Amsterdam over Easter with Nick and Pauli. We left the booking a bit late and had a hard time finding accomodation but we did eventually find a fairly nice hostel in central amsterdam. We had wanted an appartment or at least our own room but we ended up in a four bed dorm which turned out to be fine. The girl we shared with was quite nice and we didn't actually spend much time at the hostel anyway.

I arrived late friday night so that night we just had a few drinks at a nearby bar. Then next day Pauli planned out a list of places to go and see. We started out the day at the Van Gogh museum, which was pretty good, but was missing many of his most famous pieces. Nick, who complained about not wanting to go, ended up spending the most time looking at paintings and it was Pauli and I that got bored! After that we went of to get lunch and after huge pizzas and a few beers, we never really made it to any of the other things on Pauli's list. We wandered around a little bit more and then finished the evening in a coffee shop.

This came to be a regular pattern - Pauli would plan a list of things to see, we would visit the first on the list and then end up in a bar or coffee shop and not see anything else on the "the list". But we had a great time and ended up seeing most of the things Pauli wanted to see. We did a nice boat ride through the canals and visted the Heineken museum (which was packed, and consisted mostly of advertising material and stupid little "rides" and games - but at least we got a few beers).

Amsterdam has some of the worst food in the world. Everything is deep fried. One of the most popular food chains is called Febo which is basically deep fried food vending machines. You put coins in and can choose from a wide variety of deep fried stuff (deep fried cheese, sauerkraut, and various unidentifiable meat products) adn also hamburgers. I tried the deep fried cheese option and it was kraft singles style "plastic cheese" wrapped in pastry and fried. I felt sick for the next hour as did nick and pauli who tried some of the meat versions. All the bars sell "deep fried snacks" and the staff are not sure exactly what it is them. And the huge paper cones of chips smothered in mayo are famous. We tried some of the various deep fried snacks but mostly ate in italian/asian/other restaurants which were not too bad.

We spent alot of time wandering the streets and along the canals, which are gorgeous, and we were lucky to have really nice weather. We spent most afternoons drinking beer in one of the many squares, and the evenings sitting in bars and people watching. We spend a few evenings hanging around the red light district - fascinated by the behavour of some the girls in the windows, and more so by the potential punters. Definately a good area to people watch.

Anyway we had heaps of fun and really liked amsterdam. Next it is my turn to go visit Nick and Pauli in Leeds as they have already visited me twice in Paris. But first I have to get my french working visa! I still don't know whether I will get it but I should be getting the news this week, so expect another update soon.

Amsterdam