Well I am so glad that I did not bother to try and stay up for the midnight showing of Hancock on the ferry cinema, as I woke up not fully with it and barely had an hour to get up, dressed, showered, fed and all ready for the off.
The previous night before I went to sleep I had a moments paranoia that I had better pack my bag ready for a fast exit should anything happen to the ferry, and I regretted this in the morning when nothing was ready for me and I had packed my passport and onward train tickets.
I was so asleep still that I ordered a very modest breakfast and not only didnt I realise that it wasnt a hearty full english as advertised, but I also missed that I had already paid for it when I prebooked.
Catching the train at 7:45 to Amsterdam via Rotterdam I once again began to feel a bit of a headcold and it was only after I was fully awake that the light dawned on me, that this was he flu-like side effects of taking the yellow fever jab about a week ago.
At the time the nurse said that I would likely get the by Friday if I was going to get then at all, so I guess that I was just a late flourisher.
About 9:55am god washed his hands and then must have left the tap dripping as he went off to do someting else more important, as he failed to ever come back and turn the tap off again - thus turning the whole of Amsterdam into a giant fish bowl.
I do not think that cyclist have got a very fair deal in Amsterdam, far from it, they seem to have the best deal on the market as you cant seem to go anywhere without a cyclist or two rushing past. And its not just the frequency of them that is unsettling, neither it is that along every canal or boulevard you can see dozen of the things all lined up and hogging the pavement, no its worse.
They are silent, the are fast, they can get through even the tiniest of gaps and there appears to be no law or reason that says which direction they need to travel in.
I have often said that if you can walk the streets of London you can walk anywhere, well Amsterdam is a close second on my list of places you have to keep your wits about at all times.
Amsterdam is an old city, the waterways and canals are everywhere like some demented ring off a dartboard gone insane and although free to litter it still has its criminal element, its beggars and a large amound of decay just minutes away from flaking off before you very eyes.
The strangest part is that the locals all seem extremely proud of their aging buildings, so much so that when they do their repairs { which is everywhere and all at the same time } they have turned their back on modern technology and materials and seem to delight in trying to recycle the old bits of the falling down buildings.
For example, there was a carpenter who was repairing a warped doorway and instead of of replacing a section of wood, he was painstakingly trying to chip away the old bits and then replaces it with a new { or old but newer } bit of timbre and then glue it all together so that the joins dissappear. The instead of a good old lick of paint to hide it all and make it waterproof, on to the next job!
There is no shortage of places to get food in the city, however I was put off from most by the decor and the fact that I very much expect that the knocker would come off in my hand should i knock to get a waiters attention.
Smoking in public places has been banned in most of Holland, and so despite the rain, many an aged covered doorway had a couple of smokers doing their very best to shorten their lives by another few minutes.
I've never been too into the whole drug scene, so the coffee shops hold no lure to me, although having said that if the weather dries out tomorrow I might make it back to visit the Hemp Museum.
I expect their is a very planned link, as the fabled coffee shops and hemp museum are also on the same road as the erotic museum and the main red light district of the city.
Although easy to overlook if you are traversing the entire city, only a five minute walk directly south from the main train station will find you in central red light area, where the windows are covered and filled with plenty for the eye to feast on, although the farther south you go the older and uglier they appear, at least they did on my trip.
Rumour has it that for EU$50 you can get a quick rub, tug and a bit of the other.
Having said that, other rumours also say that you will also feel like a bit of processed meat at how fast and clinical they are and thar you will be gently ushered out fo the door before your trousers have even fully touched the floor, that is unless you fall for their line of double time for double money line that they say.
Rumours and all part of Amsterdam, and the truly weirdest part is that the gossip mongerers do not even try to be shy or discreet about it, probably due to the fact that it is all as close to legal here as it is anywhere on the planet. Listening in on other strollers conversation is almost as fun and educational as if I was having the conversation myself.
For those who feel that they would prefer the more pampered and pay through the nose approach then you can always go to one of the many private clubs just slightly out of the town centre, though be prepared to pay at least EU$75 entrance fee { which is precisely why this other option appealed to me even less than the idea of making the temporary aquaintence of a window girl }.
The internet has a few things to offer about these clubs, but personally I would still chose a place in the sun with a nice drink than the wet alleyways of Amsterdam.
The feel of Amsterdam is not only old and wet, but also empty. Despite the overrunning of cyclist along every highway and byway you can still soon find yourself walking along a side road where you are the only person you can see, and for those who do not like alleys and alleyways I have this to say, Amsterdam seems to expand like a warped tree trunk and so unless you like long and circular treks I'd get yourself a map and / or a compass and brave the side streets.
The hostel I chose ended up being about a ten minute walk as the cros flies from the centre of town, but I challenge even the fittest crow to be able to walk the distance in less than twenty!
What I found interesting was that it is run by a Christian organisation { similar to the ones in Switzerland, complete with bible reading at 7pm every night and a private prayer room for those who could not wait } who run two seperate hostels in the city, the one I am currently staying in which is just outside the centre of town, and the other which could not be closer to the red light district if it tried, yet their website clearly states that these hostels are not for anyone who want to come to Amsterdam for sex.
So I take it from that, that the local Christian community must have a great love of help as that is the only other thing within 50 yards of the red light district that isn't whole devoted to the sex industry.
Because I had arrived so very late in the morning, and this was compounded with my lack of sleep, my yellow fever jab flu like sideeffects, the rain and the fact that the hostel would not let me check in until 1:30pm meant that I was unable to get a look round a few of the best tourist attractions, as I have never been one to settle for a long queues.
By 3pm I felt that I had been walking for an eternity, my feet were tired, all my clothes were damp and I could only think of my bunk.
No comments:
Post a Comment