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My boyfriend had bugged me for months to take him
to Amsterdam. We’re both Irish but for some reason I have always had
a strange fascination for Holland and the crazy Dutch. I spent a
summer there as a penniless student, picking tulip bulbs in a
village near Amsterdam. Perhaps my passion for Holland had rubbed
off on him (or maybe his motives for visiting Amsterdam stemmed from
a different type of passion!). Either way, last February we booked a
couple of flights, a few days off work and headed for ‘The Dam’.
Arriving in Amsterdam
Our flights were with Ryanair from Shannon to Charleroi. Yes, I know
that it is in Belgium but we decided to see as much as possible on
the road. (Ok, so the flights were cheap). We hired a car and drove
up to Amsterdam. The Michelin Route Planner said it would take 2.5
hours. Word of advice for everyone; never trust the Michelin Route
Planner completely. Four and a half hours and three near-death
experiences later we arrived in Amsterdam.
We had booked a room at the Park Hotel near Leidsesquare. The hotel
was gorgeous - very elegant with an air of grandeur about it. The
rooms were large, which is unusual in Amsterdam where space is at a
premium. There were fresh flowers in the bathroom and an amazing
view of the Van Gogh museum from our window.
After grabbing a quick bite to eat in the restaurant downstairs we
decided to take a walk into town to see what Amsterdam has to offer.
The Park Hotel is situated very centrally, beside the Vondelpark
with the Musemplein behind it. Leidseplein itself has lots of nice
cafes and bars. However, we decided to head straight into town and
get the touristy part over and done with.
First stop was Central Station. I had forgotten about Holland’s
fixation with bicycles. Beside most major European train or bus
stations you would expect to find a multi-story car park. Beside
Amsterdam Central Station however, there is a multi-story bike park.
I kid you not! The building was at least 10 stories high and looks
capable of housing about a million bikes. Must be fun at 3 in the
morning when everyone’s trying to find their ride home!
We wandered over the bridge past Central Station and suddenly found
ourselves, without warning, in the middle of the Red Light District.
One minute I had my face up against a shop window, admiring a little
chair and wondering about the pretty red curtains and neon lighting.
Next minute, a G-string clad young woman appeared out of nowhere and
resumed her perch on the chair. Shocked, my boyfriend and I scuttled
away, giggling like immature school kids.
Beyond the exotic, Amsterdam means a certain way of living
Half an hour later I decided that we had just
about got the gist of things - window after window of stunning
looking women (no men, I might add). Eventually, I managed to drag
my speechless other half away with promises of ‘patat met mayo’.
(The only other way to a mans heart is through his stomach!) We
walked down to Dam Square and admired the Royal Palace.
Amsterdam is a city steeped in history. It is also a city full of
contrasts; unconventional in attitude yet old-fashioned in pace. Its
inhabitants are an ethnically diverse bunch of people, with
non-nationals making up 70% of the population. It’s easy to see the
attraction. Grandmothers on motorised High Nellys ride past
tax-paying ‘working girls’ in the city’s Red Light area. Tourists
smoke pre-rolled “spliffs” beside nonchalant locals. All of this and
more add to the laid-back atmosphere of tolerance that prevails in
Amsterdam.
However, the city is not all about sex and dope-smoking tourists.
There is a whole different sub-culture of people who travel to
Amsterdam to experience the city’s many other delights. Even if, like
me, you don’t consider yourself to be very cultured, you will find
something that you like in Amsterdam.
There is so much to sample. You don’t have to be an artist to
appreciate the beauty of the paintings in the Van Gogh museum. The
majority of people standing in the long queue outside Anne Frank’s house are not Jews. Likewise, you don’t have to be a drug-user to
visit the hash museum find it interesting.
The following day, after an evening spent dancing at Club Mazzo, we
decided to take a stroll through the famous ‘Vondelpark’ to clear
our heads. The Vondelpark is one of the many parks that dot the
city. The Dutch are famous for their ‘green’ attitude. Amsterdam’s
city centre is virtually car-free. Motorists prefer to ‘park and
ride’ on the outskirts of the city rather than pay the exorbitant
parking fees imposed upon vehicles audacious enough to brave the
centre.
Two-wheeled vehicles are everywhere. Pushbikes, Scooters, Harley
Davidsons. It is not uncommon to see whole families of locals
clogging the bicycle lanes on Sunday afternoons with kids in buggies
freewheeling behind. We strolled through the park and hopped on a
canal boat that took us on a tour of the city.
A man-made land that's almost perfect
A network of canals rings Amsterdam. Some of the
streets we passed in our boat were obviously affluent. The guide
pointed out a few of the wealthier dwellings e.g. the mayor’s house.
Then he showed us Amsterdam’s narrowest house and skinniest bridge.
In times gone by, people paid taxes depending on how wide their
houses were, so it is not uncommon to find many houses whose width
is only slightly larger than their front door.
To round off the day, we ate at a nice little Italian restaurant in
Leidsesquare and then listened to some live jazz music at the
Bourbon Blues Jazz café.
The following morning we rose bright and early. Full of enthusiasm,
we set off to visit some little towns we had heard about north of
Amsterdam. It was almost lunchtime by the time we had actually made
it onto the right exit, having spent the morning trying to get off
the massive ring road that surrounds the city. However, when we
finally did make it to the countryside, we knew it had been worth
the effort.
The Dutch countryside is a sight to behold. Big, whitewashed old
farmhouses with thatched roofs are surrounded by acres of perfectly
tilled fields. Every inch of soil is utilised in one way or another.
Dykes run alongside the perfectly straight roads. There are no hills
or mountains, nothing between you and the gorgeous sunsets that
light up the horizon before nightfall.
At one point I jokingly remarked that it looked as though somebody
had taken out a ruler and drawn the country, with everything so
perfect and not a blade of grass out of place. Then I realised that
someone probably did just that! (when they reclaimed the land here).
It was now the final morning of our trip. We had thoroughly enjoyed
ourselves but alas, it was time to head back down to Charleroi to
catch our flight home. We got on the road early to give ourselves
plenty of time for our afternoon flight, having spent the night in a
cute little town called Medemblik.
However, a dense fog misled us and one hour into our four-hour
journey, we realised that we were going the wrong way. We had in
fact driven an hour in the wrong direction and had unwittingly
crossed a massive bridge connecting North Holland to the province of
Friesland.
The phrase ‘burning rubber’ took on a new meaning as we struggled to
get to Belgium. We caught our flights and managed not to kill
anybody while driving there. However my parting advice if you are
ever tempted to plan a similar trip over unfamiliar terrain to the
airport; get the train, folks!
Book Amsterdam Hotels
here
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