To all of those who wanted to know, Amsterdam was unbelievable. Ian and I met up at London Gatwick Airport. This place is one of the weirdest airports I have ever been to; it feels like you are in this massive convention center and there are airline check-in booths strewn around the building with no real rhyme or reason. After you pass through security you are in a mall, complete with a food court. Only after an escalator ride does it feel like you are at an airport and that’s only because you can look outside and see the planes. That place just made me really disoriented. We flew on Ryan Air and it is a no-frills airline for sure. They pride themselves on having the lowest prices and it really shows. The seats are first come-first serve (something you never see in the States) and that’s all you get. If you want anything else, such as a drink or snack, its coming out of your wallet. I couldn’t help but become giddy when the inaudible captain came over the intercom and told us that we were in Eindhoven. Forty minutes earlier we were just taking off. It was really a bizarre feeling knowing that I was in another foreign country quicker than it would take me to fly from Boston to New York City. Once we passed through customs at the tiny Eindhoven Airport it was on to the bus that dropped us off at the train station. On the way we passed Phillips Stadion, home of PSV Eindhoven. PSV is one of the European football powerhouses and their stadium was simply awesome. Stupidly enough, I didnt take out my camera and capture the Kodak moment.
The train ride took us through the heart of Holland. As you could imagine, it was extremely flat and full of farm land. The grass was some of the greenest I have ever seen in my entire life. I assume this is mostly due to the expansive irrigation system they have in the country. It was interesting as it seemed that every form of vegetation was planted in a careful manner. Everything looked like it had its own place, the trees were all in rows along the streets and even in the fields. There were roads that ran along the tracks and it was fun to watch people bike along. We would go for stretches where there would be nothing, and then suddenly a small town would pop up or even just a car dealership right along the track.
I was growing impatient until I gazed out the window and saw my version of the neon ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign…Amsterdam ArenA (no not a typo). This beauty of stadium is one of the many monuments of European football and home to the legendary Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam.
Amsterdam ArenA
This team (along with the Dutch National team) established the idea of ‘Total Football’ This concept boils down to having extremely versatile players on the pitch who can play many different positions. A basic example of this would be a defender who frequently makes attack runs in the oppositions territory while a midfielder drops to the backline to cover for the defender. This radical thinking not only revolutionized the game, but it brought Ajax to the forefront of European football as they were one of the most dominant sides. If you would like to know more, the wikipedia link is here. With all that being said, we had finally arrived.
Amsterdam is truly a city that needs to be experienced by everyone at some point in their lifetime, although I really don’t think it’s a place to bring youngsters. I suppose the location that is most similar to Amsterdam is Las Vegas, but they even that’s a bit of a stretch.
I was Amsterdam.
The city boasts some beautiful architecture amongst the backdrop of the intricate canal system. It just reeks of history and is extremely multi-cultural. This is all due to the fact that Amsterdam was the trading capital of the world from the 17th-19th century. The famous West Indies Trading Company had its headquarters here. The people are extremely friendly and speak near-perfect English. To be completely honest, when I got back to England it seemed as though the people here were speaking a foreign language.
The nightlife here was simply amazing. The bars, whether dives or hot-spots were always crowded with people enjoying a good drink, good music, and good company. There were people everywhere and I don’t think the city ever really shuts down. Like good tourists, Ian and I bought an I AMsterdam card, which allowed us to get into many museums and sights for free. We went to the Amsterdam Historical Museum, the Van Gogh Museum, and on a canal tour.
A thrilling tour.
However the coolest place was the Hortus, which was a gigantic garden which was home to many exotic plants. Just a really cool place to go and relax.
The highlight of the weekend might have been the trip to the Heineken Factory. It was the original brewery of the legendary Dutch bier but it has now been refurbished as an interactive museum. You walked along the path of how the beer was made, starting with the importing of hops, water, and wheat, and then you worked your way through to a happy ending with the perfect pour. No Heineken I drink from this day forth will ever be as good as the three pints I had in that factory; I think I can bet my life on it.
The perfect pour. The perfect ending to the tour.
On the flight home I tried to recap my weekend and I could only think of two negatives. One of them was our hostel, Hostel Linda. Just an awful, dirty, place that probably should have failed some sort of health inspections but didn’t. The bathroom floor was constantly coated with a pool of water about an inch deep. It was just gross. Although we were in room 001, we were actually on the 4th floor and the stairs were more like ladders. It was a steep climb. In fact it was steep enough where I felt like rappelling down the stairs everyday would have been a better option. I cannot complain too much because I booked the damn place about 4 days in advance but now I see why its no wonder that place was available.
The second complaint I had was that you had to pay to use the toilets throughout the city at night. Bars, restaurants, even the golden arches of McDonald’s made you pay the toll for tinkling. After a night of drinking you’d look in your wallet and realize that you paid 5 euros the night before just to go to the bathroom. If I was a citizen of Amsterdam (Amsterdamonians? Amsterdamites?), and this lowered my taxes, I would be all for it. Let foreigners pay my bills. However as a temporary resident I couldn’t help but feel scammed. Thankfully, these two complaints are extremely minor and in no way would stop me from going back there.
I was planning on doing a Weird Car of the Week from Amsterdam and I found a car, but it just isn’t fitting for the cycle capital of the world. Bikes are everywhere you look, and I do mean everywhere. I think they outnumber cars in the city by 224:1. Yes I made that statistic up, but the fact remains that taking your hobby horse out on the town is the most prominent method of transportation.
Good luck finding a spot.
Traffic jams were more likely caused by a slip-up changing gears than by a fender bender. The funny thing was that you didn’t see high-tech mountain bikes, but everyone seemed to ride an old beat up 3 speed. Not ones to miss out on an experience, Ian and I rented bikes for a day and it was a great choice. Not only did we have a chance to see much more of the city this way, but for those 24 hours I felt less like a tourist.
Pick your poison.
Play on:
+ I have plenty to talk about. I went to Swansea, Wales for the day. Southend finally had its big friendly with West Ham. I went to Upton Park to watch West Ham again and got the VIP treatment. And I want to do my own little preview of the upcoming season. I am going to try and do a binge writing session, but I just wanted to let you know that I haven’t forgot about you.
+ I am by no means a tree hugger, but I do know a cool thing when I see one. This article previews Dartford FC's new self-sustaining stadium. Hopefully we will see more ingenuity like this in the future.
