Sightseeing Saturday

Yesterday I got a visit from Victor (of the victorineurope blog in the right hand margin) who is originally from Canada, but is spending a year in Rotterdam. So I had a go at being a tour guide of sorts, going around the city with him, taking a boat tour together etc. I feel I know my way around here pretty well, but I may need to glance at a map every now and then if I'm to get to a specific destination.

Boat tours are a great way to get a view of the city in a limited amount of time, and they usually provide some details about the buildings and bridges you are passing. A standard boat tour usually takes about an hour, though you can also find more specialised ones that will take longer. Like the candlelight boat tour that Boyfriend and I went on last year, that serves wine and cheese and takes you through the canals in the evening time for 2 hours. Good for those who are more romantically inclined. For candlelight tours, or other specialised ones you will probably need to make an advanced booking, but for the standard one hour ones you can just hop on a boat when you feel like it. They leave with frequent intervals and have several stations along the Damrak (between central station and Dam Square).

We also made a stop at Puccini for some chocolates. These are seriously the best thing I've ever tasted, and if I didn't exercise some self control I would be eating these almost every day.... My mouth is watering just thinking about them.... They look quite nice too:


Puccini is made locally here in Amsterdam, in fact in the very stores they are sold. You hear about Belgian chocolates, and Boyfriend says he prefers Leonidas (Belgian brand), but as far as I'm concerned, Dutch chocolate kicks Belgian chocolate's ass. And I did my share of sampling of the Belgian stuff when we went to Brussels last March. There are two Puccini stores in Amsterdam. You can find them at Staalstraat 17 and Singel 184.


We also wanted to go to the Anne Frank house, but we had limited time and the line was long. Boyfriend said the line is always long, but I know I've seen it much shorter at times. I guess a Saturday afternoon in the middle of summer may be a particularly busy time. Instead we ended up taking a tour of the tower of the Westerkerk (right next to the Anne Frank house), which was more fun than I had expected. And also a bit of a challenge for someone like me who has a moderate fear of heights. Those stairs were quite steep and narrow, particularly going down. We were accompanied up to the 42 metre high platform of the tower (the whole thing is actually about 87 metres high), by a guide who told us titbits about the history of Amsterdam and the history of bells. The bell in the photo bellow weighs 3500 kilos, I was informed, whilst standing right underneath it. It occurred to me that that was possibly a good time to move....

Here are some pictures of the view from the tower. You can go all the way around, and see the city spread out beneath you. It's a recommended experience, unless you're even more afraid of heights than I am...


We ended our evening having dinner with Boyfriend, in one of my favourite restaurants, Kantjil & de Tijger, an Indonesian place with delicious and reasonably priced food. We've been to this restaurant at least once every time I've been in the Netherlands so far, and I've always loved it. So far it's always been a sure winner with guests as well. One of the nice things about this place is that you can order a fixed menu (in 3 varieties) with lots of different little dishes. So you get to taste a lot of different things in one meal, and you're almost guaranteed to find something you like. Besides, Indonesian food is kind of a speciality here, since Indonesia is a former colony of the Netherlands, so it's in a way also an essential Dutch experience.


All in all I'd say it was a pretty good day! Now, anyone else feel like coming to visit? :)

I'm not wearing sunglasses because I'm blind

So, here's the zen question for all you guys out there: If you can't see a woman's eyes, can she still tell you're staring at her cleavage?

Warning: girl blog!

I went shoe shopping the other day, as my regular walking shoes have holes in them, and weren't all that nice to begin with. If my new shoes are fit for walking long distances is perhaps doubtful, but they do look nice...

These were bought for 10 euros to console myself after I once again found red shoes with white polka dots (under), that were supposed to go with the dress also (partially) shown under (that I bought on sale last fall and am using for the first time today), but this time they were too small.. What's a girl to do? Buy another pair of red shoes of course!

I also went back to the market the other day to buy the Beatles bag that got cooler in my mind every time I thought about it, and I do still think it's rather nice!

So that should keep my shopping itch at bay for a little while at least.. :)

And so it ends

The Netherlands participation in euro2008, that is. And my newly bought fuzzy orange cowboy hat couldn't save them from the Russians. In fairness, the Russians did deserve the win.. Well, it was fun while it lasted!

FINALLY

When I first packed all my things in boxes and sent them here through a shipping company, I was given the impression that it would be possible for Boyfriend to pick up my things even before I arrived here. This impression was erroneous. And since I arrived here on the 23rd of May there has been a seemingly never ending path of paperwork, bureaucracy and appointments stretched out in front of me. And any time I was convinced I'd finally reached the last step, there turned out to be just one more. Kind of like when you're climbing a mountain and think you're arriving at the peak, just to see that the peak is even higher up and further away. Well, yesterday I finally reached the top of my mountain. I now have all my stuff unpacked, and I've also received a BSN, which enables me to get a bank account and work here (when I get a job, of course). Things are looking up. Yesterday evening was spent celebrating by listening to my dad's old cassette that I haven't heard in years, since I haven't had a tape player. Now maybe I will at last stop having dreams about having to go back to Norway, and having to catch flights and having forgotten my luggage/ticket or both....

God has spoken to me

The funny thing is that I was actually lost (not spiritually), looking around for something I might recognise, when this act of divine intervention revealed itself to me. It's going to take more before I pledge my life to God, but the symbolism was nice.

Sunday walk

One of the things I love about this city is that there always seems to be something new to discover. Even in places I've been several times before. Suddenly there's a market of some kind, or people playing music or doing performances, a shop I haven't noticed previously, an exhibition etc. I may feel differently after living here for a few years, but cities change and evolve too. Today I had a really nice long walk, and happened upon a second hand book market which also sold comic books and vinyl. That would of course have been a bit more interesting for me if I could read Dutch properly or had an LP player, but it's still nice that these things pop up round and about. I also came across a modern art market that was kinda nice.

And I walked past a church I'd seen before that was open now. I'm not terribly religious, although I do believe in a power greater than man, I just don't know what it is specifically and am reluctant to call it God. But for some reason I often like churches. I feel at peace there somehow. And of course a lot of them are nicely decorated. I had a cup of coffee at a cafe/restaurant down by the canal side, and on my way home I got distracted by a jazz trio playing in another cafe. I heard the music out on the street, and I thought I'd go in and have a look. The music was really nice (I like jazz as long as it's not too experimental), but the venue was a little intimate - read: I didn't get a seat, and after several hours of walking my legs were too tired to stand up for much longer. But apparently they have live jazz there every Sunday, so that's something to remember. The nice thing is, I wasn't specifically looking for any of these things I came across today, they were just there. I love days like this, and I love having the time to just wander around and go where my fancy takes me. Holidays rule! (Oh and BTW, so does the Dutch football team, still... )

Pedal boats are NOT fun

Well, I guess opinions might vary, but I must agree with Boyfriend in this matter, who was very reluctant to go in the first place, since he had been in a pedal boat before and thought it sucked. And it kinda did. But at least I got to find that out for myself, which is the only way to be sure. It wasn't that bad either, but it wasn't fun. The pedaling itself I didn't mind, but the boat was a bitch to steer (and there are quite a few other boats out and about which you would do well to avoid). I was just getting the hang of it when we were at the end of our ride. On the bright side we did see a boat with a toilet in it, and how often does that happen?...

For anyone who DOES want to go pedal boating, there are four stations along the canals more or less in the centre. The one in the picture is on the corner of the Leidsestraat and the Keizersgracht. For more info you can check out their website. I'm sure some people do think it's fun....

Dubious marketing?

Seriously. What self respecting male is going to buy his clothes at a store called 'Sissy Boy'?

Market day

Yesterday I decided to go to the Albert Cuyp market to have a look around.

I've been there a couple of times already with Boyfriend, but he usually just wants to go down the road and buy stroopwafels (syrup waffles), and go back again. Having a better look at it all I've realised that they have everything at this market... From clothes to exotic footwear,

from birdcages

and handmade soaps

to chocolate boobs and penises (!),

underwear, discount drugstore items, second hand DVD's, fruit and veg stalls,

all sorts of snacks, and these really cute shoes that were unfortunately too big for me (the heel is a little taller than I care for as well, but for 5 euros, what woman cares about that?..),

and these really cool Beatles bags that were not cheap enough for me to impulse buy, but if they're still there next time I visit, I'm getting one!

In short it's a nice place to spend a day when you have nothing in particular planned. And you're likely to find a really good bargain that you didn't even know you were looking for... :)

GOOOO HOLLAND!!!

First I must admit that I'm not an avid football fan anymore, though I used to be when I was younger (LFC and our local Norwegian team, TIL). Maybe it's been less fun to watch since Norway has been sucking for quite some time. However, I usually still follow the world cup and the European cup with some interest. And yesterdays match was one of the most exciting I've seen in years. Of course I may be a little biased now that I am officially a resident of Amsterdam (yeah that's right!), but how cool was it to see Holland beat Italy, the reigning world champions 3-0?? Like, totally awsome dude. :)

Heineken, Holland T-shirt and scarf. How Dutch am I??

Boyfriend showing off his awesome Dutch lion T-shirt. Are ya scared? Are ya?? :)

Some patriotic displays I snapped pics of in the week leading up to the match:

Now we just have to beat France on Friday. That should be totally doable, right?....

The Efteling Adventure

The Efteling is the biggest and most popular theme park in the Netherlands, and we went to visit last Saturday. I'd been looking forward to this for quite some time, since, like Boyfriend likes to point out, I'm really just a little kid (in some areas anyway). It is really a park made with children in mind, but it's nice for grown-up children as well. And some of the rides are dead scary!...

We set out on a grey Saturday morning, after not having had much sleep, and when we were over half way, ready to get on the bus for the final 30 minutes, we discovered there was a bus strike. Luckily for us we found a couple of other people heading in the same direction that we were able to split a taxi with both ways. Nevertheless, this day became a much more expensive pleasure than we'd expected. It was a pleasure though. And it didn't start raining till we were on the train on our way home.

When we entered the 'magic kingdom' my feet were tingling with anticipation, as we first made our way towards the fairytale forest. This area basically shows situations from lots of different fairytales, while there is often a voice telling some of the story (in Dutch) that goes along with each scene. If you know fairytales, like I do, you don't really need the explanations, because you will immediately recognise Rapunzel throwing her braided hair down from the window, Hansel & Gretel outside the gingerbread house, and Vrouw Holle's well. Some of this stuff is really well made, and the whole wandering through the forest seeing all these different fairytale scenarios was an enjoyable experience. I'd particularly like to draw attention to the display from H.C. Andersen's "The Little Match Girl", which I found most impressive (and which I unfortunately don't have a picture of, since it was dark and behind glass). Here are some fairytale pictures:

From here we wandered on the Droomvlucht (dream flight), which had a looooooong line,

but it moved pretty quickly. The dream flight takes you on a ride through several imaginary kingdoms, with fairies, wood elves, floating castles and more.

Next stop Villa Volta, where everything spins around, till you think you've been upside down, but have you really?

On we went to the half moon pirate ship, where Boyfriend claimed there were no "seat belts", which was one of the reasons I didn't get on it with him. Turns out you are quite securely fastened, and it didn't actually look as scary as I had imagined, which is of course easy to say having never been on it. Here is boyfriend waving nicely for the camera:

So, to one of the rides I'd been anticipating the most, and one of the newer attractions: The Flying Dutchman. This ride of course is built around the legend of the cursed ship. You enter it through an old fortress-looking building with a tower, and the ride itself starts off from the shores of the Dutch golden age, which is where you get on board your boat. Your boat then takes you on a roller coaster ride, before it all ends with a big splash into the lake. We actually didn't get very wet though, but the ride was definitely one of the most entertaining ones (and I found it quite scary for a while). But be warned - the line was ridiculously long, and most of it goes on inside the building. So once you get in the doors, don't expect to be getting on the ride immediately.

Another watery ride I wanted to try was the Pirana, which has its moments, and the potential to absolutely drench you in water, but all in all this is probably a ride best suited for the younger children. As is the ghost house, which couldn't even scare me a tiny little bit (and anyone who knows me will tell you that scaring me is a pretty easy job).

The last "ride" we got around to was actually one of the best ones. It was a 3-D animated movie of animals around our planet, located inside something called the Pandadroom. Now, if you have actually seen 3-D film before, like I have, and you're thinking "so what's the big deal about this then?", well I don't want to spoil it for potential visitors, but trust me - once those glasses come on, everything seems to become quite real. Lots of fun here!

The pagoda that lifts you 45 metres above the ground and provides you with a view of the whole park (which for the most part means looking at the tops of trees), is also nice to get an overview.

Boyfriend was disappointed that he couldn't convince me to go on the Python roller coaster which you can see parts of here next to the Flying Dutchman,

but I think it might be a little too scary for me... I don't like going upside down. But maaaaybe next time I will work up the courage. Because there must be a next time, there's still stuff we haven't seen or done.

For instance we never got around to seeing what was inside this building. It sure looks pretty though.

TIPS:

* The park is BIG. So don't expect to be able to have time to do everything in one day. If you want to get the most out of it you might want to do some planning beforehand, and you should arrive early. You can also buy tickets in advance, so you avoid some of the lines you may get at the entrance. Tickets can be bought via the Efteling web page, or at a AH store, as well as a few other places.

* Like mentioned, this park is primarily for children, even though there are rides that can be scary, where you have to be over 120 cm tall. But this is a nice day out with kids (both big and small..), as you're sure to find something here they'll like. Several times throughout the day I thought that this would be a nice place to visit with my 6 year old little sister.

* Be prepared to stand in line a lot. We waited for The Flying Dutchman for at least 45 minutes. I don't know if that is a lot, as amusement parks go, since I've never really been in a big one before, but it seemed like a small eternity to me. The fact that we stood right behind a group of noisy drunken lads probably didn't add to my enjoyment (I'm sensitive to loud noises). Once you get there the rides are usually good though. If you are bringing children, you might want to bring something for them to keep themselves busy with while waiting. You may also do well to avoid the busiest days if your schedule allows. You can find a list of which days are the busiest on the Efteling web page.

* The food leaves something to be desired (though still perfectly edible), so you might want to bring some nibbles yourself if you have the opportunity.

Of course, most importantly: have fun!

I'll leave you with this picture of a real live peacock (that didn't bite us).