"The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and
instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are." -Samuel
Johnson
Before I start to blog about my day, I feel that it is important to say that one of the main reasons I chose to visit Amsterdam was after watching Seth and Josh Meyers's episode of The Getaway about Amsterdam. The Getaway is a travel themed show on Esquire network. I had recently become a fan of Seth Meyers's work so I immediately knew I wanted to see Amsterdam. My only regret is not stopping at a
souvenir shop and buying gifts to bring back home. Nevertheless, today was a
busy day. I packed my schedule with as many things as I could do before my
evening departure. I began my day with a free canal cruise that was included
when I purchased my Iamsterdam Card. The cruise took us all around the canals
and the harbor. It was not the most exciting hour of my life, but any hour that
I can spend sitting and looking around the canals of Amsterdam is a good hour. Would
I have gone on it if it weren’t free? Probably not.
After getting off the cruise, I headed to the 9 Straatjes,
or the 9 streets, which is technically 3 streets separated by canals. It is
a nice shopping district not tarnished by copious quantities of souvenir shops.
I stopped by Mensocks, which was a store that I had seen in The Getaway and
purchased 2 pairs of socks that were on sale for 5 euros each. The sizes were most likely too big for me but
I wanted to get something there. I know that I should’ve gotten a pair for my
brother. But I just really wanted some for myself. Hope he likes pink.
After a little shopping, I wanted to treat myself to some
pannenkoekhen at the Upstairs Pancake House, another restaurant featured on The
Getaway. It is supposedly the smallest
restaurant in Europe with only 4 tables. I made the trek over only to find that
it was closed and would reopen in a few weeks. After enduring a little
disappointment, I went on to my next stop, the Anne Frank House. A very powerful museum confined in such a
small space, it’s a great museum that only takes 30-45 minutes to walk
through the entire exhibit.
When my stomach could no longer endure the lack of
nutrients, I stopped by the Pancake Bakery for lunch. Pannenkoekhen is a Dutch pancake, a cross
between a pancake and a crepe. They
come in both sweet and savory toppings.
I opted for a chicken and cheese pannenkoekhen. But be warned, they are very filling. Keep in mind that it was around 2:30pm and
all I had eaten that day was an egg and two pieces of toast 6 hours prior. I was full after eating half my plate. I forced myself to keep going but had to stop
with about ¼ of the pancake left. I also had a hot chocolate that came with a
little treat which I now know is called a strop waffle. I remember first having
one in Chinese class when my teacher had come back from Amsterdam and brought
back these delicious snacks for us. I
regret not buying some to bring back. Hopefully I can find some back home.
After lunch I stopped by one last museum, the Rembrandt
House Museum, also a small museum located in a house. It doesn’t take too long to comb through; I
was in and out in about 30 minutes. I was headed back to my hostel but before I
did, I stopped by Rembrandtplein to take a quick photo of Rembrandt’s
statue.
The end of my time here in Amsterdam soon came to a
close. There I was, suitcase in hand,
walking to Centraal Station. They have
direct trains to Schiphol Airport, which is very convenient. The silver lining with traveling is that even
though there is a lot of a stress and time constraint, you will find people
with the kindest hearts. After
struggling to carry my luggage up
the stairs to the platform, a man came by and offered to carry it up the rest
of the way. I had recognized him earlier
speaking Vietnamese at the ticket counter and said thank you to him in his
native language. He was pleasantly surprised and when I told him which platform
we all needed to go (he didn’t know which platform the train departed from), he
took my luggage there and carried it onto the train. When we boarded, he left to join his family
and that was the last I saw of him. It’s
good to know that there are still nice people in the world.
The airport process went as usual and my flight to Rome took
off. I arrived in Rome very late and
after leaving baggage claim was immediately approached by taxi drivers offering
their “generous” transport service to Termini Station for 30 euros. Just
another tourist trap. He tried talking me into taking a taxi, but I was not
having any of it. I eventually found a
shuttle bus that took me there for 15 euros. Take that Italians. But there was
no way that I was going to walk from the station to my hostel at 11 at night. I
reluctantly took a taxi that charged me 10 euros to drive to my hostel that
could have been a 5-minute walk. Then my
taxi driver started examining my 10-euro note as if I had access to counterfeit
euros and I was trying to trick him. Really? You’re the taxi driver and you’re
questioning my credibility? Then I went on my way and lugged by suitcase up a
flight of stairs once again to check in. By now it was approaching
midnight. I went to bed to get ready for
my first full day in Rome.
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