To kick off our first full day in Amsterdam we thought there could be no better way than to do it with a canal cruise. Rising about 9 we surveyed the apartment, and all it’s Ikea furnishings. Such stuff is a little bit fancy back home but apparently quite prolific in Europe. There was the kitchen benches, the crockery, the cutlery the dinning table, the divan, the pillows… well you get the idea. It was pretty cool. Mika fed us up on some strong coffee - a habit he learned from Mark - while we engaged in some people watching of our own from the balcony. Below was what in Australia would best be described as a slight rise in the road. But almost every cyclist struggled up and over it. Standing on one side of this “hill”, as the Dutch call it, you can still see people at the base on the other side. Just goes to show you how flat the place is and why they normally love cycling so much.
At Centraal station we jumped on a canal boat and roared off down the maze of water ways - well the engine was roaring even if the speed didn’t match its urgency. Through tunnels and past narrow canal houses we absorbed the sights and the sunny weather. One of the highlights was the row of houseboats in their many styles and hues. The interiors were also pretty amazing as we could see right in. “Must be a country of exhibitionists,” we thought. Off the boat we grabbed a tram for the Amsterdam history musuem - another perk of our travelling card. It’s quite interesting how alike the Dutch and British are, however it would have been something else to have lived in the “hollow lands” in the Golden Age where many sons and daughters needed only preoccupy themselves with how to spend their parent’s fortune on art and architecture. The French certainly enjoyed it too with many young artists finding work there.
Out the doors and down the road we found our way back to the Dam (square). The royal palace, which was under restoration, was tempting but minding the purse strings we stepped into the kerk (cathedral). In it were monuments to the town’s forefathers and luminaries alike. At the centre of this huge space was the most pulpit some two or three storeys tall calved in the most intricate fashion. To the left was a massive and equally impressive pipe organ. To the right was a gold monument to one of Holland’s bravest admirals. Such was the respect for him they broke with convention to build such a large monument. We found more tourists taking photos though they were not allowed.
Exiting the doors we declared it quite special. But we had now had enough, we decided, of being indoors. We wandered some more in search of some liqueurs and such but instead ended up at the Sex Museum. Not as outrageous as one might think, apart from the mannikins that “fart” on you on the way up the first stairs. It was more interesting to watch other people and how they took it. The groups of young men pointing and laughing were a little troubling; like we had walked in on them in the act. The only surprise in the exhibit were some pieces from China. Until a few hundred years ago it was customary for newly weds to be gifted painted pornography. Similar to the Indians and the Kama Sutra I guess.
Having ‘done’ the tour we tracked down some food - Belgium chips this time with mayo and tomato sauce. But like a lot of Europe so far we could not find a bench anywhere. Instead we sat on the dirty steps of an Amsterdam theatre, somewhat hidden away from the hustle and bustle.
A little later we met up with Mika at Foam, a photography gallery. On display was a collection of pictures made by a husband and wife team who had made the leap from fashion to art. Among the works were shots of A-listers like Tom Cruise, Kate Moss, Penelope Cruz, Heath Ledger, Viggo Mortensen, Sandra Bullock and a stirring shot of Sean Penn with angry eyes; quite confronting. A few images challenged the modelling game I thought by compositing children’s facial features with ‘sexy hair‘ and clothing. Other works in the series were silk screen printed which was damn cool. The video of Kate Moss dancing to Michael Jackson in 2001 I simply didn’t get. Could have been from her early days on coke cause she was pretty wasted. Without any trouble we killed more than hour there.
With news the Couch Surfing meeting was not on Mika arranged for us to meet a few friends including a couple of giants. Dutch people actually. The Austrian and the Brit were normal size and we all got on great. It was our first time in a “brown pub” which is colloquial for old pub. it’s all dark timbers and nicotine stained ceilings. I even grew a bit nostalgic when I spotted a 70s vintage Marantz stereo receiver behind the bar - just like the one Dad has tucked away somewhere.
The mob grew restless so we set out for a blues bar and I worried that Alysia would hate it. As it turned out it was all middle-of-the road rock and roll with perhaps one or two blues-inspired covers from the house band. Our crew loved it. Live music is almost always good. I wanted to insist our new friends come to Australia cause they would be blown away in comparison. Our Austrian friend especially enjoyed the evening dancing with Alysia for some time until he got a little too enthusiastic - time to call it a night we decided at 4am.
- Sam (July 30)
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