Today did not go as smoothly as some other days... Nothing terrible happened, it was just a lot of little things that made the day a little rough, and left me not liking Amsterdam as much as some other places. The weather was great though, which saved the day.
The problems started at the train station in Eindhoven this morning. The station doesn't take credit cards, only debit cards and cash. As my debit card was cancelled yesterday, and I have no cash, that was a problem. Luckily a bank at the station let me take money out on the credit card, but there was a fee and I was worried I would miss my train and stuff. But it worked out, and I made the train.
After I got to Amsterdam, I wandered around trying to find the tourisim office to buy a city pass, which gives you free transportation and free entrance to some museums and other stuff. Eventually I found the office, but it was complete chaos. There were so many people there, and so few staff, and all the tourists were getting mad because the service was so slow. It was pretty bad. I waited though, and eventually got my card. I was worried I would miss my free walking tour, but I didn't.
So I made it to the city center on time for the free walking tour, and that went well. The guide was really good, and we saw a lot. The infamous Red Light District is pretty crazy. I guess it was what I expected but it's hard to believe that places like that exist... It really is a city with a different feel to it than anywhere else I've been.
The problems started at the train station in Eindhoven this morning. The station doesn't take credit cards, only debit cards and cash. As my debit card was cancelled yesterday, and I have no cash, that was a problem. Luckily a bank at the station let me take money out on the credit card, but there was a fee and I was worried I would miss my train and stuff. But it worked out, and I made the train.
After I got to Amsterdam, I wandered around trying to find the tourisim office to buy a city pass, which gives you free transportation and free entrance to some museums and other stuff. Eventually I found the office, but it was complete chaos. There were so many people there, and so few staff, and all the tourists were getting mad because the service was so slow. It was pretty bad. I waited though, and eventually got my card. I was worried I would miss my free walking tour, but I didn't.
So I made it to the city center on time for the free walking tour, and that went well. The guide was really good, and we saw a lot. The infamous Red Light District is pretty crazy. I guess it was what I expected but it's hard to believe that places like that exist... It really is a city with a different feel to it than anywhere else I've been.
A canal:
A famous "coffeeshop":
The tour ended at about 2:30, and I set off to find the Anne Frank house. I wandered around lost for a while, wasting time and getting frustrated, then finally found it. I waited in line, which actually wasn't too bad, and inside was pretty cool. You can walk through the house and see the secret rooms and everything, and they have her original diary in there. Pretty powerful stuff.
Anne Frank House:
After the Anne Frank house I decided to do my free canal tour, which came with the city pass. I took the tram to where I thought was the boat dock, but I got lost again trying to find that (the canals make the city really confusing...), and just missed a boat, so I had to wait half an hour for another one. During that time I went to Vondelpark, which was really nice, but I didn't have enough time to explore it properly.Vondelpark:
I got a good seat on the boat, and the tour was really nice. It was an hour and a half long so it went all over the city. The houses and other buildings are really distinctive, and they look really cool. The bridges are awesome, and I love all the houseboats. Almost made me want to live in one.
The canal tour ended at about 6:30. Since it was Friday, both of the famous museums, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gough museum, were open late, so I was happy that I would have time to do both. I went to the Rijksmuseum first, but it was closed! I couldn't believe it! There were a bunch of confused people standing around wondering what in the world was going on. It's under construction so a lot of it is closed anyway, but the famous pieces are still supposed to be on display. I talked to 2 ladies seperately, and both said that they had talked to tourist office people and they said it would be open. Both ladies also said that they had had frustrating days as well, and would not be going back to Amsterdam again. It just seems like everyone I saw today was frustrated. The things that were open were under construction, there is no organization in the administration, it's just a mess.
I was really dissapointed about that. I went to the Van Gough museum though, and that was good. Of course one floor of it was closed for renovation.... but I saw the main stuff.
After that I went to the train station and caught an 8:00 train back to Eindhoven. I guess it's good that the Rijksmuseum was closed because I would have got back to Eindhoven very late (I got back to the house at 10:30 as it was), but I'm bummed that I didn't get to see such a famous museum.
So yeah overall I'm really glad I went to Amsterdam because I really wanted to see it, but it's not my favorite city. I'm sure if I had more time to spend there (definitely need more than one day) and if I had been with other people I would like it more, but I just felt kind of frustrated at the amount of wasted time today. Oh well. Like I said, I'm really glad I got the chance to go (it is a beautiful city!), and the magnet I got (I collect magnets) is probably the coolest one from spring break (little ceramic white and blue clogs), so score.
I'm flying to Norway tomorrow. I'm staying with relatives in Torp tomorrow night (after a ferry ride from Rygge), then taking a train to Kristiansand on Sunday. Flying back to Edinburgh on Wednsday.
Canal cruise:
The canal tour ended at about 6:30. Since it was Friday, both of the famous museums, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gough museum, were open late, so I was happy that I would have time to do both. I went to the Rijksmuseum first, but it was closed! I couldn't believe it! There were a bunch of confused people standing around wondering what in the world was going on. It's under construction so a lot of it is closed anyway, but the famous pieces are still supposed to be on display. I talked to 2 ladies seperately, and both said that they had talked to tourist office people and they said it would be open. Both ladies also said that they had had frustrating days as well, and would not be going back to Amsterdam again. It just seems like everyone I saw today was frustrated. The things that were open were under construction, there is no organization in the administration, it's just a mess.
I was really dissapointed about that. I went to the Van Gough museum though, and that was good. Of course one floor of it was closed for renovation.... but I saw the main stuff.
After that I went to the train station and caught an 8:00 train back to Eindhoven. I guess it's good that the Rijksmuseum was closed because I would have got back to Eindhoven very late (I got back to the house at 10:30 as it was), but I'm bummed that I didn't get to see such a famous museum.
So yeah overall I'm really glad I went to Amsterdam because I really wanted to see it, but it's not my favorite city. I'm sure if I had more time to spend there (definitely need more than one day) and if I had been with other people I would like it more, but I just felt kind of frustrated at the amount of wasted time today. Oh well. Like I said, I'm really glad I got the chance to go (it is a beautiful city!), and the magnet I got (I collect magnets) is probably the coolest one from spring break (little ceramic white and blue clogs), so score.
I'm flying to Norway tomorrow. I'm staying with relatives in Torp tomorrow night (after a ferry ride from Rygge), then taking a train to Kristiansand on Sunday. Flying back to Edinburgh on Wednsday.
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