Let's Go, Jane!

After taking a couple days to warm up to Helsinki, Amsterdam, Netherlands was love at first sight. I can’t explain it, really. Was it the canals, the flowers, the bicycles? (Hint: it’s not the food.) I arrived late in the day, so I checked into the hostel and walked over to a nearby grocery store to pick up some bread, mustard, and fruit to go with the cheese that had been in my backpack all day. I walked around a little bit along the canals by the train station and was struck by how many people there were everywhere, and how many, many bicycles. The energy was palpable.

On the morning of my first full day in Amsterdam, I went to the bicycle rental place to pick up the bike that was to serve as my trusty steed for three days. #409. She took me everywhere and was a delight to ride. I also rented a helmet, although I was one of the only people wearing one. You only get one brain, protect it.

I explored, aimlessly, until it was time to go to the meeting spot for the walking tour I’d registered for. I got to the spot about 10 minutes early and found the nearest bike parking. Unfortunately it took me 15 minutes to find an open spot and figure out how to work the bike lock, by which time the tour group had already left. I sent a WhatsApp message and called the tour leader, hoping I could catch up with them, but she didn’t answer. That ship had already sailed.

Luckily there were multiple walking tour companies and I was able to find another one for an hour later than the original. I often feel that things work out the way they are meant to, as the guide for the tour I went on was fantastic. Wally. (Coincidentally my guide in London was named Ollie.) Anyway, Wally brought us stroopwafels and spice biscuits. He was funny and enthusiastic and a great student of history.

The most striking thing about walking around Amsterdam is the cyclists. Wally warned us to stay out of the bike lanes and always look both ways before crossing, as he sees a tourist get hit by a bike almost daily. He said the locals joke that the bike lanes are red from “the blood of tourists.” I’ve never seen anything like the cyclists in Amsterdam, it reminded me of those futuristic movies where the space ships cross each other’s paths in perfect sync, coming close but never colliding.

After the tour I stopped for a quick bite in one of the restaurants Wally had recommended. The most local thing on the menu was waldkorn bread with oxtail sausage. I biked around the city until dinner time, stopping for bitterballen (a crispy meatball) and pea soup. Subsequent meals included herring sandwich, eel sandwich, and fresh stroopwafel. At the risk of offending some of my readers, I was not blown away by the food in Amsterdam. On my last night I ate at a Surinamese restaurant, having been told that Amsterdam is known for its Surinamese cuisine. My chicken satay with peanut sauce was indeed delicious.

On my second full day, I went to the Rijksmuseum to check out the Dutch Masters. I’m not much of an art museum person, but the Vermeers took my breath away. After spending a couple hours in the museum I made my way to an outdoor market where I wandered for a while before heading back to the hostel. On day three, I took a 20-minute bus ride to Zaanse Schans to see the windmills. I got to try a bunch of local cheeses and climb up into the top of an active windmill, which was really cool to see from the inside. Wally had explained how the windmills were actually part of what made the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century possible, as windmills were used to power the sawmills needed for ship building.

In trying to figure out why I took such an instant like to Amsterdam, I think it was a combination of things. There are lovely canals everywhere, with gently arched bridges crossing them. The canals are lined with boats of every kind; tour boats, house boats, simple boats for transportation. Many of the bridges have flower boxes, adding to their beauty. And there are plants and flowers everywhere, outside all of the buildings. There was even a flower shop in the airport. It helped that the weather was perfect while I was there. Seventies and cloudy, that seems to be my sweet spot. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Amsterdam, and would definitely return in the future. In the meantime, there are so many places I want to visit for the first time! As of Tuesday I’m officially 25% of the way through my gap year, measuring back to the last week of grad school classes. Time is passing both quickly and slowly, and it is my intention to stay present as much as I can. “Here and now” has become my mantra.