14 February 2015

Because it was Valentine's day and I was sort of on a vacation, I decided to take the morning easy, sleeping in a little bit, having a proper breakfast, and getting to know other people in my travel group, before some of us hit the town for lunch between eleven and twelve.

If you are in Amsterdam, ORDER ORANGE JUICE. It is freshly-squeezed from an actual orange on the spot when you order, and it is fresh and amazing.

Delicious lunch at a corner cafe between our hostel and the Rijksmuseum

 After our lunch, once again we went our separate ways. Since I am not a fan of beer, I went to the Rijksmuseum. And, since my traveling companions are not huge fans of art, they went to the Heineken Experience. Now, people, learn from my mistakes. I did not have the best time at the Rijksmuseum; it is an ALL day project, especially on crowded weekends. So lessons learned: 1) be prepared to be at this museum all day 2) be prepared to queue for Everything. There was a queue to get into the building, that lasted about an hour. If you can, buy your tickets in advance that queue moved much more consistently. There was a queue to buy tickets. After all of that there was another queue one had to stand in at a specific time in order to see the special exhibit the museum over Rembrandt's later works. Yeah, do not try to do a day in three hours. 3) be prepared for crowds. Everywhere I went in the museum was packed to the brim with jostling crowds keeping one hopping from foot to foot; there was hardly room to breathe, let alone to contemplate the art on display, which is a nice segue into 4) if you are pressed for time and the museum you are in allows it, take pictures of the artwork you want to look at for more than a few minutes or artwork that you want to look up so you can learn more about it.

One of Rembrandt's later self-portraits

Van Gogh's signature.

The Research Library in the museum: 4 stories of bookshelves

The Stain-Glass window above the staircase at one of the entrances

Rembrandt's Night Watch

Vermeer

Once I finished at the Rijksmuseum, I was low on time before everything started closing, so I decided to make my way across the city to Beginjnhofkapel to look at some of the architecture. I studied my map and began to roam again. I decided, since I was in no great rush, to grab an early dinner at a charming little sandwich place near a hostel and just down the road from an incredibly chill coffee shop called Mellow Yellow, which had a very distinct smell coming from it. It reminded me of the smell that came from the Happy Feelings Coffee Shop up the road from our hostel.
Okay, so as most people have guessed probably, I am talking about the smell of pot. In Amsterdam, it is legal to both sell marijuana commercially and to use it recreationally, so spattered throughout the city are coffee shops that sell coffee, pastries, blunts, and some of the local "space cake". This fact is a point of pride with the citizens, one of the locals boasting to a member of our group that the pot in Amsterdam is the most effective in the world and gives the best high. It is also a major part of the marketing in the city. When you see tourist stalls, you will find a lot of marijuana themed merchandise along with a lot of merchandise related to the business of the Red Light District.
Anyway, my sandwich and regular coffee were delicious. I just chilled for a few minutes working on one of the assignments I had brought with me- I think it has been five years, since I last took a holiday without bringing work with me. If any of yous have gone longer than that, please do not tell me; I want to hang on to the dream that "this too shall pass"- after doing some reading I continued wandering the city. I managed to hit the main commercial center during rush hour, because I am just talented like that; people and cars were everywhere, a lot of hustle and bustle.

After getting lost and turned around a few times, I finally found Beginjnhofkapel. The reason I walked by it so many times is because it is, literally a random door in the wall by one of the busy city-center streets. Imagine this: you are on a busy street between 17:30 and 18:00 in a large city. Cars are piling up at an intersection, blaring their horns at jaywalkers/cyclists. Cyclists ringing out their annoyance at the various pedestrians. Lots of chatter from the tables outside the restaurants and various groups gathered by newsstands and benches. A tour group stand in the center of the pavement straining to hear the guide above the din. Then you enter this door in the wall

And go through a stone tunnel. And come out into a quiet area right in the middle of the city, devoted to service to God. It was a refreshing peace after the bustle and pushiness of the city streets.

After looking around the chapel, I headed back to the hostel to meet some friends to go out for dinner. The following are just some shots I got of the city as I walked back.