Erin: Day 3: Amsterdam, Netherlands Baby!

After our tumultuous start to the day (see previous post), we finally arrived in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.  Our first stop was the airport as that is where we dropped off our rental car.  The big sign greeting as to the Schichpol airport was welcomed as we were just glad to finally be there.

Welcome to Amsterdam!  At the airport…

Once we dropped the car off, we headed inside to take a train from Amsterdam airport to Amsterdam Centraal - the main station in Amsterdam’s downtown area.  After walking up and down escalators twice, we FINALLY found the ticket booth, bought tickets and hopped up on the train.  It was a double-decker train so we decided to go to the second level… We were so excited to get on and were talking about Amsterdam and all of the sights we had seen thus far when this man walked up (a fellow passenger) and was like, “Ladies… No talking on this train.”  What?!  No talking?!  Sure enough - there were signs that said SILENCE! and a man holding his finger to his mouth…  Crazy.

So, we sat in silence the whole way (having a difficult time doing so too!) and then eventually got off at Amsterdam Centraal.  We found our way out of the station and headed toward our hotel - the Movenpick Hotel - which is right on the water and only minutes from the station.  Our room was GORGEOUS!  Beautiful views and ultra-modern.

Amsterdam’s downtown core.  The Amsterdam Centraal to the far right and the Red Light District to its left.

Our view from the other way… Water, boats, etc.

The ultra-modern lobby at the Movenpick Hotel.

After leaving the hotel, we headed into Amsterdam’s downtown area in search of the Red Light District.  As disturbing as it might be to us more close-minded North Americans, we wanted to see this popular tourist area.  So, we headed down and were immediately greeted with a few things of interest…  First off all, the station smells really bad.  It smells like food but not food I would EVER want to eat…  I can’t even describe the smell, it was awful.  Second, we weren’t five minutes into the downtown area when the smell of marijuana penetrated the air.  Now, for those of you who don’t know, marijuana is legal in Amsterdam… as is prostitution.  And both are rampant everywhere.  There are streets (much like below) where “coffee shops” line the streets and sell different marijuana based products.

Trina and I in front of one of Amsterdam’s many alleyways lined with “coffee shops”…

Aside from just that, Amsterdam has beautiful architecture and wonderful canals that weave their way through the city.  Here are a few of my favorite shots of that…

Shops lining the streets of Amsterdam.

One of the many canals weaving through downtown Amsterdam.

Shopping and alleys filled with interesting characters…

The famous canal houses along the canals in Amsterdam.  Beautiful!

Yes, the shops really do sell this stuff…  We did not venture into any as we were too scared (haha) but I did grab a few photos!

The Red Light District was interesting…  There were x-rated shops, bars, cafes and more but the most disturbing part for me were the alleyways.  I was trying to describe this to my mom earlier but I just don’t think I was doing it justice with regards to how sad it really is.  Someone at the hotel tonight told me it is only sad if I impose my views on what is sad / right / wrong onto her.  He said that she might really like it…  I highly doubt it.  These girls had the saddest looks in their eyes and they looked so empty.  The rooms they were standing in, separated from the public by a thin sheet of glass and a locked door, were so tiny and had a bed, a sink and a bathroom inside of each one.  I don’t even want to begin to imagine what happens when the curtain draws closed…  That’s how you know when a girl is “occupied”.

You aren’t allowed to take photos there but I did get a photo of the look and feel of the alleyways.  Apparently at night it’s different looking because then it really glows red - all of the rooms have red lights in them.

A street in the Red Light District.

In the middle of the Red Light District is the Church called Ould Kerk and it is a really old gothic Church.  We stopped by to take a few photos but it was in the middle of contruction so we didn’t bother looking to go inside.

Ould Kerk - a gothic Church in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

From there we headed to the city’s center where there is a statue and the Royal Palace building.  We sat there for a bit watching street performers and some street jumpers do different tricks.  The one thing I noticed here was that this city was teeming with people in their twenties.  I felt strangely out of place as all of these people who were my age were partying and there for very different reasons.

The Royal Palace in the center of Amsterdam.

We ended our quick tour around Amsterdam with a nice pedal taxi back to the Amsterdam Centraal station.  The guy was from Ireland and told us that he’d been there for five years and really liked it.  I also asked him if the locals partook in any of the Red Light District stuff or if that was more for tourists (most cities operate like that so I had to ask!) and sure enough, the locals don’t really frequent it.  Interesting fact!

The pedal taxi in Amsterdam.

Trina and I on the pedal taxi… Trina was in her glory!

Tomorrow we’re doing more touristy stuff including a visit to Anne Frank’s house and then we’re catching the bus to Berlin.  It’s a loooong bus ride as we leave around 11pm and don’t get into Berlin until 9am but it’ll be worth it :)  We’re so excited to get to our next destination… Four countries in five days baby!  We’re on a roll.

Technorati Tags: Erin Blaskie, Trina Lamarche, Amsterdam, Red Light District, Movenpick Hotel, Movenpick, Netherlands, Europe, European travel, backpacking through Europe, virtual assistant, virtual assistance