Happy 2016!
I hope you had a nice time over the holidays. As for me, I can't wait to start sharing with you all the stories of my latest adventures!
So, the winter break is coming to an end. Exams week is right around the corner and I'm still thinking about all the nice moments I spent travelling this semester to various parts of the UK and my trip to the Netherlands and Germany. But let's start with Amsterdam.
I was really looking forward to this trip. After a first semester at Uni and a period adapting to my new home, I felt the need to go away. My body, soul, mind and heart were asking for it. When I was still in Germany in August, my Dutch friend Erik wrote me a message on Facebook telling me it was about time to visit Amsterdam. He lives with his fiancée Claudia in Weesp, a town in the province of North Holland which is just a 17-minute train journey from the Dutch capital. Because I was going to spend Christmas with my family in Germany, I thought this would be the perfect moment to go there. I didn't hesitate long and bought my ticket...
Everyone has a story about Amsterdam. I also had one, even though I had never actually been there before. As a girl I travelled to Germany several times to spend Christmas with my family. We always had a stopover at Schiphol airport, which is why I associated this city with positive ideas: it was to me an awesome place, a kind of gateway that brought me one step closer to my family. I had such high expectations about finally leaving the Schiphol premises and I must tell you one thing: Amsterdam fulfilled all of them.
I arrived on a Friday afternoon after a long day travelling. Erik was there to greet me with a big smile on his face.This was only the first gesture that would later on reassure me the fact that Dutch people are truly the friendliest. Before we headed home, he had one more phone call to make at his office. I met his colleagues, two very nice guys who made me feel at home by allowing me to play some of my favourite tunes from Panama. One of them comes from Curacao, so he was all about dancing! I had so much fun meeting those two and dancing and singing along at an office in Schiphol right after my arrival. It was the best way to recover from the trip and a nice way to see Schiphol from the perspective of people who work there.
It was starting to get dark when we took the train to Weesp. On that first night we went for a walk around the town, a quaint municipality with windmills and all! We had dinner and then went to a Christmas market inside one of the windmills. It was an extraordinary experience to enter one of those old wooden structures and see how they produced flour that would later on be used to make oliebollen, a traditional festive sweet in The Netherlands. We had oliebollen and Gluhwein while singing Christmas carols in Dutch with the people of the town. It was truly magical. I even got to see a young Dutch man wearing clogs!
We headed home afterwards for a night of rest, because Erik planned a walking tour for the next day. So I went to bed with the image and the sound of the wind through the blades and the wooden engines of the windmill. What a proper way to start my time in this lovely country!
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Clear skies and no rain together with mild temperatures made it a perfect day for exploring the city on foot. We took the train in Weesp and got off to explore Oud-Zuid, the southern district of the city and the heart of the financial area. We walked towards Vondelpark, the green lung of Amsterdam and then headed to Museumplein or museum square, a major cultural centre with the Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk and Rijksmuseum all in one place, plus the Concertgebouw, the concert hall. We passed the Paradiso, a church turned into a concert venue and went to the canals, my absolute favourite part of the tour. Erik explained they are in alphabetical order: Herengracht, Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht and Singel. Together they form concentric belts around the city, known as Grachtengordel.
We also explored the area around Leidseplein, or Leid square, with all the cool bars and restaurants that make it one of the busiest nightlife areas of Amsterdam. After walking around the Spui we took a break at De Begijnhof, one of the most beautiful inner courts of the city, which as the name explains was built for housing beguines, women who belonged to a religious community but did not take religious vows. Today it is mostly for private housing. It also contains the oldest wooden house in the city. De Begijnhof was definitely one of my favourite spots in Amsterdam, with its peaceful atmosphere among the hustle and bustle of this European capital.
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| My Amsterdam favourite: walking along the canals. |
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| A house in the southern district Oud-Zuid. |
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| Museumplein with Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk museum and Van Gogh museum. |
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| One of my favourite things about Amsterdam is that no house resembles the other. From the size of the windows to the shapes itself, the urban landscape always changes here. |
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| The Begijnhof. |
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| An oasis of tranquility in the heart of the city: the Begijnhof. |
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| The Begijnhof <3 |
Our tour continued to Dam Square, which is surrounded by the National Monument, the Royal Palace, the department store De Bijenkorf and the Nieuwe Kerk. We walked along the Kalverstraat, the most expensive shopping street of the country that was named after the calves market which was held here until the 17th century. From being a calves market a couple of centuries ago to now being the home of Zara, H&M and Esprit among others, the Kalverstraat is packed almost at any time every day. If you want to witness protests then Dam Square is the place to be. We saw 2 groups on that busy pre-Christmas afternoon!
Claudia recommended Erik to take me to De Jordaan, a centre for all the creative and artistic community of Amsterdam. Anne Frank's house is here as well. Thanks to Erik's wise advice, I got a ticket for the next day because the queue is always incredibly long.Before venturing in the colourful world of this part of town, we stopped by a original Stroopwaffles shop, where I tried freshly made still warm Stroopwaffles. It was heaven on Earth!
We walked around De Jordaan and stopped at two really nice street markets. From fresh seafood, vegetables and cheese to vintage clothing and flowers, you can get anything you imagine or ask for here! We tried Indonesian food from a street vendor and it was so good! Indonesian cuisine is so beloved in The Netherlands because of the Colonial history of the country. If you're in Amsterdam make sure you try some of the delicious Indonesian cuisine. Upon my arrival Erik told me I was going to gain like 5 pounds during my visit because I had to try everything! So my next culinary adventure was trying a herring fillet with pickles and onions. No trip to Amsterdam is complete without trying this traditional Dutch snack. It was so good!
What I loved the most about De Jordaan was the interesting book shops and antiques stores Erik showed me. He is currently looking for a vintage map of Weesp to decorate their new home. To the sound of the music made by one of Amsterdam's famous street organs, which move around town during the entire day, we left De Jordaan with smiles on our faces, full bellies and happy hearts.
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| Protest on Dam Square. |
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| Deliciously fresh made Stroopwaffles, my new favourite snack! |
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| Pretty Christmas decorations in the city centre. |
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| Monument to the gay, lesbian and transgender community. |
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| Blurry Amsterdam selfie with my host Erik! |
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| Erik at De Jordaan. |
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| Loved the interesting little shops around the city. |
Next on the tour was taking the ferry to Amsterdam-Noord. You can board one of the blue ferries for free just behind Amsterdam Centraal and cross the IJ in about 5 minutes.
On board of the ferry I remember telling Erik how impressed I was to see so much water. He replied almost immediately that in Panama we also had large bodies of water and the Canal. I laughed. We walked around to work up an appetite. The EYE film museum with its brand new building was the first impressive sight. Unfortunately it was already closing, so we turned around and looked for a place to grab a bite. Quite spontaneously I told Erik I was so impressed by Amsterdam. "Is Amsterdam what you imagined?", he asked. "It is even better", I replied.
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| Largest bicycle parking lot I've seen in my life! |
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| Taking the ferry to Amsterdam-Noord. |
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| View of the train station Amsterdam Centraal as seen from Amsterdam-Noord. |
After a long day walking we were finally going to sit down for a show unlike any other in the world. Erik's friends planned a boat trip through the canals of Amsterdam. He told me this was really odd because usually during the winter months it is so cold that no one organises boat parties like that. I was so excited to get to see the city from a different perspective and I can tell you it is beyond amazing. Discovering from the water the interesting and unique architecture of the Dutch capital, full of so many cute houses where not one resembles the next, is probably one of those one-of-a-kind experiences you shouldn't miss!
We also enjoyed the incredible artworks on display during the Amsterdam light festival, which runs from November to January and was created to lighten up the city during the dark winter months. It was amazing to see such a wonderful display of creativity. The city was basically a huge open-air museum with art everywhere. With a bonfire, music and Gluhwein on the boat, it was quite possibly one of the coolest parties I've ever been invited to. "That's precisely what makes Amsterdam so unique", Jan was telling me. He was one of the guys on the boat, a young Dutch man who was so friendly. "You can't find this anywhere else". Everyone was just so friendly and open, thus showing me the vibrant side of this city known for its tolerant and multicultural spirit. "This is Amsterdam style", Erik concluded. I was amazed.
The last stop on that busy day was the Red Light District. Erik showed me what Amsterdamers call "the African curve" and the coffee shops that are so popular among both locals and tourists. It actually does smell like weed everywhere around the city. We were quite hungry afterwards so we stopped at a FEBO and ate some really delicious midnight snacks before heading back to Weesp. On our way to Amsterdam Centraal I turned my back one last time to take in the view. One of the artworks of the Amsterdam light festival was shining bright in the dark. "Today I love you" by Massimo Uberti and Marco Pollice is conveniently located in front of the station to greet everyone arriving at the city. I turned around and thought to myself: "today I love you, Amsterdam".
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| Minutes before the party on the boat started. |
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| "Today I love you". |
About the Author
Traveller and writer, 21-years-old. Born in Panama City, German-Panamanian. Journalist. Very fond of every expression of art. I love to learn languages. Constantly living adventures!
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