Wednesday 9th August (day 10)
Once again we are on the move and once again we are on the train, this time from Berlin to Amsterdam. It was an early start, with us out of the house by 07.30 to catch our 08.30 train, which was just as well, as there was a replacement train instead of ours. No major change but slightly discombobulating. I was actually relieved that we still had a train to catch. Being cancelled altogether would have been worse. Fortunately we still got seated together, in forward facing seats and the train left on time.
We needed to hop off the train at Bad Bentheim and wait for an hour for another, not in the original plan, and this put us well behind the original 7 hour trip. In fact we didn’t get into Amsterdam until 4.30pm, 90 minutes late. Lucky we didn’t have a connection. We set off like mad people, only to realise I had left my jacket on the train, so Ampelmann went back for it. Take two, and we finally got to our lovely studio accommodation in a beautiful location canal-side. After a quick change of shoes we headed out for a beer and some bitterballen and some fries, before stocking up on groceries, and heading home for a bevvie or two.
We’ve booked a city tour for the morning, this time on bikes, so we will have an idea of a plan for the rest of our time here. This time it’s 6 nights, to ensure we aren’t travelling on Ampelmann’s birthday. I’m looking forward to getting to know Amsterdam.
Thursday 10th August (day 11)
Today is day 1 proper of 5 full days in Amsterdam, so we have one more than we had in Prague or Berlin, so we can go a bit slower. This morning we have our city tour by bike, then we can go from there. We were up, breakfasted and on our way with enough time to get to the meeting place, which after waiting a while, proved to be the wrong spot! Somehow the Airbnb listing has different meeting information to the confirmation message. We chose the wrong one. Fortunately the company changed us to the afternoon trip, and we went off for a coffee.
We needed a new plan, so after a quick look at the tinterweb, we decided to do a bit of a walking tour of crooked houses. This turned out to be harder than we thought, given how far away from the city we had ended up! We eventually got to the first on the list of top 5, finding many more on our own! We also found our first Amsterdam stolpersteine. One thing we couldn’t find was a public toilet, so in the end we headed for the packed central station, both for the loo and to grab a sandwich for lunch. With an hour to go, and determined not to miss our ride again, we jumped on the metro and headed over to the meeting point. Right spot this time!
After some chaos in bike allocation, we were off on tour, a guide and fourteen riders. What could possibly go wrong? The bikes are city tourers, and due to my height, I needed a child’s bike! So, no gears and no basket or strap for my stuff. Never mind, at least I don’t feel as though I can’t reach the ground! On that note, off we went with our first stop in the park, formerly the playground of the rich and famous, subsequently handed over to the city as a park for everyone. It was nice and full on a warm summer day. After some deft cycling, on the “wrong” side of the road for us, in a city full of people on foot, on cycles and in cars! I felt as though I could get knocked off my little bike at any moment. Onwards our tour took us across bridges, through busy streets, into community spaces, and past the tourist attractions. Despite the craziness of the streets and the varied riding proficiency of our fellow tourers, we survived.
The highlights of the tour included visiting the small memorial for the Jews of Holland and learning what happened to them in Amsterdam and elsewhere, understanding the evolution and importance of the cycling culture, and having a go on a bike, and learning a bit about the history of the city. We both agree, that of all the Airbnb tours and activities we have done across many places we have been, this one was the least value for money. However we did get to see some parts of the city and hear some interesting stuff (that we need to fact check), so all is not lost.
Post-tour, having chaotically returned the bikes, we wandered off to find a beer or two. One thing we did notice on our cycle was a canal boat decked out with tables and chairs, serving beer and food, and thankfully Ampelmann caught the name, so we jumped on a tram and headed there. It was a very nice way to spend an hour, drinking beers and eating bitterballen (again). We got a canal-side table and replanned a route to see a few more of the featured wonky homes. First though, we added a stop past “Anne Frank’s House”. It’s actually the house where the family were hidden from the Nazis, not their family home. The back story for us is that tickets go on sale 6 weeks in advance, online, and sell out in moments! Of course we didn’t know that (probably should have checked) and so we don’t have tickets. However, I have to say that I am not sure I would enjoy traipsing through the house with a million other people. So, we viewed it from the front (the entrance is to the side) and on we went.
Our evening walk took use past quite a few wonky houses. Now I understand why some house lean forward (to get furniture in via windows, without it slamming into the facade as it is hoisted), however I’m not talking about forward leaning houses. I’m talking about sideways leaning houses! These are amazing and very funny to look at. I can’t get enough of them! There are single ones, and whole clusters of them. In some clusters, the houses on each end lean in opposite directions! In order to see a few we walked a long way, eventually turning for home after 30,000 steps. I was absolutely exhausted and had the start of blisters on the bottom of my feet! What a day. Amsterdam is starting to grow on me.
Friday 11th August (day 12)
Today started off as catch up with some sleep day, with neither of us waking up until 09.45. We obviously needed a rest. After breaky, we wandered off, with mission for the morning, to hire a couple of bikes! Ampelmann found a place across the river that rents them out, so we caught the free ferry across and came upon an empty industrial area and closed gates! However a quick WhatsApp message and we were let in to the yard, and rode off on a pair of bikes, hired for 3 days for the princely sim of £20 each. We aren’t going to win any races on these things, but they’ll do the trick! Of course the sun had decided to shine and Ampelmann was in jeans and covered shoes, so the had to ferry home again for him to get changed. The cycling culture here predominates. Everything is geared towards it. Including the ferries. They are effectively ride on, ride off ferries. Ride on one end, ride off the other. Such a great mode of transport, and free. No cars allowed! Pedestrians are fine though.
The plan for the rest of the day was to cycle out to the windmills, but by the time we were sorted it was afternoon, so we will do that tomorrow. The revised plan involved a local coffee at the river, followed by a long cycle to the suburbs. Overnight I found out that Anne Frank’s family moved to Amsterdam from Frankfurt and stayed in a house on the edge of the city. There is a small statue there and 4 stolpersteines, one for each of them. Knowing this, I very much wanted to go there and see where she lived and played and walked and enjoyed her life in Amsterdam. So we rode out there. That sounds easier than it was. Firstly, the bikes are heavy and far from luxurious, although this time mine is an adult bike and has three gears! Secondly, there are any number of things to contend with on the route, including other cyclists, mopeds and tiny cars (they use the bike paths), pedestrians, normal cars and intersections! We made it almost 4kms, around to a canal side stop, to catch our breath and cool down. We just sat on a step and watched the world go by. Then we made it another 600m before we stopped for a homemade lemonade and a toasty! Then we made it to our destination! My legs are going to hate me later.
At our destination we found the beautiful little statue and sat on a bench in the shade, admiring the park and cooling down. Then we walked the bikes over in the direction of the house she and her family lived in. It’s very nondescript, and otherwise not signposted except for the stolpersteine. Apparently it is owned by the Anne Frank Foundation and it is home to a different refuge writer each year. It looked like every other house in the little plein, with 3 women playing bocce on the court opposite the houses, and a drunk or stoned fellow cheering them on. We had another seat and watched them for a while. I am so glad we came here and we knew what stolpersteine were from the Berlin leg of the trip and that there are only 3 reviews for the little statue at Anne Frank’s original Amsterdam home. Having seen the line up to get into the house she was hidden in, I much preferred this calm, almost serene experience.
Back on the bikes, we headed into the city again, arriving at Rijksmuseum. There is a beautiful garden with a couple of fountains and some lovely reclining seating, so we just sat there admiring the building, people watching and enjoying the over-spray from the fountains. I could have sat there all day, but Dutch pancakes were calling! Back on the bikes we rode through the museum (that’s how much bikes rule) and out to the pancake place where we indulged in Dutch pancakes with Dutch beer (Heineken). It was actually a nice thing to do, by a lovely garden, on a nice warm afternoon.
After filling up with more carbs we wandered over to the Heineken brewery site, for the “experience”. In my opinion it was more like an indoctrination, with a very small part of the experience about the company and making beer, and much more about the brand and how great the brand is. Lots of opportunities for the visitor to stamp a bottle with their name, take a selfie with various brand aspects, “kick the footy” in the section about their sponsorship of the rugby, or stand on the podium in the section about their sponsorship of the F1. Anyway, we got a couple of beers with our entry price, and another with our extra rooftop ticket. The rooftop was quite nice and we had a chance to view the city from one of the high spots. We could see the strange building that we found this morning that is new “our house”.
Now for our last cycle of the day, home to our house. It was pretty much a straight line, on an excellent bike path, with few incidents. Cycling on our own around Amsterdam today has been amazing. It is nothing like cycling at home, but we are getting the hang of it. I am looking forward to heading out into the countryside tomorrow and Sunday, to see some of Holland’s stereotypical sights like windmills and castles. Although not a huge amount of kms were covered (17kms) a huge amount of effort went into those.
As we were locking up our bikes, our lovely hosts were watching us from their doorstep. They politely asked about our day and we were happy to chat to them for a while. They told us that the area was a shipbuilding site and that ships captains lived in these houses. They said that the water often lapped into the basements, like the one we are staying in, and showed us where the small barricades were put in place to stop that. After we described seeing the stolpersteines today, they showed us two on the ground just nearby and explained that they were instrumental in having them installed. They were the ones who researched the more recent history of the occupants, and found out that a Jewish couple had lived there, who had children and grandchildren of their own. They were all taken to concentration camps and all died, except for one young child who was given to someone else for safe keeping. He survived and his permission was needed to place the stolpersteine, but first he needed to be found. Eventually he was and he approved the placement of the stones and hence they were made and placed in a ceremony that he attended, along with his own children and grandchildren. These stolpersteine are following us. I wish I had some brasso with me. I would be cleaning and polishing them as we find them.
Saturday 12th August (day 13)
Today is our third full day in Amsterdam and I still haven’t seen a windmill. It doesn’t look like it will be today either, thanks to the rain. But, if the rain has to fall, I am glad it chose this morning when The Matilda’s played their round of eight game at the FIFA work cup against France and beat them! And with that, the sun came out, as if it knew that Australia just shone! So we headed out on our bikes to the local markets for a wander, before finding a spot for a bite of late lunch and some people watching. Riding the bikes and navigating the streets is trickier than it looks!
After lunch we wandered into both the cheese and tulip museums, before relocating our bikes to the red light district. I was very underwhelmed by this much dirtier and much busier part of the lovely city of Amsterdam. There were bags of rubbish floating in the canals and rubbish strewn all over the paths and roads. The crowds were huge and loud, making wandering around less enjoyable. We did see some ladies in windows, a little confronting, but while there is demand for sex workers, there will always be supply. Apparently the government would like to move the sex workers out of the city, however that of course creates potential issues for their safety. Their request is “don’t save us, save our windows”. In the streets surrounding the church they are without doubt safer than away from the city.
After wandering the area, we cycled home for a pit stop, and to decide where to have a bite of dinner. Despite doing very little, the day had gotten away from us, and we decided to walk to a local establishment for a meal and beer. Everything was either very busy or closed, but in the end we found a pizzeria and enjoyed a very nice pizza and some delicious pasta, with 2 beers. A much slower day today, no windmills, but there is always tomorrow, weather permitting …
Sunday 13th August (day 14)
Today is windmill day, at least I hope it is. As long as the weather and the bikes and my legs all cooperate. There is a website called IAmsterdam which obviously has loads of information about things to do here, including cycling trips. They have a route called the Industrial Heritage Cycleseeing Route: Windmills and shipyards, that we are following out to Zaanse Schans.
We set off at 09.40, following the route along the excellent cycle way out of the city, which didn’t take long. We cycled past at least 6 wind turbines, reflecting on the fact that the world has come full circle, from windmills to wind turbines. Past the turbines we cycled on to the kissing couple, who overlook the ferry that we used to cross the river. As with our experience in the city, the ferry was excellent and free for us as cyclists. Across the river we cycled past more factories, as well as some lovely riverside homes, arriving in the town of Zaandam. We spent some time watching the bridges open to allow the boats through. It made me think about Perth still having level crossings over railways.
Onwards we cycled through more industrial areas, this time accompanied by the smell of chocolate as we rode past cocoa factories. I would love to live in a place that always smells like chocolate! Eventually we could see windmills in the distance, fifteen kilometres after leaving Amsterdam! There are a handful of windmills are a few associated buildings that have been restored to protect them and are open to the public. We didn’t think this through very well, given that it’s Sunday. Every person and their dogs were out there, but the site is quite big and most had to be back on the bus before they reached the last windmill, so we wandered all the way to it.
After paying £5.50 each, we went inside and watched a very good video demonstrating who the mill works, before wandering around the mill itself. It produced oil, linseed, hemp, canola and sesame. The process and the equipment and tools to undertake the processing was very interesting. We concluded that being a mill person would be the epitome of “hard graft”, but also very rewarding. It was also interesting to know that Claude Monet had lived for a short while in Zaanse Schans, painting pictures that include windmills. He is my favourite artist by far, and always has been, now even more so. The next stop within the area was the clog making demonstration, where a very clever man used a lathe and a few different clog moulds to demonstrate the making of a clog from a cube of wood. They are the original work boot, no doubt as effective as modern day steel capped boots. Apparently they are still worn, with the clog maker proclaiming their benefits for posture as well as safety, while we have also read that clogs aren’t good for your feet. I would have thought that was obvious.
Our last stop for the visit was at the pancake restaurant where we found a spot away from the crowds and tucked into some yummy lunch, choosing the farmers pancake, with bacon, onion and cheese. Yummo! That will hopefully sustain us until we get home. Full up with windmills, crowds and pancakes, we found our trusty and rusty bikes, and pedalled off on the next part of the loop. The homeward leg took us through a couple of villages, along the river and back across on a different ferry, making that our third! The ferry has been our most-used mode of public transport in this city, and I was soooooo pleased to see it this afternoon! It took us safely on the last part of our 30kms journey, on two rusty, warped, squeaky, heavy bikes. Apparently their lack of any comfort or ability to ride at any reasonable speed, allowed us to appreciate the ride. My legs and bum don’t agree, and want their money back!
All jokes and complaints aside, it was a wonderful thing to ride a bicycle from Amsterdam to a windmill. It fulfilled a childhood fantasy that all people in Holland ride bikes around windmills. It will be a point of conversation for many years to come; “remember when we rode to the windmills?” As there saying goes, there are some things that money just can’t buy.
Back home we proudly told our host about our experience, who kindly showed great interest, before we headed inside for a sit down! But not for long, as the beautiful weather outside was beckoning us to get up and go and enjoy the city. So we decided to use our legs and walk back to the ferry, hop back on and head over to NDSM, a former ship yard in Amsterdam North, on the banks of the IJ River.
It is an up and coming area that is being transformed by accomodation, bars, restaurants and a pop up beach! It is also the official street (straat) art area, where it is permissible to create masterpieces (and graffiti). We decided to have a beer and some bitterballen at IJVER, a place that reminded us of Little Creatures in Freo. It was lovely to sit outside in the evening and reflect on our momentous day.
Because our host said we should try it, we decided we should head from this trendy area, back to Jordan and have some of the world famous apple pie from Winkle. A few more thousand steps later and we were sitting with a piece of pie, a beer and a glass of rosé, enjoying the area much more than we did yesterday when it was heaving with people at the markets. It was a fitting end to the day, to pile back on every calorie we burned! Oh well, it’s not every day you cycle to a windmill!
Monday 14th August
Oh my. Solo Avocado has granted me, Green Hair Man, the honour of guest writing today. Huge shoes to fill, but as its my birthday, I’ll give it a red hot crack. The Amsterdam stay was extended on purpose to accommodate me having a birthday, so making the most of it is a priority. Straight up front, as I am guest writer, I get to change my persona – I’m now Jim Bean, as everything is made better with the inclusion of beans.. and maybe cheese. But Jim Cheese-Bean sounds ridiculous. So here goes Monday.
After the leg sapping antics of yesterday, it was time for a leisurely breakfast, before preparing to return our trusty cast iron steeds to their rightful owners. Bloody hell these things were heavy. When you added the chain on (think kind of thing that goes round prisoners legs), it would have tipped the scales against a small family car … with a small family in it. With stiff legs, we hopped on, cycled to the ferry, then on to Bas, our friendly Dutch bike hire dude, who looked vaguely surprised that we hadn’t given up and chucked them in the canal days ago.
From this moment on, the rest of the day was a mystery to unfold. For the Avo, it was planned with military precision. As we walked in a general ‘way towards Centraal Station ferry’ kind of way coffee was required, and delivered in the sunshine, while we watched the ferry passengers ‘op on, op off’, get in each other’s way, miss ferries and generally go about their commuting. So far, so good. Nice quiet birthday. Shit was about to get real.
Coffee done, off we toddled. A quick jaunt to the A’DAM building, a new building complex in Amsterdam Noord, which comprises office and co-working space. Its then topped off with a revolving restaurant, and a sky deck, 21 floors high. As if that’s not enough fun for the one building, it has a set of swings, billed the highest swing in Europe, which happily allows you to swing OVER THE EDGE of the building. Now, anyone that knows the Avo, will know that heights are not a speciality. This is why we avoid them at all costs, except of course when we travel anywhere (think the tallest viewpoints in everywhere we have been), and we don’t do anything high as a birthday experience (think Uluru in a hairypopter two birthdays ago, and Sydney Harbour Bridge climb last birthday). I think you’ve probably cottoned on by now…. yup – WE ARE DOING THE SWING! Up to Floor 21 in around 10 seconds, then ready for the experience. Sweaty palms aside, it was phenomenal. Look down if you dare (I didn’t), but savour the views of Amsterdam city skyline on a beautiful sunny afternoon, while swinging like a 5-year-old. It just doesn’t get better than this! Or does it?….
Swinging done, two minutes of adrenalin still pumping through the veins, and we are straight down two floors for a lovely wee lunch in Moon restaurant, while Amsterdam spins conveniently below us to show her best sides. All of them. Sipping bubbles and having a lovely birthday lunch while seeing the city is a real high. A 19-floor high.
Lunch, of course, has to sadly come to an end, but our intrepid duo haven’t yet had their fill of Amsterdam from their lofty position. Fortunately, they can go back up to the skydeck on the 21st floor, and take their fill of the view, in the sunshine, with a lovely cold Heineken. Bliss.
And so, the birthday treats come to a lovely end. Or do they?! Not if the Avo has anything to do with it! Off we trot through the city’s metro to a find a well-researched shop selling Birkenstock sandals … perfect for the bean about town … a few minutes later, and the bean is officially Birked. Apparently, I’m told that’s it’s very untrendy to announce that you have trendy footwear. But it didn’t stop me. I maybe untrendy, but the bean’s feet are supercool.
Time for a quick breather? Not a chance. This is military precision planning, remember?
Back through the metro, we find our way home ,and a new bus find from Centraal station gives us a new idea for leaving tomorrow. I’m informed by Sergeant Major Avo that we have an hour of R&R, and perhaps a quick snack, before having to be ready for ‘tonight’s experience’. Oh my. How can you top an already phenomenal beany birthday? How can you add a cherry to top the already overflowing cake? Read on.
I had previously mentioned that on this trip it would be good to do a canal tour, and, as this was our last night, I reckoned we would be travelling into Damrak, where most of the canal boats leave from. This would have been a fine way to end a fine day in a fine city. I got one bit right. No sooner had we left the house and turned right, I was directed through a wee gate and down a wee towpath, where Tees, a nice wee Dutch guy, was waiting with a boat. Nice, I thought. He’s going to take us round the canals. Nope. Turns out that it’s the Beanster who is doing the driving! And not in a tinny sized thing either – this is proper boat size, with a whisper quiet electric motor. When that all sinks in, and the heart settled down, I listened to where I was to sail.
Something in my head then screamed “OHMIGOODNESSME. I AM NAVIGATING THE CANALS IN AMSTERDAM. AS IN THE CENTRE OF AMSTERDAM”. It doesn’t really get better than that as experiences go. And so, the cherry landed perfectly atop the cake.
It’ll be quite difficult to do justice in words to the canal experience, but here goes. Quietly slipping through the water we go, dipping under bridges, waving to passing pedestrians and other boaties.
We are, most definitely, the people everyone wants to be. It’s quite simply, unreal.
In between looking at central Amsterdam wonky buildings, passing Anne Frank’s House and pinching ourselves to check we are still not dreaming, we make our way successfully into the Amstel River, then back around the canal and home. A real birthday, and holiday, high. Just go there and do it. No question.
I’m quite sure that Major General Avo would have had something else planned after this, but the clock was ticking on past birthday day. Canny beat the clock!
Jeezo, whit a day! Thank you Avo, as if having you in the day wasn’t good enough … you went and made it super special.
How do you sum up Amsterdam? What a great city. Our accommodation beside the canal, just off the beaten track from the centre of the city, made a great place to start each day’s adventure. It then provided us a quiet place to come to at night – it ticked all the boxes. Getting around the city was an easy combination of trains, buses, bikes and shank’s pony and we were expert in no time. Everywhere felt safe, and our new evening discovery of beer and bitterballen quickly became a favourite. Being Amsterdam, Heineken was our beer of choice and the museum was a fun trip.
For a relatively small city, especially around the city centre, you don’t have to go far to find heaps going on, bit it’s definitely a place to take at your own pace, and love it.
This bean loved having a birthday in Amsterdam. It’s a definite We ❤️ AMS!
The Solo Avocado 