Showing posts with label Netherlands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Netherlands. Show all posts
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Day 40: Pictures from Amsterdam
Not going to write much for this one. I didn't really visit or do anything terribly noteworthy for the day. I wandered down towards the train station in the morning and took a few more pictures of things through the day, but it was chilly and damp and I didn't stick around for the Dam Square Remembrance Day events. I did get some pictures of the flowers the next morning though. Here are some random other pictures from around Amsterdam to fill things out while I write about my day in Belgium.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Days 38-39: Bookings, Reservations and Doing Random Things
I've been trying to take it a bit easy the last few days to combat a growing weariness. It's mostly not a physical thing. My legs feel good, and I have plenty of energy. Part of the problem is my roommates in Amsterdam. The dorm is just me and them, and they're all travelling together and all speak in a foreign language and one of them goes to bed late (leaving all the lights on) and others get up early. They insist on what feels like hour-long showers, and since my bunk is next to the washroom that leads to hot steam wafting into the room while I'm trying to go to sleep, or when I'm trying to sleep in the morning as I wait for them all to use the shower. Despite those complaints though, that's not really the root of it. I think it just comes down to the constant need to always be planning ahead. Booking hostels, figuring out routes, reserving trains - and I'm not even at the stage where I have to worry about visas yet. A lot of it is from the travelling alone, since I don't really have anybody to help shoulder the load or to make plans with, or even to share the days with, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Doing tours takes away the issues of planning and being alone, so Turkey and then large parts of Asia should ease that problem. I have everything booked up until the end of Paris now. I went to the central train station and got them to activate my Eurail pass, and help me work out how to get to Paris while avoiding the 50 euro fee. Doing so will require a longer trip and a lot of bouncing around, but its worth it for the savings (assuming I don't miss a connection or something anyway).
Taking things easy doesn't mean just lying around doing nothing though. I've spent quite a bit of time just sitting in parks thinking about random things, as this is something I haven't really had much time for. Otherwise, I've basically finished off the rest of my list of things to do in Amsterdam. I checked out a few more street markets, including their plant/garden one. It has been very busy since a lot of flowers are just starting to get going, and I was amused by the contrast as the two most heavily marketed items in basically every booth are tulip bulbs and seeds for different marijuana varieties.
I also did a walk through the famous red-light district (WARNING: This is probably not going to be terribly politically correct). When I first crossed the canal into the "window shopping" (basically little booths with glass doors that prostitutes rent out and then try to entice buyers through) area I was pretty distraught by the women's appearance. I wasn't sure if it was just too early in the day, or I'd stumbled into the bargain bin part of the district or what. Deeper in, away from the canals I hit some areas with much more attractive women, so I guess different areas are just more prestigious, or for specific tastes. Interestingly, I'm told prices are pretty consistent - regardless of the woman. I suppose different people have different tastes, and I guess transactions are time-based the amount of time spent working is more valuable than the price. Obviously the red-light district is known for more than just prostitution, and the sex stores and "coffeeshops" are everywhere. One of the interesting aspects is that all of this is basically a block or two away from the Central station and probably the busiest commercial street in the city.
I also visited the Sex Museum, since it was recommended to me as being cheaper and far better than the nearby Erotic Museum. I'm not going to say it was classy, but it had a lot of history of sex in art through different cultures, from satyrs and nymphs and chinese statuary up to modern art and photography. It also has displays that are a bit-less artistic, but I'll let you use your imagination - I don't know who all reads this blog :p
Yesterday I went to the Amsterdam Museum (mostly just because I stumbled across it, and not because it was something I really cared about seeing). It wasn't really worth the cost to get in, but it did have a lot of information on the relationship between the Netherlands and Turkey and on the Dutch East Indies Colony and Company, which is an important part of history that I was pretty vague on, so that was nice. This afternoon I finally hit the Van Gogh Museum. To be honest, I've never been a huge Van Gogh fan since I thought people's interest in him was more because of his story, and that his art wasn't really that great. The gallery is literally right across from hostel though, and it's the top visited place in Amsterdam, so it was something I knew I'd visit before I left. After going, my initial impression of Van Gogh hasn't really changed (although I suppose now I recognize his important is more for how he influenced future artists, not for his art itself), but with that in mind, it's still an extremely interesting and set up very well. The gallery is unique in that since Van Gogh wasn't especially succesful in his life, much of his work stayed with his family and was kept together until it was made into the current collection. Because he only painted for 10 years (during which he produced an amazing 2100 works of art which includes almost 900 oil paintings) you can really trace his evolution. Since he constantly wrote letters to his brother, which have also been kept, there's also a lot of information with most of the paintings on what it was of, what he was feeling, and just what he was trying to accomplish with the painting.
The only other place I can really think of worth mentioning right now is Nieuw Spiegelstraat. It's a street of antique shops and small, independent galleries. I gather that many of these galleries are just where local artists can display and sell their work, but just wandering down the street and popping into the interesting looking ones revealed a few gems. My favourite was the Jaski Gallery which was showing a collection by a local artist Chris Berens. The art was a very cool mix of sci-fi with haunting Tim Burton-esque figures and landscapes.
Tomorrow I'll probably go check out the Remberance Day type ceremony at Dam Square. It would be nice to be around for the Liberation Day part, since that's the part Canada had a big part in, but I'll probably leave fairly early in the morning to try to get as much out of the few days I have in Belgium.
Taking things easy doesn't mean just lying around doing nothing though. I've spent quite a bit of time just sitting in parks thinking about random things, as this is something I haven't really had much time for. Otherwise, I've basically finished off the rest of my list of things to do in Amsterdam. I checked out a few more street markets, including their plant/garden one. It has been very busy since a lot of flowers are just starting to get going, and I was amused by the contrast as the two most heavily marketed items in basically every booth are tulip bulbs and seeds for different marijuana varieties.
I also did a walk through the famous red-light district (WARNING: This is probably not going to be terribly politically correct). When I first crossed the canal into the "window shopping" (basically little booths with glass doors that prostitutes rent out and then try to entice buyers through) area I was pretty distraught by the women's appearance. I wasn't sure if it was just too early in the day, or I'd stumbled into the bargain bin part of the district or what. Deeper in, away from the canals I hit some areas with much more attractive women, so I guess different areas are just more prestigious, or for specific tastes. Interestingly, I'm told prices are pretty consistent - regardless of the woman. I suppose different people have different tastes, and I guess transactions are time-based the amount of time spent working is more valuable than the price. Obviously the red-light district is known for more than just prostitution, and the sex stores and "coffeeshops" are everywhere. One of the interesting aspects is that all of this is basically a block or two away from the Central station and probably the busiest commercial street in the city.
I also visited the Sex Museum, since it was recommended to me as being cheaper and far better than the nearby Erotic Museum. I'm not going to say it was classy, but it had a lot of history of sex in art through different cultures, from satyrs and nymphs and chinese statuary up to modern art and photography. It also has displays that are a bit-less artistic, but I'll let you use your imagination - I don't know who all reads this blog :p
Yesterday I went to the Amsterdam Museum (mostly just because I stumbled across it, and not because it was something I really cared about seeing). It wasn't really worth the cost to get in, but it did have a lot of information on the relationship between the Netherlands and Turkey and on the Dutch East Indies Colony and Company, which is an important part of history that I was pretty vague on, so that was nice. This afternoon I finally hit the Van Gogh Museum. To be honest, I've never been a huge Van Gogh fan since I thought people's interest in him was more because of his story, and that his art wasn't really that great. The gallery is literally right across from hostel though, and it's the top visited place in Amsterdam, so it was something I knew I'd visit before I left. After going, my initial impression of Van Gogh hasn't really changed (although I suppose now I recognize his important is more for how he influenced future artists, not for his art itself), but with that in mind, it's still an extremely interesting and set up very well. The gallery is unique in that since Van Gogh wasn't especially succesful in his life, much of his work stayed with his family and was kept together until it was made into the current collection. Because he only painted for 10 years (during which he produced an amazing 2100 works of art which includes almost 900 oil paintings) you can really trace his evolution. Since he constantly wrote letters to his brother, which have also been kept, there's also a lot of information with most of the paintings on what it was of, what he was feeling, and just what he was trying to accomplish with the painting.
The only other place I can really think of worth mentioning right now is Nieuw Spiegelstraat. It's a street of antique shops and small, independent galleries. I gather that many of these galleries are just where local artists can display and sell their work, but just wandering down the street and popping into the interesting looking ones revealed a few gems. My favourite was the Jaski Gallery which was showing a collection by a local artist Chris Berens. The art was a very cool mix of sci-fi with haunting Tim Burton-esque figures and landscapes.
Tomorrow I'll probably go check out the Remberance Day type ceremony at Dam Square. It would be nice to be around for the Liberation Day part, since that's the part Canada had a big part in, but I'll probably leave fairly early in the morning to try to get as much out of the few days I have in Belgium.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Day 37: Strolling Along Canals
I'm sharing my hostel dorm with 6 Chinese people travelling together. They all had showers last night, so I figured the shower wouldn't be in much demand this morning, but apparenly they all had to shower again, which caused me to get a slightly later start than usual. Things here seem to open a bit later though, and between a light drizzle and recovering from yesterday things were still quiet when I headed out. The weather is still much warmer than Ireland was, so I don't mind a bit of rain. I didn't have much of a plan for the day, but I figured with the rain that I'd start off at the Rijksmuseum since it's just around the corner from where I'm staying. The gallery has been under regular renovation for a long time, but they still have a wing of many of their most famous pieces open. Unlike London, they charge to get in, but it does have a lot of great pieces, so I figured it was worth it. With so many great Dutch painters I figured that would be the highlight for me, but I was actually most impressed by the silver collection. I really liked the silver work by Paulus and Adam van Vianen, especially the auricular style that they invented.
Another favourite of mine was the statue of Cupid. There was a statue of Cupid in London I liked a lot too, but this one is even better. Cupid is just so mischevous as he reaches for his arrow.
The most famous piece at the Rijksmuseum is probably Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch". It certainly is very large. It's appealing because there's a lot more going on it than in most portraits, but I'm not entirely sure why it's so famous otherwise, other than the size of it.
By the time I got out of the gallery the rain had stopped so I started walking along the canals and just looking for neat things. In the process of doing this I stumbled onto another of the things on the list I'd made of places to check out: the Albert Cuyp Markt. This is a giant street market that is held 6 days a week and has all manner of random things in it. The most common stalls were for fresh food (fish, fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese, etc) and clothing, but there was everything from antique watches to electronics to a distinguished looking fellow selling mounted insects and animal bones. It reminded me a bit of the Keady Market, only all stretched out down one long street. I got some Dutch herring at a stall, as I'm told that's something one must do in the Netherlands. It wasn't horrible, but probably not something I'm going to try again :p
Next I worked my way to the Anne Frank House. I've never read the "The Diary of a Young Girl", but I had two people recommend I visit it, so check it out I did.
Now, a bit of a complaint here. The information displayed through the museum was interesting and certainly does communicate the suffering that millions of people faced, but to me 9 euros seems like a pretty expensive admission for what is essentially an empty building with very few maintenance costs. It is the second most visited tourist site in Amsterdam, and there was a long line to get in, so I guess I can accept that they price it for the demand, but THEN at the end of tour they have bins asking for donations to support the museum. They have over 1 million visitors a year, so even with children fares factored in I'm sure they make over 5 million euros in admission alone, not counting their giftshop or cafe. Anyway, my curiousity was piqued enough that I'll add the book to the list of things to read I'm working through. In Dublin I decided I had to either read Dubliners or Ulysses by James Joyce (anybody have a recommendation?)
I had a nutritious dinner of 2 croissants and a red bull. Don't worry, my hostel has pretty decent breakfasts so I'll make up for it there tomorrow! I started working my way back to my hostel by a different route when I came across an alley covered in graffiti tags and art, so I had to stop and wander the alleys of that area for awhile looking at all the street art. I was quite happy to discover a few Invader pieces (you may remember him from London) as well as some very nice artwork.
I love Invader because his stuff is so simple yet it just blends into the landscape. He tends to put a lot of them high up or low down so they are often hard to spot - but when you do spot one you know instantly that it's his.
Eventually when I got close to the hostel I just sat on a bench next to one of the canals and relaxed for a good while. I took this picture of a few duck(lings)? They were just so ugly and awkward that I couldn't help but be amused by them.
I did encounter a few cats prowling the alleys today, but I could never get one to stay still long enough for a good pose - sorry Jessica! I had a nice one planned out with a black cat that was watching two city workers hosing down streets to clean up from last night, but it took off before I could get a picture.
I'll probably check out the Van Gogh museum tomorrow, although I believe it's another 14 euros admission. Still have to figure out my train reservations, so I should probably figure all that out tonight and see what I can do tomorrow. Hope the station has a eurail office, because calling in reservations might be tricky. Ah well, a problem for tomorrow!
Another favourite of mine was the statue of Cupid. There was a statue of Cupid in London I liked a lot too, but this one is even better. Cupid is just so mischevous as he reaches for his arrow.
The most famous piece at the Rijksmuseum is probably Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch". It certainly is very large. It's appealing because there's a lot more going on it than in most portraits, but I'm not entirely sure why it's so famous otherwise, other than the size of it.
By the time I got out of the gallery the rain had stopped so I started walking along the canals and just looking for neat things. In the process of doing this I stumbled onto another of the things on the list I'd made of places to check out: the Albert Cuyp Markt. This is a giant street market that is held 6 days a week and has all manner of random things in it. The most common stalls were for fresh food (fish, fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese, etc) and clothing, but there was everything from antique watches to electronics to a distinguished looking fellow selling mounted insects and animal bones. It reminded me a bit of the Keady Market, only all stretched out down one long street. I got some Dutch herring at a stall, as I'm told that's something one must do in the Netherlands. It wasn't horrible, but probably not something I'm going to try again :p
Next I worked my way to the Anne Frank House. I've never read the "The Diary of a Young Girl", but I had two people recommend I visit it, so check it out I did.
Now, a bit of a complaint here. The information displayed through the museum was interesting and certainly does communicate the suffering that millions of people faced, but to me 9 euros seems like a pretty expensive admission for what is essentially an empty building with very few maintenance costs. It is the second most visited tourist site in Amsterdam, and there was a long line to get in, so I guess I can accept that they price it for the demand, but THEN at the end of tour they have bins asking for donations to support the museum. They have over 1 million visitors a year, so even with children fares factored in I'm sure they make over 5 million euros in admission alone, not counting their giftshop or cafe. Anyway, my curiousity was piqued enough that I'll add the book to the list of things to read I'm working through. In Dublin I decided I had to either read Dubliners or Ulysses by James Joyce (anybody have a recommendation?)
I had a nutritious dinner of 2 croissants and a red bull. Don't worry, my hostel has pretty decent breakfasts so I'll make up for it there tomorrow! I started working my way back to my hostel by a different route when I came across an alley covered in graffiti tags and art, so I had to stop and wander the alleys of that area for awhile looking at all the street art. I was quite happy to discover a few Invader pieces (you may remember him from London) as well as some very nice artwork.
I love Invader because his stuff is so simple yet it just blends into the landscape. He tends to put a lot of them high up or low down so they are often hard to spot - but when you do spot one you know instantly that it's his.
Eventually when I got close to the hostel I just sat on a bench next to one of the canals and relaxed for a good while. I took this picture of a few duck(lings)? They were just so ugly and awkward that I couldn't help but be amused by them.
I did encounter a few cats prowling the alleys today, but I could never get one to stay still long enough for a good pose - sorry Jessica! I had a nice one planned out with a black cat that was watching two city workers hosing down streets to clean up from last night, but it took off before I could get a picture.
I'll probably check out the Van Gogh museum tomorrow, although I believe it's another 14 euros admission. Still have to figure out my train reservations, so I should probably figure all that out tonight and see what I can do tomorrow. Hope the station has a eurail office, because calling in reservations might be tricky. Ah well, a problem for tomorrow!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Day 36: Queen's Day
Another day, another country, another time zone. Flying into the country, I knew it was Queen's Day in the Netherlands, but I didn't really know what it entailed. I figured it was something like Victoria day - you know, have a barbecue, watch some fireworks, that sort of thing. When I got here and tried to find a way to get to my hostel and learned that that all the streets were shut down, I quickily realized I underestimated the Dutch ability to bring the crazy.
Because I was too lazy to try to figure out the optimal way to get to my hostel I just started walking in the general direction with confidence I'd find my way there instinctually. Surprisingly, this time it actually kind of worked. Even getting there fairly directly it was a bit of a trek since I had to carry all my stuff something like 4km, and the streets were crowded enough to slow things down quite a bit, but eventually I found my way there, dropped my things off and went exploring. Since it was a nice day and there was so much going on outside I decided to leave the museums and other indoor places for later, and just enjoy the day out.
Although there was certainly a lot of energy in the city, there was also a lot of mess. I'm not sure if the nice weather brought out more people that expected or what, but the streets were covered with garbage and cans were overflowing from bins everywhere. The "entrepreneurial spirit" of the few shops that were open had them charging to use the washrooms, so people were urinating on busy streets and into the canals everywhere. I'm still debating if I want to go out again or not. It seemed like most of the city was drunk by 5:00 and I was just trying not to get beer spilt on me in the crowded stretches. I'm going to do a bit of research and see what's going on tonight and see if there's anything worth checking out, but without knowing anybody in the city to hang out with it makes it a bit harder. I'll probably stick to some more touristy things tomorrow, and I still need to reserve some tickets for my eurail pass, so I should get that figured out as well.
Because I was too lazy to try to figure out the optimal way to get to my hostel I just started walking in the general direction with confidence I'd find my way there instinctually. Surprisingly, this time it actually kind of worked. Even getting there fairly directly it was a bit of a trek since I had to carry all my stuff something like 4km, and the streets were crowded enough to slow things down quite a bit, but eventually I found my way there, dropped my things off and went exploring. Since it was a nice day and there was so much going on outside I decided to leave the museums and other indoor places for later, and just enjoy the day out.
Although there was certainly a lot of energy in the city, there was also a lot of mess. I'm not sure if the nice weather brought out more people that expected or what, but the streets were covered with garbage and cans were overflowing from bins everywhere. The "entrepreneurial spirit" of the few shops that were open had them charging to use the washrooms, so people were urinating on busy streets and into the canals everywhere. I'm still debating if I want to go out again or not. It seemed like most of the city was drunk by 5:00 and I was just trying not to get beer spilt on me in the crowded stretches. I'm going to do a bit of research and see what's going on tonight and see if there's anything worth checking out, but without knowing anybody in the city to hang out with it makes it a bit harder. I'll probably stick to some more touristy things tomorrow, and I still need to reserve some tickets for my eurail pass, so I should get that figured out as well.
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