It's hard to believe that its already Friday. The past few days have been a joy in Amsterdam for numerous reasons. One, the time spent with my friend Jordi was amazing. When you have friends that live so far away from home you never quite know when your paths will cross and when they do it's truly a blessing. Two, Amsterdam is a wonderful little city. It's so easy to just choose a direction to walk and then let your curiosity get the best of you.
***
Tuesday I pretty much met Jordi at the airport, was taken to my flat, and then crashed. That evening as I slept again, struggling to fight the jet lag, I was startled by the sound of someone coming up the stairs. I glanced at my clock and it was 4:30 am and many of the hall lights were also on. A little scared I recounted all the talks I'd had with Jordi and none of them iterated that someone would be at the flat with me. I very quietly shut my doors and figured if it was a robber they wouldn't have turned off the lights and gone to sleep in another one of the bedrooms.
***
The next morning I waited, wondering if my unexpected visitor knew of my existence. Not knowing whether I would have to try to communicate in Dutch or explain why I was in someone's house, I crept down the stairs. On the table I saw a note and as I read it I began to feel like a complete fool. Jordi ended up having to come back to the flat and stay for the night! I had spent hours worrying about my safety when in fact my friend was the one there!
I ended up venturing into the city centre by myself with arrangements to meet up with Jordi later around 3. As I got off the tram I looked around and just picked a direction to walk. As I explored the city on foot I found many tourists, many small cafes, and many museums. I stumbled upon the Palace in a huge city square. It was first a city hall and then transformed into a palace for Louis Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte's brother I believe. My lack of European history is quite awful so please do inform me if I have my facts mixed up!
Finding that viewing this spectacular building was a perfect introduction to understanding the city, I left feeling accomplished and very excited to see Jordi in not such an exhausted state! We met and did my favorite thing to do in Europe. "Take coffee." We just ate lunch and enjoyed each others company.
After we had digested our cuisine, we continued to explore the city together and eventually met his boyfriend at another quaint cafe where we had a few drinks and talked our worries away!
As I opened the door to my flat I was exhausted and it was only 9:30 pm! Soon after I showered I laid down to rest my weary body.
***
The next day was much similar to the one before. I first entered the city center to explore, met Jordi, spent time with each other (saw a wonderful movie dedicated to Pina Bausch, a famous dance choreographer), and then we separated ways again.
As I walked a different section of town I crossed lovely bridges and canals, each full of it's own character. My only issue with exploring is I can't quite figure out where to walk. A normal tourist pedestrian in Amsterdam would assume that they would be safe in the sidewalk, but that assumption would be so wrong! On top of navigating around the tram system there are bicycles to be afraid of as well as mopeds and cars! I can't ever imagine renting a car a driving through this city because I feel that I wouldn't know where to drive. As a pedestrian you'll be walking and then there will be a car crossing the sidewalk. Everyone is watching everyone else, but it is still very nerve It's hard to believe that its already Friday. The past few days have been a joy in Amsterdam for numerous reasons. One, the time spent with my friend Jordi was amazing. When you have friends that live so far away from home you never quite know when your paths will cross and when they do it's truly a blessing. Two, Amsterdam is a wonderful little city. It's so easy to just choose a direction to walk and then let your curiosity get the best of you.
***
The next day was much similar to the one before. I first entered the city center to explore, met Jordi, spent time with each other (saw a wonderful movie dedicated to Pina Bausch, a famous dance choreographer), and then we separated ways again.
As I walked a different section of town I crossed lovely bridges and canals, each full of it's own character. My only issue with exploring is I can't quite figure out where to walk. A normal tourist pedestrian in Amsterdam would assume that they would be safe in the sidewalk, but that assumption would be so wrong! On top of navigating around the tram system there are bicycles to be afraid of as well as mopeds and cars! I can't ever imagine renting a car a driving through this city because I feel that I wouldn't know where to drive. As a pedestrian you'll be walking and then there will be a car crossing the sidewalk. Everyone is watching everyone else, but it is still very nerve racking and puts your wits on end!
From what little time I spent in Amsterdam, I much look forward to the other 3 days I'll get to spend there on the other end of my Africa trip! I have many museums to see and areas to explore. I haven't mustered up the courage to venture down the red light district yet, but I guess I will have to do so before I leave Amsterdam!
Currently, I'm sitting on the tile floor of the Amsterdam airport waiting for my flight to Kigali, Rwanda. It's hard to believe that it's already here and I have no idea what awaits me on the other side of this flight! I'm sure there will be many lessons learned and taught, not all coming from me! Internet may be non-existent in Rwanda's city, but we shall see!
With Care,
Chelsea
