Amsterdam!

Emma was so excited to be here for the first time in her life (she could now count five countries on her list of places been to in the world) and @tim-beck and I were thrilled to be back.

Emma “all clogged up”

The Plan

Seamlessly obtain all-in cards, exchange traveller’s cheques, hop on the tram to our Airbnb in the west of the city to drop off our luggage, and hotfoot it back to town to start devouring Amsterdam.

The Execution

Yup, that was the plan. And as you know by now, Team Beck always sticks to the plan.

Mission 1: Traveller’s cheques

It turns out signatures change over twenty years. There was sadness. Better not to dwell on it.

Mission 2: Obtain the I amsterdam city card and figure out where we’re going

@tim-beck and I had learned the value of the all-in card for attractions, museums and public transport during our previous visit to Amsterdam in 2012 (which was what prompted us to get the Paris Pass for that leg of this trip, so as soon as we alighted from the train we headed to the Amsterdam tourism shop at the back end of the station. Scooting there with luggage in tow, we marvelled at the renovations done since that visit five years before. The station is now light and airy where before it was undergoing some exterior renovations but the interior felt like it would make a decent set for a 1950s film – dark, dingy and rather creepy. No more!

The I amsterdam stuff we got

We each got a neat, robust red package with a sturdy red card you can use for everything. The package contains an easy to fold out and fold up map with all the main attractions referenced by number and a short description, so even the worst prepared tourist can figure out pretty quickly what they want to do and how to get there. We bought the 48 hour package for each of us, because we knew 24 hours would only get us to about 4:00 the next afternoon, and there would still be lots of Amsterdam to do until our departure Monday morning.

The package has a handy slot for storing the card, making the whole kit quite a compact, neat souvenir afterwards.

Mission 3: Get to our Airbnb

Armed with our 48 hour I amsterdam cards and with the memory of our success at figuring out the public transport system without too much difficulty on our last visit, we headed out the northwestern exit of the station. This is when we realised they have REALLY renovated it. How cool is this bicycle/pedestrian tunnel which leads to the main ground transport terminal?

Image credit

Amsterdam Centraal Station

Housed in a beautiful building undergoing the very last stages of years of renovation, the Station is the landmark, the reference, the centre of all at least for tourists in Amsterdam. Perhaps the locals shun it like the plague; I doubt it, as all international and regional train lines pass through here, the tram and bus lines weave a complex web across the open square in front of the station (and amazingly, I couldn’t find any photos online which show that – the image below is the best I could come up with) and there are pedestrians of every size, shape and colour everywhere. Suffice it to say this is arguably one of the busier people transfer spots in the world, and it seemed like everyone except us knew what they were doing.

This photo of Centraal Station is courtesy of TripAdvisor

We had to get from the station to a place in the Bos en Lommer district. This part should have been easy, particularly since @tim-beck and Madame Google were now on the best of terms, but it wasn’t. I won’t go into it, but for some reason we just could not figure out which tram or bus to take. We didn’t want a repeat of our first day in Paris, when we took the bus in the wrong direction. The stakes were higher this time – we had luggage, and Emma was wearing flip-flops. We dragged our suitcases behind us, increasingly forlorn, for about half an hour, back and forth between the bus stops and the tram terminus (which is scary in its own right).

Understanding local migration patterns and signals

Although Tim and I had been there before, it appeared to us that the bicycles had meaned up in the intervening years. They still had top priority, of course. It went like this: bicycles (ridden by young beauties zipping along at 40 km/hr, often cell phone to ear 😱), trams, buses, motorcycles, pedestrians and then cars. I'd be more petrified driving there than in Lagos. You can hear trams and buses coming; they give you some kind of warning of impending danger and possible death. A bicycle is a silent, deadly killing machine when piloted by one of these maniacal young things. And of course, as hapless South Africans, we had no idea which direction to look for impending death. We gave ourselves whiplash looking hysterically left and right and right and left and right and right and left and left at each bicycle/motorcycle lane and pedestrian crossing. The locals must have voted us best idiots.

Team Beck finally figures it out

Good luck, a smidgen of thought and a curt word from a tram driver finally led to a Team Beck mini-triumph. We caught our bus and paid rapt attention to the stops; no way were we going to miss ours this time. It seemed to take hours. We alighted at the right stop, remembering to tag out (the fellow in the shop had told us with a grin if we didn’t tag out our tickets would “explode”), followed Madame Google’s blue circle leading us to our destination, located the Airbnb address a couple of blocks from the bus stop, and rang the doorbell.

Our hostess, who’d been waiting patiently for us, greeted us warmly and helped us up the steep staircase to the first floor apartment. She quickly gave us the rundown on the apartment, the neighbourhood and places to shop and eat. A place called Bagels and Beans featured prominently in her tourism advisory, her eyes lighting up as she described this slice of heaven on earth. We filed this local insight as a “must do”.

Team Beck’s Amsterdam tourism begins in earnest

The plan had actually worked, more or less.

We changed quickly into our professional tourism gear (a change of socks and shirt), retraced our steps to the bus stop and consulted Madame Google on the best way to get back to the centre of the universe, Central Station. A (really) quick tram ride, maybe 10 minutes, later, and we were among the throng of tourists at the Stationsplein. What to do first? How best to orient ourselves in a city of canals? Why, a boat cruise, of course! Get ready for lots of pictures. Skim if you must, but please take time to enjoy a sample of what Amsterdam has to offer visually.

Boat cruise

@tim-beck and I had done this on our previous visit and were keen to experience it again. An Amsterdam canal cruise is simply a must for the Amsterdam visitor who wants to understand the history and layout of the old part of the city. We weren’t disappointed, and neither was Emma.

The cruise started out in the harbour.

I believe this is a restored vessel now used as a maritime museum.

An original statue!

This next sight was really odd. The green building, which as you can see is shaped like a ship, hosts exhibitions indoors...and hosts sunbathers and funseekers on sand on its sloped roof.

From there we headed into the main canals.

People like to chill on the banks of the canals near the botanical gardens.

We got a quick look at the canal side of the botanical gardens and pedestrian bridge as we chugged by.

Banksy Dali...huh?

The captain took a moment to position the boat for us to take photos of (apparently) seven bridges in a row. Can you see seven bridges?

And now?

Nope, me neither.

Another bridge, with classic Amsterdam buildings in the background....

By now we were getting a sense that, although the recorded information reel told us nobody really lives in this area of Amsterdam any more and the buildings have been taken over by businesses, life certainly still seems to happen in the area with lots of people cycling and boating. Do they cycle (and boat) to work?

Sometimes we just couldn't help but admire the lovely architecture and variety squeezed into small places.

Everywhere we looked there was something interesting to see.

Apparently some of these mansions were constructed by the owner, usually a rich trader, buying two adjacent properties and developing a single structure from them.

Fascinating, as Mr Spock would have said. I have no idea what the Campbell's soup can was all about. Maybe it was related to that Banksy Dali thingummy from up the canal? Was it an hommage to Andy Warhol? Or did someone just think it was fun?

Even the simplest bridges had a satisfying elegance to them.

And some of the buildings were on the fancier side.

Some odd companions

We had been a bit reluctant to board with a large group of men obviously travelling together; our Paris Seine cruise experience had told us that sometimes big groups take up more than spatial space, so could also interfere with the ability of a trio such as Team Beck to concentrate on what was going on outside the boat.

There seemed to be at least twenty of them, with a few wives and at least one infant in tow. The boat was low and enclosed, with benches and tables arranged around a central aisle. The side walls under the large windows were equipped with jacks for tourists to plug in individual headphones conveying the recorded information in a dizzying array of languages, including English. In the end, we put aside our prejudices and boarded with the group.

Apologies for the blurry image! It's the only photo we seem to have taken of them.

A few minutes into the cruise, the men all got up and went through a wooden door to the cabin in the stern. They closed the door. This was getting weird. I suspect the other members of Team Beck were getting ready for the impending bomb blast.

Then they started to sing, really well, with quite complex harmonies. They entertained us for the entire journey.

They turned out to be really cool

I asked one of the men just after we disembarked who they were. He beamed at me and explained, “We are muslims [yeah, that part was kind of obvious] from the UK [frankly, I hadn’t twigged to that until he started speaking – I thought maybe they were a group from the mountains of Afghanistan], spreading the message of peace and love. Our teacher is from Pakistan. We like to go somewhere every year so we can share our message.” I wanted to ask what sect that headgear was from, but I was too slow off the mark formulating a politically correct question, and both their group and Team Beck had more tourism ahead of us, with no more time for chitchat about peace, love and whatnot. The gentleman beamed at me once more, and we went our separate ways.

And one for #TeamSouthAfrica

Strolling the canals

We decided to let the streets be our guide and plunged into the labyrinth of roads lining the many horseshoe-shaped canals. Travel tip: if you want to stay oriented in old Amsterdam, remember that the canals all loop back to the bay behind Central Station. We soaked up the sights and enjoyed the freedom of being able to stroll without stress, keeping a watchful eye for homicidal cyclists, of course.

If buildings and bridges bore you, food and drink is on the way! 😜

Another city where they don't skimp on the gold paint.

Ah, more beauty....

I thought this bike trailer was really cool. I'm not totally sure what the cyclist was putting in the back. A dog? Children? What was with the fan?

A lot of Amsterdam cyclists like to style up their bike seats.

Emma looking pretty and displaying that Team Beck stamina!

Another beautiful bridge to admire.

Team Beck's Saturday evening in Amsterdam

After all that admiring of beauty, we'd worked up a bit of an appetite.

We found a purveyor of the necessary

We'd cruised, we'd walked, we were ready for some local fare. We found this gem, Arendsnest in Proeflokaal, and feasted on Dutch specialties, which gave us an idea why the Dutch all grow to be seven feet tall.

The menu was pretty much beer, cheese and sausages.

Ahhhh...Team Beck gets to enjoy some liquid refreshment.

The view was pretty cool. Look at how skinny one of those houses is.

As promised, a photo of food!

I thought their loo was pretty cool too.

The Red Light District

Not only had Emma never been to the Netherlands, she’d never experienced such a liberal culture before. We took her to the Red Light District, where prostitutes display their wares in windows at street level as well as from windows in upper floors along the canals. By this time on a Saturday night, with what seemed like the entire male population of the UK between the ages of 17 and 24 encouraged by the balmy weather and the window displays, things looked like they could get really rowdy.

But they didn’t. There was lots of street drinking, but no street drunkenness. Lots of groups of young men, some in school uniforms, singing war cries and having a grand old time. But unlike anywhere else I’ve experienced, they didn’t go overboard or make the evening unpleasant for others. There was no visible security, but security must have been working effectively to keep the thousands of pedestrians safe and happy that evening. Thank you, Amsterdam.

Evening stroll

We admired Amsterdam by night.

Coffee shops

Emma REALLY wanted to go into a coffee shop and sample the, er, wares. In the end, she didn’t. We started to flag, and headed for the station, grabbed our bus and within fifteen minutes were back at our Airbnb, another superb Team Beck adventure under our belts and already anticipating our next day in Amsterdam.

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Images by @kiligirl, @tim-beck and Emma Beck except where otherwise credited.

Other posts to date on our trip:
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-10-team-beck-travels-from-hardelot-to-amsterdam-alternative-title-groundhog-day
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-9-team-beck-in-bruges-and-dunkirk-so-not-a-movie
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-8-team-beck-does-a-bit-of-rest-and-restoration-in-le-touquet-and-hardelot
https://steemit.com/family/@kiligirl/day-7-team-beck-attends-the-wedding-of-the-century
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-6-part-3-of-the-beck-trek-to-france-bruges-and-amsterdam-superkiligirl-saves-the-mother-of-the-bride
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-6-part-2-team-beck-takes-a-reflective-turn-in-delville-wood-somme-region-of-france
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-6-the-beck-trek-hits-the-north-of-france-amiens
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-5-team-beck-moves-from-paris-to-pas-de-calais-in-the-north-of-france-and-nobody-dies
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-4-in-paris-for-team-beck-notre-dame-the-musee-d-orsay-and-le-marais
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-3-in-paris-for-team-beck-hop-on-hop-off-bus-tour
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-2-in-paris-for-team-beck-boat-cruise-down-the-seine
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-2-in-paris-for-team-beck-a-visit-to-the-louvre
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/two-weeks-ago-yesterday-we-were-wandering-around-the-centre-pompidou-in-paris
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/paris-day-1-part-2-of-several-posts-on-our-trip-to-paris-pas-de-calais-bruges-and-amsterdam
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/whirlwind-tour-of-paris-pas-de-calais-bruges-and-amsterdam

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