Just back from Amsterdam.

Bucket

Marvellous few days.

Went with my (sadly now former) bandmates/flatmates - we're splitting up because our singer/keyboardist/primary songwriter is moving back home to Taiwan in a few days, and this was a little something we all organised together as a send-off. It couldn't have been better.

I have some photos.

Obviously we were greeted by this at the airport:

http://i.imgur.com/RJnkvC9.jpg

We got to our hotel, which was a little way south of the city centre - about a 40-minute walk. This very picturesque canal was close by:

http://i.imgur.com/3IaKTEZ.jpg ;

After dropping our bags off, we decided to walk into the city centre, taking in the sights along the way - more lovely canals, a common thread throughout the whole place...

http://i.imgur.com/Njrxmz9.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OxYxYqu.jpg

We stayed in the centre until the evening, and I got a little nocturnal canal photo:

http://i.imgur.com/LtA4ypS.jpg

The next day, we put into action our plan to rent bikes to get around - this was a very good call, because Amsterdam is quite spread-out and it would have taken ages to walk everywhere. We were able to head to further-flung places and see far more, far more quickly, than on foot.

There was the small matter of me being a) ten years out of practice at riding a bike, b) a complete newcomer to riding a bike in a city centre, c) riding alongside three gym-going friends who are all fitter than me and d) dyspraxic. It was utterly, utterly terrifying at first but I eventually more-or-less settled into it. Amsterdam is a bike-friendly place and it's pretty safe for cyclists. I would not want to be in the same position in London. Here was my steed:

http://i.imgur.com/p3EmCdP.jpg

I must also give credit to the rental place we used - they're called Bike Is Ready. Very friendly and helpful guys in there, great prices and also gave us a map and a brief run-down of the best places to go and things to do, and the places to avoid in order to save money and hassle. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone visiting and looking to rent a bike - which you should if you're in Amsterdam. We were never anything other than very glad to have had that extra convenience.

After my initial terrifying forays into cycling, we took a trip into the beautiful Westerpark, where I managed to gain some confidence and practice on the bike, and stopped for lunch at a restaurant called the TonTon Club. Here, I had a heart attack-inducing stack of grilled cheese sandwiches and a lovely beer.

http://i.imgur.com/k6tB8vS.jpg

The next day, we fought our way through the intermittent heavy rain and took in the Museumplein (too skint to enter any of the museums, sadly, but I got a photo) : 

http://i.imgur.com/APy6n8J.jpg

Then we stopped for another high-fibre vegetarian lunch - plus more beer, of course. One-litre glasses of Heineken were on offer. I was tempted, but couldn't resist a nice Leffe or two (which made cycling more interesting). The burger was killer as well.

http://i.imgur.com/XxhvIx9.jpg

As a group of musicians, we also couldn't resist the lure of a rather lovely guitar shop which we stumbled upon. The coolest bit was this glass case, containing a '66 Jazzmaster, Gibson Tal Farlow, a '60s Bass VI, a CS reissue Rickenbacker, a 1950 Gibson ES-150, a '65 Strat, a later-60s Tele (which features a Dread Contraption and is thus best ignored) and a late-70s Flying V:

http://i.imgur.com/zY5KjLk.jpg

Then, just before heading to return our bikes and go back to the airport, we stopped for fish and chips. Bloody hell - if you haven't tried kibbeling before, do so at the earliest opportunity. Amazing.

http://i.imgur.com/wmQNbEq.jpg

So yeah - a thoroughly nice trip! Amsterdam is beautiful and there are so many more things to do than just getting stoned and visiting hookers. Super cool.

holnrew

Yeah that's all very nice, but what about the drugs?

Flink_Poyd

holnrew said:

Yeah that's all very nice, but what about the drugs?

Don't forget the hookers . It must be the cool thing to do nowadays, got there and enjoy the culture. Well done on avoiding Heineken

Bucket

holnrew said:

Yeah that's all very nice, but what about the drugs?

Well, I've never partaken before but I figured "when in Rome" and did get a little bit stoned in one of the coffee shops, and it was alright. Not in a rush to do it again but I certainly didn't mind it.

57Deluxe

when you say 'just' - like, a couple of hours ago, or day or two... week...??

chillidoggy

"Kibbling"?

Is that the Dutch for dogging, but on bikes instead of in cars?

blueskunk

Erb and hookers.  Great little pub !

Bucket

57Deluxe said:

when you say 'just' - like, a couple of hours ago, or day or two... week...??

I got back at around 9 o'clock last night.

I was there from Wednesday to Saturday.

robgilmo

warme kaas pipen! I do like to snort coke off a prostitutes tits when I'm in the Dam.

octatonic

Do you need a shot of penicillin?

57Deluxe

when you want to relive the experience you can go here:

http://www.myolddutch.com/Contact/Holborn.aspx