Last Day

Why do people ask me for directions? Do I look like I know where I'm going?  Today, I gave directions to a Chinese guy who was trying to find the flower market. I knew where that was since I was just coming from there. As for me, I had to ask myself--how hard is it to follow the Amstel?  It's a river and therefore, the widest canal. But somehow, I got sidetracked by an inferior canal.  I didn't go too far out of my way but I had to consult my map which should have been unnecessary.

It was the coldest day I've had so far but I walked to the Jewish History Museum which is a great museum; glad I didn't miss it. It's made up of 4 old synagogues which they've connected and traces the history of the Jewish community in Amsterdam since the 1600s. What I liked about this museum and also the Anne Frank are the interactive computer screens that you can use to choose interviews or explanations of different things.  The attendants insisted I take a free audioguide. I don't use audioguides. My fear is I'd look like the people I saw at the Louvre--30 people listening to an audioguide while looking at a painting; all 30 turn at the same time to look at another picture while listening to their audioguides.  I took the audioguide but I didn't like it.

Across the street in Waterlooplein is a gigantic flea market that has existed for over 100 years although they used to sell food and essentials back in the day. Today, they sell typical flea market items--clothes, purses from Italy, tourist souvenirs, hash pipes and cannabis lollipops.  From the number of bikes, I could tell the locals shop there. Really, some nice stuff and good used clothing.

After a final attempt to eat lunch at Singel 404--I've tried everyday for 3 days because it's supposed to have the best sandwiches in town--I gave up and went to McDonald's since it is my civic duty to try a McDonald's in all capitol cities of the world. They had loads of people working there--fastest service ever. And I got a Big Mac and small coke for only $7. I guess you have to pay extra for the Irish beef they use and cokes, of course, are more expensive here because they use sugar, not corn syrup. Like in China, they had "more seats upstairs" but in this case, there was at least another floor above the one I went to. Unlike China, no one grabs your tray as soon as you're finished and I had to carry it downstairs to the Dank U bin.

It's Saturday so the city is full of people--I could barely get in and out of my door (in the Magic Mushroom picture, my door is not the one with stairs, but behind the postcard racks.  On the Amstel, I saw two boats full of college-age girls singing karaoke. On the Spui (which the Dutch insist rhymes with "cow"), I saw the pedalsaloon which was all men drinking beer at a bar, pedaling it around the city.  When I looked up their website, I saw that Denver has the same attraction.

I walked up to the Dam one last time, figuring something would be happening. There were horrible singers in the middle of the square, under an "Occupy" sign. It was unclear what was being occupied since there were signs for the "Spanish Revolution."  The street performers here have really been a disappointment. Accordion is popular. Also, fewer than what I've usually seen in Europe. The best to me are in Poland where there's a virtuoso violinist on every street corner since no one has a job.

Finally, I tried to eat at Nes 41 which is another recommended restaurant but everyone must read both Rick Steves and Johnny so it was packed. Some British women behind me were rushing to their reservation at the next restaurant down the street so I figured I'd give that a try. The place is huge inside but I was lucky to get in without a reservation--it was packed by the time I left. I had meant to try the white asparagus dish in Belgium but didn't so I had that. I think there's several variations but mine had ham, a hard-boiled egg, fingerling potatoes, melted butter.  Very tasty.

Tomorrow I head back to the Paris airport; leaving Monday morning to go home.  I had booked this round trip ticket before I knew where I was going. I should have changed the departure to Amsterdam but didn't think about it. So, it's a train to Paris Nord; train to CDG; shuttle to my hotel.  A long travel day but I'm sure the most difficult part will be getting my suitcase down these stairs.  So not the end of my journey, but the end of the blog.  See you in the US!  And Happy Mother's Day, Mom! (and you other moms, too).

Bread at Last

Tonight I kind of ate in a restaurant recommended by Rick Steves for a traditional Dutch meal. My landlady listed another place but it's far away. Rick says this restaurant is so big, it hosts tour groups. Still, because it's famous, it's best to make a reservation. I got turned away and they wouldn't let me eat outside because it's too cold which is ridiculous since every other restaurant was serving outside. On the other hand, it was freezing. But, they said, go to the bar two doors down and you get basically the same food.  Basically?  They carried it from the restaurant.  I got the traditional poor man's meal, hutspot,  which is mashed potatoes with carrots in them, a big meatball, sausage, bacon and pickles and onions on the side. And real bread with butter. I knew it existed somewhere. It was the best meal I've had in Amsterdam.

  Then I walked to Rembrandt square for apple pie. I sat in one of the only outside areas with heaters.  Since every restaurant seems to have more outside than inside tables, I'm surprised no one has heaters, like every other civilized country in Europe. It's Friday night so there were loads of people meeting for a drink after work.  That's on every square--and there's a square at the end of every street.

The Dutch are just different. For one thing, I don't know why they insist on speaking Dutch when they all know English anyway. I checked their bicycles, too. They have no gears and they're all old and ratty. Most of them don't have a basket in the front; instead, they have wire racks in the front and back where they bungee their purchases. They might have a kid seat with a kid in it; meanwhile, they're talking on their cell phones, holding an umbrella over their heads, balancing some tulips, and maybe holding a leash for the dog running beside them. They're not as talented as the Chinese who can move furniture on a bike, but they're good. Meanwhile, there are very few crosswalks in this town which means pedestrians have to watch out for bikes, cars, and trams in order to cross the street.

I felt obligated to take a picture of Rembrandt on Rembrandt square since we share the same birthday (mine is a few years after his). The other picture is the flower market right in front of my apartment. You would think it would be bustling early in the morning with deliveries, but no--the people just open up their "garage doors" about 9 or 10 and close them at 6. The street is packed with tourists and I can't understand why. Who has room to take home a lot of bulbs. Plus, every one of these places has a website. And just what's so special about Dutch gladiolas anyway? Tulips, maybe, but bonsai trees?

Navigating Amsterdam

I was doing so well...the streets here are very long but unlike Paris, they keep sort of the same name and with my handy map, I hadn't been lost once...until yesterday.

I should have known it was going to be a bad direction day when I was walking just two blocks away to find the canal cruise Rick Steves recommends.  Where can it be? I thought and then it occurred to me that the canal cruise will be on the canal, not on the street and found it. This was a covered boat and a really nice one hour cruise that even takes you out to the canal that leads to the North Sea.  There's a new building in the big shipping area called Nemo which looks like a ship. It was designed by the same architect who designed the Pompidou in Paris. It houses a kids' science museum. There were only 7 people on my boat and it's the cheapest tour in town so another good recommendation from that guidebook.  An interesting fact was the explanation for the skinny houses in Amsterdam--you were taxed on the width that was on the street. So the fronts are narrow with these narrow steps but the backs are extended. Also, the guide showed us the hooks at the top of the houses to move furniture through the windows. I can understand that since I can't even maneuver my suitcase on these stairs.

Rick said to go to the Anne Frank house after 6 (open until 8) so I got there at 6.  I walked right to it except I was on the other side of the street which, in this city,  means the other side of the canal.  There was construction on one sidewalk so I looked ahead and saw a bridge and was finally able to say those famous words "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

There was a line but it wasn't so crowded once we all got inside. I was surprised to see how many floors we walked up--I don't know why I was surprised since all these buildings are 4-5 stories.  The stairs were more narrow than mine here in this apartment and I actually had to look down to see how to place my feet. I won't pretend to explain how moving this experience is but I will say this: having seen it, it is easy to imagine how they hid for two years and second, making a museum was the right thing to do.

I had decided to walk back the same way I came when I was stopped by a Brit who was trying to get to the Dam. I knew exactly how he should go and gave him directions. I was going the same way but somehow missed my street (who knows where he ended up). To make a long walk story short, I somehow ended up walking in a big circle (it's that right vs. left thing) and then I knew I was totally turned around. I knew all these streets but I didn't know which way to go on them. Finally, I asked someone and it turned out I was going in the correct direction so I made it home.  I ate at the Sampurna just a few doors down from my apartment. Johnny sent me there for sandwiches, but of course, it's an Indonesian restaurant. I don't know what I ate for dinner but the vanilla ice cream with ginger was really good.

The Rijksmuseum

Seriously? The Dutch should be embarrassed to charge anyone money to go to the only part of the museum that's open, The Phillips Wing. I looked online and there was a comment about how surprising it is that the admission (14 Euro) is the same as for the Van Gogh Museum but the Van Gogh is so much smaller--this will be true when the Rijksmuseum actually completes the remodeling, but at present, it should be free. I thought maybe I missed a wing so I came home and read my brochure and it says there are 400 of the best Dutch paintings--they should add "5 of which are halfway famous."  I did like the story of Rembrandt's Night Watch that said when it was moved from one museum to another, it didn't fit so they lopped off 3 feet of it.

Luckily, my museum karma was working because there was a very short line at the real museum, the Van Gogh--the line was huge when I left. The museum is gorgeous and it has not only Van Gogh but also art by his contemporaries and friends. My favorite painting was the Gauguin painting of Van Gogh painting "Sunflowers." They also have a great collection of programs and posters by Toulouse-Lautrec and other artists.

The Dutch should also be embarrassed that they have no decent bread but that's another story. I guess they think the waffles make up for it.

I've been through two rainy cities but it wasn't until here that I developed horrible sinus headaches. I got up yesterday at 6 and took an aspirin I bought in Bruges and about an hour later, I was really sick.  Then I remembered I can't tolerate aspirin, at least not on an empty stomach, which is why I try to get a coated or buffered kind. On my long walk to the museums, I looked for a pharmacy but again...another city that doesn't believe in drugs (?). I found a little store that sells aspirin and a clerk told me to go to the pharmacy on the Dam. So later that afternoon, I walked to the Dam and saw a crowd of people at the square. I rushed over, in case it was a protest I needed to be part of, but everyone was taking pictures of fancy people getting out of fancy cars at the Royal Palace.  Since I have no shame, I asked a policeman what we were watching and he said a dinner party for the queen with ambassadors attending. Then I asked him where the pharmacy was and he told me. I know he knew it was closed (5:30) but I walked there anyway and saw a sign that said their other location is open 23 hours a day.  I actually knew the street it was on so I walked there, just to be told by the pharmacist that coated aspirin exists but they don't sell it.  The pharmacy was packed which should be a clue that stores should stay open later than 5 or 6.

My experience in all three of these cities is all meals are huge. I don't like a big breakfast but I hadn't found a store until just now so I had to eat in restaurants. All omelets, fried eggs or scrambled eggs orders are made of 3 eggs.  This morning, I  asked if I could cut down the order.  She did but I got 2 eggs, sunny-side up, sitting on buttered Wonder bread (actually, the bread wasn't that good), with tomato, cucumber and some weird greens on top of that.  I took off all the greenery--I was afraid it had come from the Magic Mushroom.

Vertrek

Vertrek means departure in some language. There's a reason it's on your train ticket--it tells you what time the train leaves.  I had convinced myself I was taking the 11:42 from Bruges but that was the time it arrived in Antwerp had I taken the 10:18. So, I took the 11:18 and got to Antwerp at 12:42 for a 1:00 train to Amsterdam but turns out, it had been cancelled. "As usual" is what the lady in the store told me when I asked her to translate what happened to my train. I had to hang around Antwerp Central for over an hour and that is when I quit being enamored of European rail travel.  BTW, outside the station is one diamond store after another and there's even one in the station, next to a sandwich shop.

I saw beautiful, new double-decker trains going somewhere but the train I got was old and dumpy. It was crowded, even in 1st class, because the last train had been cancelled. I had to sit with my luggage in a single seat while everyone else spread out in the two-seaters.  After an hour, the conductor came to stamp tickets and threw out a couple in the wrong class so I got a better seat. It was still miserable.

I know I'm in the land of the double vowel but riding trains has made me wonder whether it's double prepositions, also.  As you approach a new station, you get this message on the marquee--We komen aan in Antwerpen.  I translate that as "We coming on into Antwerp," but I'm not sure that's correct.

So made it to Amsterdam; a little warmer here but still rainy.  My instructions were to get my apartment keys from the tourist shop and that my door is next to The Magic Mushroom.  Admit you always wanted to say "I live next to The Magic Mushroom." They sell psycho-active drugs, teas, seeds, etc. and are open later than other stores which close promptly at 6.  When I walked by, they were playing "Whiter Shade of Pale." So nothing has changed since I was here 40 years ago.

This apartment is the best one I've ever rented in Europe.  It has a real bedroom, bathroom, and living room/kitchen with two couches and a couple of comfortable chairs. It is literally in the middle of the flower district so the views are great.  The stairs are very narrow and steep and turn a corner but luckily, my landlady had left a man to show me the apartment so I made him carry up my suitcase.  If worse comes to worse, I'll just throw it down the stairs when I leave.

My cab driver said there are 16 million people in Amsterdam and 20 million bikes. I asked him if there were a lot of accidents and he said some but mostly tourists who don't know what they're doing. These bikes are parked everywhere.  I do live one street away from the famous pedestrian only street, though, so I feel safe from traffic there. The problem is, it's their designer shopping street so there's no real reason to go there.

And that's it, for starters.

Vaarwal Bruges: Dank U

I'm so glad no one took a video of me attempting to wash my hair in the gigantic bathtub--it would not get too many hits on Youtube. First of all, they should provide a ladder to get into the tub; it has to be four feet high. I cannot wash my hair holding one of those shower wands, so I filled the tub and used that wand to rinse my hair and also soak the entire bathroom.  It was like an episode of I Love Lucy.

I took Lola's advice and went for the traditional Belgian waffle with banana and chocolate sauce for my second breakfast.  I visited the buildings on the main squares and I believe that picture of the cathedral is now in City Hall--anyway, it was stunning. It's hard to know where you are because the names on the buildings don't match the names on the map.

Then for lunch, I ate the traditional Belgian burger and fries--this burger also had two patties, like in Paris, but the meat was cooked. The double deep fried fries are very good and I prefer mayonnaise over ketchup as a general rule.  For dinner, Johnny finally came through with a suggestion--Portoromano, the traditional Portugal/Belgium restaurant that plays all-the-time Elvis Presley where I had their traditional moules/frites.

I hadn't tried the traditional appletaarte and after I ate dinner, I had an idea--go to the square and have dessert there. I decided it's an idea to live by--never eat dessert where you ate dinner.  That's why the Europeans are thin--they walk 3 miles to dinner; then walk another 3 miles for dessert. So, I ate the traditional apple tart with ice cream and whipped cream and...hot chocolate. Another brilliant idea--I didn't want coffee so late at night so why not the traditional hot chocolade?  It was delicious.

It is easy to find restaurants, lace,beer, and chocolate in Bruges. What is difficult to find is a pharmacy. Apparently, taking drugs is not very traditional here.  I needed aspirin and have been looking for a pharmacy as I walked around each day but never saw one.  Finally, I had to be proactive and actually look them up. There are 2 listed in my B&B book, one of which is now a burger place. I finally found one. You have to ask the pharmacist for what you want--she had two types of aspirin; one to dissolve in water and then the tablet variety. I kept telling her I wanted tablets but she took out the dissolvable ones to show me and explain again how they work.  I ultimately decided on the tablets.

Finally, I partook of the traditional Belgian pastime of letting cat in the window.  It might not be traditional for all people, but it certainly is for this cat.

Adorable & Charming

This city is so adorable, you just want to take a picture of every building, every bridge, every swan. That is, in the historic section--the new section is full of brand name clothing stores.  There's a house for sale that was built in 1675--it's on a canal and very nice. Only 1.5 million euros.

No this is not a famous picture I took in one of the museums.  It's in my room.  Yes, you got it, they gave me the chicken room.  Meanwhile, the cat keeps coming to my window to be let in--I'm on the second floor so I wonder how he gets on the roof.   I don't really know if these owners want him in the house since I never see the owners.  I saw a maid today and explained to her the light was out in the bathroom. She thought I was a stupid American who couldn't use the fancy light switch but then noticed that the lightbulb needed to be changed.

Today was supposed to be all-the-time museums since they'll all be closed on Monday but we actually had sun for a brief period so I took a canal tour. I did see a lot of museums.  In the first one, I got in cheap for being over 60. I was so impressed by the colors in the 15th century paintings (these artists were the first to mix colors with linseed oil) that I asked a guard whether some of them had been retouched.  The answer was yes and that's when I got busted...for having a bottle of water and an umbrella.  In the second museum, the woman decided I was over 65 and gave me a discount but the girl in the 3rd museum wasn't buying it and charged me full fare.  My favorite art today was an exposition I stumbled across--seriously, there was a sign that said "Congratulations. You have found this special exhibit"--of Picasso and Joan Miro.  It was a great exhibit and I especially liked the Chagall room which wasn't even mentioned in the advertisement.

Beginning at the train station yesterday, I discovered that it costs 50 cent to use the bathroom.  I haven't paid for bathrooms since Poland.  This is just in public areas--museums and restaurants don't charge. I find that very expensive especially when one stall was Gebuiken.  Also, often there's no separate rooms for men and women--they figure if you have a private stall, that's good enough. And...they may or may not give you a paper towel for your 50 cent.  Often, there's just an old towel sitting around for everyone to use.

I had a Croque Monsieur for lunch today which was a grilled ham and cheese just like I would make at home. Seriously--white bread with grill marks on it, much like I get from using an iron.  To make up for the fact it wasn't nearly as good as the ones in Paris, they gave me two.   I find all meals here all the time about twice as big as they need to be.  I realize Europeans don't eat every meal in a restaurant, but these portions are huge. I had the famous Belgian spaghetti bolognaise for dinner--can't help it; I have a hurty tooth.  It was very different from the one Nicole had in Paris. Tasty but it could have fed a family of four.  And that's why I haven't had a Belgian waffle yet. I'm too embarrassed to order dessert when I don't clean my plate.