Exploring Uptown

Yesterday morning we met two more American Jewish kids, Aaron and Karma (which I believe is just what he goes by). They just got back from a 9 month volunteering stint in Israel through Young Judeah, and headed straight to Amsterdam after they finished to relax. And what a perfect city to do that in! After some interesting conversation, the five of us decided to go find pancakes at a nearby pannenkoekenhaus. Our first attempt lead us to a nearby place in Leidseplein that was only serving fritters for some reason, so we set out again. We found a really cool looking place built inside a converted carousel pavilion and decided to eat there. A pancake there was just a circular piece of thin dough spread over an oversized dinnerplate, and then syrup was thick, malty, and sweet. It was quite a delicious meal, and I daresay I enjoyed it more than an American plate of flapjacks.

After breakfast, we all went back to the hostel. Aaron and Karma went to go relax in the smokers' lounge downstairs while the three of us got our laundry together. We had long since run out of clean clothes and it was high time to take care of that. So we got everything into a bag and walked 10 minutes to a wasserette. Turns out we didn't have to sit there and do all the laundry ourselves at all! For just 7 euro, the very nice lady who worked there would wash, dry, fold, and pack all of our clothes for us in just a few hours. Awesome!

With our free time we walked down the road to the Heineken museum to get a taste of the "Heineken Experience", as they called it. A very excited girl at the front doors handed us coupons for 20% off admission and chatted us up for a few minutes about some comedy show. The "experience" was essentially a self-led tour through the museum where we got to see really cool images and artifacts from the history of the beer, including old advertisements, bottle labels, awards, philosophies, and city honors. It was all very cool to see. We also got to learn how the factory works as well as take a mini amusement park ride through the brewing process. After a guided tasting we got more free beer at the very fancy Heineken-themed bar at the end. After three beers on an empty stomach, I must say I was feeling quite happy.

On our way to find a place to eat, we stumbled upon our first open air market in this country. What a lucky find! It was way bigger than the one in London, and there were fishmongers! Michael and Alex picked up some cheeses and meats, and I would have gotten cheese if there was a bread vendor. But since there wasn't, I got a middle eastern chicken wrap at a falaffel place down the street. Of course, right after that, we found an Arab bakery that sold all kinds of breads. Alex picked up a huge loaf of Ciabatta for 1 Euro and I cried on the inside for not getting a delicious wedge of brie from the market.

This city definitely carries an air of relaxation, and I don't think it's all coming from the pot smoking everywhere. The attitude and expectations of everyone seem to be slower and less needy. Even the three of us seem to be feeling it, since we've spent significantly less time outside the hostel exploring than we did in London. Of course, it could also be the cold and the fact that none of us really brought anything too warm to wear. But the showers are warm, the people friendly, and the city beautiful so all is well. It should be warmer today, so hopefully I'll have my camera out again and shooting more pictures of the scenery.

Today we are planning on visiting the Anne Frank museum and the Cannabis museum along with anything else that randomly comes our way. Tonight is the red light district and perhaps a gay club or two just to the south of it. Hopefully the weather cooporates!