Amsterdam Trip Report

Note to self, red-eye flight sucks. Taking the night bus, then walking for half an hour JUST to take the airport shuttle is not the best start to a trip. Neither is arriving in Amsterdam at 8:30am and only having two hours of pseudo-sleep. You get what you paid for, right?

Actually, this being the third time in Amterdam, there's not much I haven't seen. In fact, I can still remember most of the streets in this city (and despite the rain and mist, I still manage to find the Heineken Brewery). We had an early morning drinking session, then proceeded to check-in at the hotel and took a much needed nap. Afterwards I showed Adrian around the city of all the main sites, and obviously walked around the infamous red light district. Nothing seemed to have changed, even in the midst of the holiday season. The red glow still radiates through the area, although most of the establishments closed early because it was new years eve. Counting down at Dam Square was kinda fun, because most citizens had their own fireworks which they graciously fire off within 10 feet of you. The result? It seemed like I was walking through a war-zone, with loud bangs playing a symphony of the night. They turned central Amsterdam into the biggest nightclub there was. The streets were blocked, people were dancing on the street with loud euro-trance music blaring from the speakers surrounding Dam Square. It was definitely something different!

The next day was a bit more sight-seeing, and a lot of R&R. This is the kind of trip I need to be on more. Perhaps I'm getting too old for the "rush to see the next sight" type of traveling, and need more of the "let's sit and have a coffee" type of traveling. We ended up having an amazing steak dinner that night (which we missed while in London), and spent the night catching up and chatting in the hotel room. Once again, a lesson to be learnt here is that you really get what you paid for...