We Let It Gogh

For most of us when we go on a trip or visit a distant place, we would like to pack as much as many activities in a short span of time. Our vacation is sometimes more tiring than work. We reason that since we will be there only once, plus we probably spent some of our precious savings to get there, so we would like to make our stay worth our money.

That’s what we did not too long ago when we visited the Netherlands. And we were able to do all what we planned. Almost.

Few minutes after we landed in Amsterdam, we just drop off our bags in the hotel and we’re off wandering the streets of the city. We even went for a boat cruise in their intricate canal system the same day we arrived and we’re happy we did that day, for the rest of our stay, it rained.

Amsterdam was located in the mouth of the river Amstel. To prevent flooding, the early settlers in this place built a dam, thus it became known as Amstel dam, and that’s where its name came from. The canals were built in the 17th century as a means of transportation of goods and people in a growing city as well as to control the waters. Today, Amsterdam has about 100 kilometers of canals.

Besides riding the boat, we also rode the bike (even in the rain), which is how the Hollanders roll. They like their bikes, and they go anywhere with their bikes. Everywhere you looked, there were bikes. They said that bicycles outnumber their population, as each person have more than 1 bike, sometimes they have 2 or more.

There are 2 known “red” things in Amsterdam. One is their (in)famous Red Light District. As the name implies it is a place with shops, clubs and businesses that are “adult-themed,” and I’m being euphemistic here. I swear, I did not wander in the Red Light District.

Since I did not go to the Red Light District, I only have photo of the “green” district. By the way, the green establishment on the photo below is one of the world’s best-known Cannabis cafés before, but it is no longer selling cannabis, hash, or related products. Though walking the streets of Amsterdam, you could catch the unmistakably whiff of “weed” in many places.

The other known “red” thing is their bike lane which is painted red. The locals zoom with their bikes and would run you over if you’re not careful when crossing, walking or standing in the bike lanes. The cyclists have the right of way always, not the pedestrians, when they are on those marked bike lanes. In fact, I heard one tourist guide humorously said that they paint their bike lanes with tourists’ blood.

We also rode the bus from Amsterdam to visit places outside the city when we went to see the iconic windmills in Zaanse Schans (see previous post here), and the fairytale-like village of Giethoorn (see previous post here), where there are no streets but only canals.

We even took a 2-hour train ride to the neighboring country of Belgium where we spent a day in the city of Antwerp. This city is known as the diamond capital of the world since 1447 and it still is today. Right next to central train station is the famous diamond district of Antwerp, the place where rough and polished diamonds are traded. I prevented my wife to walk there.

What we visited is the Chocolate Nation, the largest Belgian Chocolate Museum in the world. Part of the tour of the museum is tasting the chocolates. How great is that? We also roam around the city looking at their interesting old European buildings.

It was during our day trip to Belgium that our problem started. We really overdid ourselves cramming all the activities in such a short time, not considering the jet-lag effects and the fact that we are getting old.

On our way to Belgium, we were so sleepy that we slept on the train. When we arrived in Antwerp, my wife was very sleepy still that we looked for an empty bench in a city park and she laid there and slept for several minutes. People passing by might have thought we were homeless. I should have placed my hat in front of the bench where she was sleeping, and we could have some coins thrown our way.

Photo below is a monument of a sleeping boy and his dog in Antwerp. We imitated this sleeping boy literally, when we were there.

The following day after the Antwerp trip, we were supposed to go to the Van Gogh Museum which houses the work of the great Dutch painter, and is one of the most popular places to visit in Amsterdam. It was only a short distance away from the hotel where we were staying, however we cannot fight the overwhelming fatigue anymore. Our entrance tickets were for early morning when the museum opens, but we were too tired to wake up. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak. So, we slept in.

We may have missed our trip to the museum, but sleep have never felt that good. We were totally fine to let Van Gogh go. At least it gives us a reason to visit the city again, if ever.

From Amsterdam,

Pinoytransplant.

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(*photos taken with an iPhone; Americans pronounce Gogh as ‘Gow,’ but the real Dutch pronunciation of Gogh is a guttural ‘Khokh’, as if your clearing your throat to hack up a phlegm.)