You’ll be pleased to know that I
think I’ve used up the last of the warm weather….I’ve been in
long sleeves for nearly a week now and will probably be pasty-white
by the time I return home. Pouty McPouty Pants.
However, I am pleased to report that I
am finding the Netherlands fantastic, at least once I left Amsterdam!
It’s funny that I said I was feeling somewhat prudish in my last
post, because….well, let’s start at the start. I met Amelia, a
young American girl who is travelling with her fifty-two year old
mother – yep, in the hostels! I admire her, because hell, I hate
dorm beds. Anyway, I ended up going out to dinner with the pair and
had a lovely time, and to top it off mum ended up paying and refused
to accept any money towards it! It was such a lovely act of kindness
that I immediately felt better about Amsterdam. After this Amelia
felt like I drink so I thought I’d accompany her briefly. As she is
an attractive girl, within half an hour we were surrounded by a group
of young men eager to talk to her. We ended up going out to a ‘coffee
shop’ and I am still quite baffled at how I ended up there….I was
talking and the next minute I was walking in somewhere with ‘green’
in its name. *shakes head*
Anyway, they lit up their joints and
passed them around and I clearly declined. It was almost like I’d
said ‘Let’s kill more babies by offering a 2 for 1 deal at an
abortion clinic’ in the bloody Vatican. Everybody stopped and
stared at me. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but they were certainly
baffled. “Why on earth did you come to Amsterdam???” I tried to
explain my ancestry but they were less than convinced. Further on I
was observing the young folk (average age of about 20ish) getting
high and proceedingly incoherent and illogical, when one of the
youths announced that I was too reserved. What, for not succumbing to
peer pressure and polluting my lungs and killing my brain cells? I
laughed, but not quite as heartily when he told me that I was prudish
(because I had my legs crossed). BAHAHAHA! Oh, how I wish that I had
that on tape recording. See Dad, I CAN be a lady, you just have to
compare me to complete knobs. *wipes tear from eye*
Anyway, I was very glad to be leaving
Amsterdam and heading to Rotterdam the next morning, and I was
relieved to find that I like it MUCH better. The woman at reception
of my next hostel was absolutely fantastic and made me feel relaxed
and at home. It’s an older crowd here who have A drink and enjoy
discussing things and absorbing the atmosphere. I had one really
terrible conversation with a guy from Israel about the relationship
between evolution and behaviour and its implications for society….why
did I leave Amsterdam again??
The hostel has themed rooms all painted
reasonably brightly and decorated – mine is the ‘Park Room’
which is painted green and even has a blue-winged kookaburra stuck to
the wall. The hostel also has a resident dog, Lexie who is only about
15 months old – old enough to be big but young enough to be an
adorable nuisance. *sigh of contentment*
In a crude analogy I would say that
Rotterdam is like Melbourne – a relaxed city with bits of parkland
and high degree of multiculturalism, where Amsterdam is like Sydney –
full of tourists and people doing their own thing.
ANYWAY… I walked around Rotterdam
looking at nothing in particular but enjoying the feel of the city. I
followed ‘Rondje Rotterdam’ signs which lead you around the city
taking you past all the crazy architecture – really, they take
modern architecture to an entirely different level. It also takes you
past the “Walk of Fame’ with famous people from the Netherlands
(and others that come to visit). Many notable (and not notable) names
are here, from Barry White to Roxette to Gloria Estafan to Shrek and
Mickey Mouse and even, God help us all, 3T. Some things should be a
forgotten memory. This is definitely one of them. *shudders*
There is also a nice park here, Het
Park which would be really nice to relax in if it wasn’t so damn
cold and wet!
Yesterday I did a day trip to two other
cities, Den Haag and Delft. I was really looking forward to visiting
Delft and so I was pleasantly surprised when I really enjoyed Den
Haag. I had no idea what was here, I just turned up at the tourist
office and asked for information. Imagine my pleasant surprise when
the smiling information woman told me that I could go and see
Vermeer’s famous Girl with a Pearl Earring (that a novel was
written on which was consequently made into a film) and almost the
entire collection of M.C. Escher!! Woohoo!!!
So off I trundled. First stop was
Mauritshuis where Vermeer’s painting was to be found. Unfortunately
no pictures are allowed, but you probably know what she looks like
anyway. She was smaller than I had imagined, but she was just
beautiful. Not quite the complete WOW factor of seeing David in the
‘flesh’, but her gentle beauty is more infiltrating up close.
After this I headed to the Escher
museum, which was bloody fantastic. Everybody is familiar with many
of his pieces and it was interesting to watch the evolution of his
work and when he started playing around with perspective. I had a
ball walking around and looking at the plethora of eye candy and yes,
I’m referring to his work, not people. I gloated sufficiently to
Andrew, who I did actually wish was with me because they have an
‘Escher Room’ where you too can play with perspectives and appear
large or small depending on where you stand. I took too many
photographs of images I am familiar with and some that were new.
Afterwards I walked around the city for
a while and took in the surrounds. Although not conventionally
beautiful like Delft, Den Haag has an allure that will ensure I
return. Stupid not being able to cross countries off my list.
Grumble, grumble. On my way home I thought I’d stop in via Delft in
case it started raining today, and I was not disappointed with the
aesthetics before me. Cobblestone streets pave alongside narrow
canals inhabited by ducks, moorhens and plantlife. Bikes flitter in
and out, some chained to posts in various states of new and decay,
and people stroll around enjoying the air, despite the fact that it
was cold and about to rain. Technically no real major attractions
here aside from the beauty of the town, which suited me fine because
I didn’t get there till five!
I strolled around admiring the canals
and the streets until it started raining reasonably heavily. I
stopped for dinner at a small restaurant and had an amazing
vegetarian lasagne and then headed home. I was pleased to finally see
my first windmill (well, here in Holland anyway!)
Wearily headed home to be greeted by a
hyperactive Lexie and eventually head to bed. Off to Maastricht
tomorrow for a few days before heading into Germany. It’s supposed
to be gorgeous, so they may yet again be an overabundance of photos
for you to scroll through…I know how much you hate that!
Hope you’re well!!
XX
Rotterdam photos
Den Haag and Delft photos
