I didn't have trouble deciding what to wear today because I only have 2 shirts to pick from.
We left our hotel and walked to where the tram dropped us off last night. There we got a 1 hour pass for 2 euros and went to the art museum area. There's 3 art museums all on the same block practically. Before we could judge paintings, we had to get breakfast.
There was a small cafe near one of the museums. They had pancakes and I was ready to commit. I ordered apple pancakes and an espresso macchiato.
It was delicious. When I go home I'm going to learn how to make dutch pancakes because they're very good. Maria had banana pancakes and her's might have been better. My breakfast cost maybe 11 euros.
Then we went to the Stedelijk Museum. It was expensive, 20 euro entry. They had free wifi so I looked up the museums more famous paintings and didn't recognize any. We didn't go inside.
Instead we went around the corner to the Van Gogh Museum! I payed 22 euro (it would have been 17 but I got a audio guide for Maria since she didn't have enough euros).
Portrait of a duck
The place was organized by time. His earlier works at the bottom, his last at the top. While we were in line Maria and I argued about Starry Night. She says she saw in it France. I say I saw it in New York. She looked it up and I was right, it's at MoMA. I think it's funny, this museum in Amsterdam has the largest of Van Gogh's works but they don't have his most famous one.
So you walk into the museum and it's a little crowded. They have security but not always within sight. I was going to take a picture of some of his self portraits when a guard told me I can't take pictures or videos.
What. The. Hell. I get so angry when I'm told I can't take pictures. Why can't I? I paid over 20 euro to get into this art museum that doesn't even have the artist's most famous painting. At the MET AND MoMA they let you take pictures. This some bullshit.
After you move out of his self portrait section, you move into the time of his life where all he painted was peasants. There you can see the Potato Eaters. It's a painting of a poor family at a table eating. I don't like Van Gogh's works of people. He sometimes distorts people's most prominent figure and it looks ridiculous to me. Also, he painted way too thick! Some of Van Gogh's works are 3-D there's so much paint. No wonder the dude was poor. He could have used a fraction of the ink and probably saved all the money.
Things became a blur. I looked at paintings. Sometimes Maria and I would bump into each other and I'd ask her for a highlight of what the audio guide was saying. She'd give me the basics and said the guide gave quotes by Van Gogh and some were beautiful. She copied a few down to remember. I think that's sweet. I'm glad she got the audio guide. I would not have cared.
Maria's sister is an art major. I asked Maria if she feels guilty about being here, knowing that her sister would love this place but isn't here. She said she did feel guilty. That makes me reflect on my emotions about museums when Camin or my dad aren't there.
The museum also has a lot of letters written by Van Gogh to his brother or friends. Then it has some of his friends paintings. Some letters had an audio guide. Everything was in Dutch and English. They never mentioned Starry Night.
I've decided my favorite paintings of Van Gogh are Wheatfield with Crows and Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette. I like crows and I like dead things, perfect.
When we were done we did a little shopping in the gift store. I saw a poster of the Skull print and bought it. I will hang it in my future kitchen. I also got 2 multicolored pencils for Ian. I don't know why they reminded me of Ian, but they did. It cost maybe 12 euros? I don't remember!
We were on the fence about the third museum, the Rijksmuseum. I looked at their most famous works online and was down to go. Maria didn't want to. So we didn't.
We walked around. Behind the museums the city had some ugly statues and a big I AMsterdam slogan.
Since we were in the fashion district, we did a little window shopping. Nothing was my style or was overpriced but I enjoyed it all the same. We did buy a coffee (Maria) and a cookie (Calla).
We went to the Vondelpark to eat our snacks. They had a little lake and lots of trees and some ducks. Maria thought it was really pretty here and wanted to hang out.
Back to my Irish riot days in this outfit
I wandered around and got bored and made us leave after 30 minutes.
More wandering around Amsterdam. I liked it. Besides Dublin and Berlin this is the busiest city we've been to. There are bikes everywhere. I knew there would be but I was still surprised to see rows and rows and rows of bikes parked on the sidewalks.
We decided to find the french fry place the guy at front desk told us about. He had written down the name but his handwriting is atrocious and I couldn't decipher it. He also wrote an X on the map of where it was located. It took us a while to find the area. Once we found the X there was nothing there but residential places. We looked and looked but couldn't find it.
Eventually we were outside of a cafe with free wifi so we got on that and I looked up pomme frites restaurants. We found one that looked like it could have been what the guy had written down so we took the directions to this place.
It was called Frites uit Zuyd and looked like a chill but upscale place. I ordered fish and chips with mayo for 10 euro. I was so excited!
Pomme Frites!
They brought out the food and it was hot as the devil. The mayo is a yellow-ish color and has specks of red and green in it.
You better be delicious or so help me...
It was good! I don't feel like mayonnaise is an appropriate word. It makes mayo taste flavorless. This yellow mayonnaise is more creamy and has a tangier taste.
I dig it.
I ate everything but the salad (shocking, I know). I'm so glad we found this place! Eating the fries with mayo was my #1 thing to do in Amsterdam.
After a delicious lunch we got on the tram and bought the 24 hour pass for 12 euro. Maria and I keep arguing over whether it's overall cheaper to keep getting the 1 hour pass or a 24 hour pass. I'm not good at math so she's probably right.
We took the tram to the Central Station to reserve seats. Here we finally decided when to leave Amsterdam. We agreed 2:00 in the afternoon. Neither of us is happy with it but compromises don't make both parties happy. It cost 15 euro to reserve a seat. I thought that was reasonable but Maria says it's overpriced.
After that we got back on the tram and went to some tourist shops. I got distracted by an H&M store and wanted to go in. Now I've been to an H&M store in Manhattan, Belfast, Oslo, Berlin, and Amsterdam. I wonder when they'll hire me as their international spokesperson. I didn't get anything but Maria tried some stuff on.
When we left there were pigeons all over the place. I tried to get some to land on me but they were too smart and knew I didn't have any seed.
Please accept my love.
Then we passed by a Cookie Bar and I got a chocolate chip and cherry cookie.
Who bit out of it?!
We went to more tourist stores. I got some magnets shaped like houses at one place and 2 shirts and 2 postcards at another. One shirt is for me and one is for Ian. The shirts and postcards cost maybe 25 euro and the magnets cost 10 for 4 of them.
We passed a coffee store and Maria wanted a cuppa joe. I followed her inside and saw something that got me nostalgic, which is weird to say.
They store had these cookies that I remember eating with my brothers when we were very little and spending time with my dad in Montana. When I got older I had a hard time describing the cookies and never saw them again. Apparently they're called stroopwafles. I bought a bag and a canister to put them in for 10 euros. I'm really excited to share with Camin and Ian. I wonder if they'll remember them.
We walked around more. I caught the scent of weed a couple times but didn't see a shop. While we were walking I smelled it again and used my bloodhound skills. My nose took my several feet to a Coffee Shop with bongs in the window. Jackpot. I didn't take a picture because there were people sitting outside the front smoking and I don't like having pictures with strangers in them if I can help it. And I didn't go in because Maria is not about that chill lifestyle and would have been uncomfortable. Oh well. At least I saw a Coffee Shop.
Funny enough, we were also across the canal from the Anne Frank House. I've known for a while that we wouldn't be able to get in, it's just too crowded. That didn't upset me. I wasn't too interested and at the risk of sounding anti-Semitic I found the book dull.
Anne Frank House
We went to another tourist shop because why not. They had more stroopwafles here and for cheaper than the place I got mine. So I bought 2 more tins and cookies. Score! Maria tried one of the sample stroopwafles they had for tasting. She said she understood why I would have a hard time explaining these cookies. Outside this shop were big Dutch shoes.
Work it
We crossed a canal where there was a good photo moment. I had Maria take my picture several times because she kept taking blurry ones and then a boat would get in the way.
My bag is heavy with shopping.
We walked in front of the Anne Frank House. The lines were huge. It was 5 in the evening on a Saturday, maybe it's a cracking place at night. We did walk by it though and I was unmoved. The actual house must be behind the building we saw.
We rounded a corner away from the crowds and saw a statue of a girl with a tulip on the ground beside her. And suddenly I was sad. It was a fairly simple statue and there was no one around it. But it was very humbling.
We decided to go back to the hotel because we were both tired and a little weighed down from all our shopping. We got a pizza for 8 euros and took the tram. Maria said she knew where we were going. We ended up missing our stop and having to catch another tram back. She felt bad. I wasn't angry or upset by any of it.
The pizza was cold and that didn't bother me. We got back around 8 and spread out all our gifts on our beds to look at them. Maria and I have almost opposite personalities but we both love to buy people presents. I tried on my t-shirt and I like it!
I also took my Van Gogh skull out, this is what it looks like:
The multicolored pencils I got for Ian are there too. I tried one out and fell in love. It's so pretty and fun to write with. Ian will only get one pencil.
I took a shower, then did my typing/journaling that I do ever night. I'm anxious about tomorrow because it might be an intense day with the trains. I try not to think about it today. I'll go crazy if I do. I was ready to go to bed at 1 when I looked up and noticed all my gifts were still on the bed. Son of a tulip! I should have spent my time packing and organizing for tomorrow instead of showering off that Amsterdam stank. Instead I went to bed around 1:30 to 2.
Today was a very fun day! It feels like we did a lot. Amsterdam is like Oslo, you can't do it all in one day. I'll have to come back. I really enjoyed just being here.
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