Thing's haven't quite worked out in Amsterdam today. We walked to Rijksmuseum, but there was a huge line to get in and we didn't have a ticket.
Next.
We went to the Van Gogh Museum, hoping to see some excellent paintings. Long line for those who didn't have a ticket that stretched down the block.
Next.
We hopped on the canal boats towards the Anne Frank house. Long line for those who didn't have a ticket that stretched down the block. Add in the wind and random strong downpours of rain, and there was a bit of frustration. But now I have tickets to both museums, and I did taste some cheese in the Amsterdam Cheese Museum. We also walked around and saw more of the city so the day wasn't a total bust. This is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind city.
29/7 -There's something really nice about walking around a more local part of town in the dead of night, looking for a place called Coffeeshop Space Mountain. There's no traffic but you still have to watch out for bloody cyclists using their own lane, and at night they startle you when one suddenly rushes past you from behind when you were least expecting it.
Today is the 125th anniversary of Vincent Van Gogh's death, so I celebrated by eating a brownie from the coffeeshop and getting to the museum before the opening time. While I enjoyed looking at the paintings under the influence of the brownie, I only felt it for about two hours. It was another slightly disappointing thing about Amsterdam. However, I immensely enjoyed examining the style of Van Gogh; I like to get up close to paintings to see the texture and brush strokes. I like his style of many short strokes in small spaces and areas where several different colors form a harmony.
The remaining few hours I spent in Amsterdam were spent in Rijksmuseum, the flower market, wandering at my own pace, looking around (in the style of my mother), eventually taking a left turn that dropped me straight into the Red Light District. Even in the middle of the day, prostitutes pose in the middle of windows bordered by red light. There were a few erotic museums and a live sex show for 40 Euros, where a couple essentially fuck on stage. I also made a trip into the city center, dodging the many, many tourists there and saw how many rainbow flags that signify Gay Pride.
Amsterdam is such a colorful city, but it feels fake in a way. I left town with a feeling of being left unsatisfied. I feel like the visit could have been so much more, but since I'm not the kind of person to get messed up on drugs or spend an hour with a prostitute, perhaps Amsterdam just isn't my scene. I'd like to return though.
I took a 30-minute train ride to Leiden, where I'll Couchsurf with Erik. Just walking through Leiden on the way to the bar for his group's weekly Couchsurfing meetup, I could tell Leiden is like a miniature Amsterdam, except without all of the tourists. There are beautiful canals and buildings and bridges, and it's here where I rode a bicycle for the first time, one with a rusty frame, chain that had a tendency to slip if you put too much pressure on it, a bent handlebar and a seat that wouldn't stay in one place. I learned if a bicycle and a car have an accident, the car is always at fault. The meetup was also great, as I met a Spanish guy, and we talked in Spanish. It felt great to speak again, and I understood most of what he said; He was speaking fast as well.
30/7 - Erik had to work today, so I didn't see him at all. I left him a note of thanks and my last Trapistes. I loved the guy's house though, as it's very obvious he's a single guy. Nothing is clean. Everything is in a chaotic position. The kitchen is full of bottles and cardboard and has no counter space. The patio is completely covered with empty beer and wine bottles, and the barbecue has a cover which looks as if it hasn't been removed for several months. The bathroom looks as if it's cleaned about once a month, and it includes a wriggling sink faucet. The best things about his house is his bookcase and his map of the world, on which he's pinned many tickets from events or flights from past adventures. There are also notes from past Couchsurfers saying thanks.
I wandered around Leiden today, and I saw it's a miniature Amsterdam without the Red Light District and tourists. It's the place where some of the first pilgrims to America left from (Obama has ancestors there) and the birthplace of Rembrandt. It's full of canals, tiny alleyways that hide hard-to-find coffeeshops and large cathedrals. Speaking of coffeeshops, they're very difficult to find, especially during the day because they're closed until 5 p.m. I was disappointed because I wasn't able to eat a brownie before the flight back to England. The highlight of the day was stopping to watch a pair of excellent guitarists and singers. They were singing Coldplay, so I used that moment to zone out and reflect on the last month and a half. It was a bit sad this was the final day of the trip, but sitting here in Poole now, I'm so glad to be back.
Finally, sometimes I sound negative here, moaning about how things don't work out during traveling. At the meetup I met a guy from Iran who is a political refugee. He can't return home. It took him seven years to gain refugee status in the Netherlands after moving from country to country to country. Some of his family have been killed. He had an awesome story. Now, if I start thinking negatively, I just need to remember this guy. I may be having a difficult time traveling, but at least I'm not a political refugee. That's true struggle.
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