I Amsterdam
Wow, it's been longer than I thought. Honestly, not a lot has been going on.
A week and a half or so ago, on Saturday, we went to Amsterdam for the day. The train was surprisingly busy from Sittard to Amsterdam Centraal, and some people actually ended up standing for an hour and a half. I want to say that it was fun watching the Holland countryside roll by, but honestly it was rather dull. It was like driving the river road at home on a cloudy day, except at home we have mountains and it's flat here. So very flat. We passed reindeer farms and mini-goats and acres upon acres of farmland.
When we got to the city, I had to change money to euros, which was devastating in and of itself. The exchanged rate right now is disgusting. I had $150 in cash, and that translated to 104 euros. I died a little inside. We made our way into the street, and very quickly discovered that Amsterdam is the most tourist-friendly city ever. There were clear signs on every street corner pointing the wayward visitor to every imaginable attraction. We stopped in a restaurant and had lunch (Probst had a raw Ox sausage sandwich--it was delicious), then wandered the streets. We found Oude Kerk in the Red Light District, and that was awesome. It was beautiful inside. Happily, it was also in the middle of the Red Light District. Unhappily, I stepped in vomit. It was noon. I stepped in vomit at noon. Those people know how to party.
About the Red Light District: all I'll say is that it's pretty much everything you think it is. There are indeed prostitutes two straps from naked in several windows. The stores all sell marijuana and magic mushrooms. We passed an awesome store that sold only condoms, which seems odd, but if you saw these condoms you would die. At the tips of them, there were animal heads or weird little objects--all different kinds of things. I don't know if people actually use them or they're novelty, but I don't know how down I'd be with a little giraffe exploring my naughty bits.
Anyway, we found (God)Dam Square. It was cool, except for the constant fear of being destroyed by a tiny European car or a trolley or a bicycle. I chased a pigeon.
We toured the Rijksmuseum and perused Rembrandt. At the Van Gogh Museum, we saw all the famous works of Van Gogh, including Starry Night which was on loan from the Met. Let me just say that all the reproductions of Starry Night do not do it justice. It is a lot more amazing when you're standing in front of it. The fascinating part was that the Museum did not have any visible security around the painting. It was on a wall of its own, with no guards or prohibitive lines or anything. Just...there.
After some discussion, we decided to forgo the Anne Frank Museum and get some dinner. We walked around forever, until we finally decided on a little Italian place on a side street. The food was incredible, and our waiter was Italian and awesome. I think I surprised him with some of my poor Italian speaking. At one point, he was like, "Ah, you're American. So you don't speak Italian." "Hm, ho dimenticato italiano perche' non lo uso." Probably not perfect, I know, but he was still impressed.
By the time we got off the train in Sittard, it was around 10:30 p.m. Then we discovered the hard way that the Sittard parking lot payment machine didn't take euros or non-Dutch credit cards. So we had to literally flag an old couple down like hobos and convince them to let us pay them in cash if they paid with their card so we could leave. It sucked. Overall, the Amsterdam trip was fucking awesome.
Yesterday we went to Gastoff-Peters again for dinner, and it was as awesome as the first time. I got steak covered in mushrooms and BACON. I love it there, because every food I get comes with bacon on it or around it. For dessert, I had a steaming, delicious apple strudel. It was so amazing.
In other news, I'm finally on the sub list so when I get home I can make uber money. I kind of need to get around and find out about the union though, because I guess as a sub I'd be somewhat included in the union, and it's possible that since I'm going to be taking classes to become a teacher while I'm subbing that they'll pay me a differential. That'd be hot.
Quote of the day: I'm das poltergeist...woooooooo....wooooooooo!
A week and a half or so ago, on Saturday, we went to Amsterdam for the day. The train was surprisingly busy from Sittard to Amsterdam Centraal, and some people actually ended up standing for an hour and a half. I want to say that it was fun watching the Holland countryside roll by, but honestly it was rather dull. It was like driving the river road at home on a cloudy day, except at home we have mountains and it's flat here. So very flat. We passed reindeer farms and mini-goats and acres upon acres of farmland.
When we got to the city, I had to change money to euros, which was devastating in and of itself. The exchanged rate right now is disgusting. I had $150 in cash, and that translated to 104 euros. I died a little inside. We made our way into the street, and very quickly discovered that Amsterdam is the most tourist-friendly city ever. There were clear signs on every street corner pointing the wayward visitor to every imaginable attraction. We stopped in a restaurant and had lunch (Probst had a raw Ox sausage sandwich--it was delicious), then wandered the streets. We found Oude Kerk in the Red Light District, and that was awesome. It was beautiful inside. Happily, it was also in the middle of the Red Light District. Unhappily, I stepped in vomit. It was noon. I stepped in vomit at noon. Those people know how to party.
About the Red Light District: all I'll say is that it's pretty much everything you think it is. There are indeed prostitutes two straps from naked in several windows. The stores all sell marijuana and magic mushrooms. We passed an awesome store that sold only condoms, which seems odd, but if you saw these condoms you would die. At the tips of them, there were animal heads or weird little objects--all different kinds of things. I don't know if people actually use them or they're novelty, but I don't know how down I'd be with a little giraffe exploring my naughty bits.
Anyway, we found (God)Dam Square. It was cool, except for the constant fear of being destroyed by a tiny European car or a trolley or a bicycle. I chased a pigeon.
We toured the Rijksmuseum and perused Rembrandt. At the Van Gogh Museum, we saw all the famous works of Van Gogh, including Starry Night which was on loan from the Met. Let me just say that all the reproductions of Starry Night do not do it justice. It is a lot more amazing when you're standing in front of it. The fascinating part was that the Museum did not have any visible security around the painting. It was on a wall of its own, with no guards or prohibitive lines or anything. Just...there.
After some discussion, we decided to forgo the Anne Frank Museum and get some dinner. We walked around forever, until we finally decided on a little Italian place on a side street. The food was incredible, and our waiter was Italian and awesome. I think I surprised him with some of my poor Italian speaking. At one point, he was like, "Ah, you're American. So you don't speak Italian." "Hm, ho dimenticato italiano perche' non lo uso." Probably not perfect, I know, but he was still impressed.
By the time we got off the train in Sittard, it was around 10:30 p.m. Then we discovered the hard way that the Sittard parking lot payment machine didn't take euros or non-Dutch credit cards. So we had to literally flag an old couple down like hobos and convince them to let us pay them in cash if they paid with their card so we could leave. It sucked. Overall, the Amsterdam trip was fucking awesome.
Yesterday we went to Gastoff-Peters again for dinner, and it was as awesome as the first time. I got steak covered in mushrooms and BACON. I love it there, because every food I get comes with bacon on it or around it. For dessert, I had a steaming, delicious apple strudel. It was so amazing.
In other news, I'm finally on the sub list so when I get home I can make uber money. I kind of need to get around and find out about the union though, because I guess as a sub I'd be somewhat included in the union, and it's possible that since I'm going to be taking classes to become a teacher while I'm subbing that they'll pay me a differential. That'd be hot.
Quote of the day: I'm das poltergeist...woooooooo....wooooooooo!