AmsterDAMNIT

So, as mentioned previously, I spent a weekend in Amsterdam! Some of you may automatically think the worst, but if you read on you will either be pleased or disappointed with me ha.

Amsterdam is not a city I would typically have planned to visit on my own. It was on a bucket list somewhere, sure, but honestly after this weekend it still is. Let me explain…

I shall start my story with a disclaimer:

I have tattoos. Yes, I do. Yes, I think they are beautiful. Yes I REALLY DO think they will still look beautiful in 80 years (because they are me). No, I do not show them at work. No, I am not going to elaborate further.

Alright, now that we’re past that. I mention this fact only because it explains the actual reason for me going to Amsterdam. As I mentioned, Amsterdam is not a city I would travel to on my own. I would go with friends and/or Matt, but alone, when you have to work Monday… meh. BUT. The artist who did my previous tattoo was a guest artist in Raleigh from Holland, and when I found out I would be coming to Italy, I thought, “Man, wouldn’t it be freaking cool to ‘go see my tattoo artist for my next tattoo in Holland’???” Again, to some of you, this whole idea may make you uncomfortable, and that statement may make you roll your eyes and shake your head with an , ‘‘Oh lord” added on… but that’s where we’re at :-)

So. I messaged him and made an appointment. Turns out he is actually in Rotterdam, though, so I had to juggle that in trying to make my plans for the weekend. I was also coming straight from 3 weeks in Stockholm, so I had my HUMONGOUS suitcase with me along with my work backpack. Everywhere I went I looked like I was moving in…

So I fly into Amsterdam Friday night. I get in at a semi-reasonable time, but then had to catch a train to Rotterdam. The train was relatively quick, but definitely took me a bit of time earlier in the day to find and buy my ticket and then to find where to go when I was leaving the airport. Luckily the Amsterdam train line went underneath the airport, so that helped, but surprisingly none of the signs had english on them. Context clues reaalllyyy come in handy in some of these situations. Even in Italy I can follow some conversations, or even “have” a conversation with someone without actually knowing what they are saying just by using context clues to assume what they are saying (dangerous, I know). For example, at the grocery store, I still never know what words come out of their mouth when I am checking out, but I know when they ask if I need a bag (I say no and point to the bags I brought), I know they ask if I am paying by cash or card, etc. etc. Same thing with waiters and ticket booths and so on. The process for traveling and eating and buying things is all very similar in western countries I am finding. I say similar, though, because it is definitely not the SAME (hence previous struggles with figuring out how to buy a damn coffee because sometime you pay ahead of time, and sometimes you pay at the register over HERE and then give the barista over THERE the receipt to order, and sometimes you sit and enjoy and pay after, and NO ONE TELLS YOU WHICH IT IS….not bitter or anything….) Anyway.

What I meant to say is I made it to my train :-) I get into Rotterdam, it’s maybe 1030 or 11pm, and instead of walking the half hour to my hostel, I decide to grab an Uber. This uber would be the first of many that in the end would cost me a freaking arm and a leg. Did I mention I want a redo on this weekend?

I get to my hostel and realize it wasn’t really a hostel at all. I had booked it through hostelworld.com which is where my confusion started, but this place was… different. I think it was some sort of coworking space/extended stay hotel? I was able to book just one night in a private room, but they definitely had notes relevant to people that would stay there for maybe weeks or months at a time. After I checked in, I walked past a turnstile type operation then walked down a few halls with obnoxiously “millennial” signs (Trust me, although it may have been true, it hurts me to say that. As many of you know, one of my biggest pet peeves is when folks generalize and speak condescendingly regarding the ‘millennial’ generation, as I am considered one of them, and I think that the people I have gone to school with and those just older or younger than me are doing AMAZING things in this world, and everyone should recognize that. I digress…)

I walked past a room with a dozen or so people playing foosball and having a beer while sitting on a couple of couches, then past a few “collaboration rooms,” and more bright and colorful signage to make every turn look like they were planning to Instagram it. I make it up to my room, and it had a mini kitchenette and a gorgeous bathroom. I was very pleasantly confused.

I decided to just go to bed as I knew I had a long day on Saturday. I woke up around 8am maybe, showered and headed out to go find a couple of sights that were open in the morning. I stopped at a grocery store along the way to just pick up a coffee and a pastry (the italian way :-) even though I was in Holland…) and kept walking. It was a cloudy morning, but no rain and a nice temperature. I swear no one in Europe wakes up before 10am on weekends. The streets are always so quiet when I get started on a trip- it makes it so nice to stroll at my leisure and not worry about looking like the American tourist.

I get to my first stop which is the “Cube Houses.” I really don’t know much more than that. They are unique architectural houses or apartments in the city of Rotterdam… and they look cool!

I continue on and head to the Markthal. Essentially it is a huge indoor area with ‘restaurants’ that reminded me of the Reading Terminal Market in Philly, and probably just because it was Saturday there was a HUGE outdoor market set up up front (seriously, America needs more outdoor markets and bars and such). The building had multiple floors with stores and stands with every type of food you could think of. And on top of that (literally, ha), the ceiling was an 80ft tall (my estimate.. may want to double check that..) arch covered in a really neat mural. I did end up grabbing something to eat, but it was just neat to walk around.

Unfortunately, that was about all the time I had, and not many places opened until 11 or 12 anyway. So I walked back to my hotel, grabbed my body bag and my turtle shell and called another Uber ($$). I show up to the shop, walk in with all of my bags, and literally the first thing he says is, “Are you staying the weekend??” Sigh. We chat, we design, I endure pain, and about 5.5 hours later I am hugging him goodbye with a huge smile on my face.

I immediately head back to the Rotterdam train station (via Uber ($$)) and catch my train BACK to the Amsterdam airport because I had chosen to stay in a hotel somewhat near said airport (I think there was some logic behind that, but now looking back, I really can’t remember what that logic was…. Sigh. Seriously, redo?) My plan was to check into my hotel, drop all of my luggage off, and then head into the city for the evening. I get to the Schipol airport, and before I call another Uber ($$), I check to see if there is a shuttle to the hotel as it IS apparently close enough be called “something something AIRPORT hotel”… and there is indeed a shuttle! Fantastic! Unfortunately, the shuttle only runs every 30 minutes, and I must have showed up right after a shuttle had left… so I wait.

Finally the bus comes, and the driver so kindly tries to reach for my suitcase to help me put it up on the rack inside… it takes him about 4 tries and then afterwards he looks it me like “What in the HELL do you have in there, bricks???” Woops. The hotel is just a cool 8 minute drive, so that went smoothly, but when a couple dozen people show up at the same time to check into a hotel, even with two front desk employees, it takes some time. I decided to have dinner at the hotel pub/restaurant for both convenience and speed… unfortunately I was only correct on one of those characterizations. It took me maybe 45 minutes to get a menu, give my order, and get my food. I ate quickly, but then realized my phone was almost dead, and the last thing I wanted was to be in Amsterdam without a phone. So I go up and charge my phone. Throughout this whole event I am tired and feeling so unmotivated for a night in AMSTERDAM, so I have texted both Matt and Kathleen to “convince me to go out tonight.” Kathleen essentially told me I had no choice. Fine.

I called an Uber ($$) and didn’t get into town until about 10:30pm. The only “sight” that was open that late was the Torture Museum, so I decided to go. I honestly don’t even know if the “artifacts” there were real or reconstructions, but either way some of their descriptions were VIVID.

I get out of there and start wandering a little. One of the original coffeeshops was around the corner so I walked by that (did not go in).

I tried to walk by or through the red light district juuussstttt to see it, but I think I somehow was a street or two off because I saw zero sketchy or appalling things. I DID however see a ton of bachelor and bachelorette parties walking around which was funny. I found some cool street sculptures and took in the beautiful canals with the water reflecting the city lights. Really pretty. Even in my disgruntled state I had told myself I would go somewhere and have just one beer, but walking around I didn’t even want to do that. I just walked.

After about an hour, I called that sufficiently Amsterdam’d and called an Uber ($$) to go back to the hotel. I had a full day planned for Sunday and was honestly more excited to see the city in daylight.

Sidenote: during this time I was missing a wedding back home and was getting a few pictures sent from friends in attendance. This made me both very happy getting to see what was happening and feeling like I was mildly involved, and also quite homesick. I miss my people.

Continuing. There were 3 museums that were on my “do not miss” list for Amsterdam. Three. And I decided that if I started RIGHT when they opened at 9am, I could hit all 3 on Sunday and call it a success. The museums, in order of priority, were:

• Van Gogh Museum

• Rijksmuseum

• Anne Frank House

So I do the math, get up way too early for a Sunday, go have the hotel’s expensive breakfast buffet, bring my body bag etc. down to the desk to store for the day, then call yet another Uber ($$) to back get into town. I have him drop me off right at the Van Gogh museum. I start walking up and see two buildings close to each other, each with lines. I assume it is a similar situation to the Uffizi or Galleria in Florence where you go to one building to buy/pick up your ticket, then the other building is the actual museum entrance. I walk towards the shorter line which looks like the ticket line, and I see a sign… “Tickets only sold Online” (or something like that).. With the website listed below. Oook. So I go to the website annnd. Of course. No more tickets available today. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! Seriously- redo?????

Ok. Ok. Fine. Fine fine fine. Rijksmuseum… let’s check there and make sure I am not further disappointed. I immediately go to their website and am able to buy a ticket. Phew. So I head that direction.

As I walk up to the building, I realize the famous “Iamsterdam” sign is right in front! Picture time.

So I get inside, I find a map, and head into the exhibits. Honestly, the museum is fantastic. There is SO much. And some highly revered pieces to boot. After I think I have finished the first floor, I go up to the second, and then quickly realize, “Wait.. No, I think I missed a whole side to the first floor. Ah I’ll have to do it when I head back down.” I hit a point maybe 1.5 hours in where it was now late enough that more people were around, and the area I was in was apparently where a lot of the famous pieces were, and so all of the tour groups seemed to be in the same place as me and oh my god I’m going to slap someone. It’s fine. Toootttally fine.

I still saw a few Van Gogh pieces

and Toulouse-Lautrec!

and Rembrandt

etc. etc… and just general beautiful, old stuff :-) I’m so cultured...

At about 2.5 hours…. I hit my breaking point. I hadn’t even gone to the top floor, and I think I had taken a few more wrong turns and missed at least ⅓ of the the pieces on the floors I HAD been to. But I couldn’t do it anymore. A person can only appreciate so much art in one sitting, so to speak. So I left. I walked outside and sat in a garden out front for a while, watching kids (and adults) play in the fountain and enjoyed the whole sitting thing.

After I felt a little rejuvenated, I started on the 25 minute walk to the Anne Frank House. It was truly a beautiful day, and walking along the water in the sun was calming. The city was buzzing with people.

I get there annnddd. Yep. You guessed it. I needed to have purchased my ticket weeks ago. AmsterDAMNIT, expletive, expletive, bleep bleep. Fine. FINE, Amsterdam. Have it your way.

So I storm off, slam my metaphorical door on no one in particular, and go to find food. Food is the one thing I knew I could count on. One of the traditional dishes for the scandinavian area in general (including Holland and Denmark etc.) is herring. I have mostly heard of raw pickled herring, but herring in general would do. I did some googling while I stopped for an espresso, and headed towards a stand. I ended up walking through an art market on my way which made me happy.

Then, arriving at my destination, got a herring sandwich and it was DELICIOUS. Definitely not pickled, and I don’t think it was raw (yea, I know, “how can you not know?”... whatever, I couldn’t tell haha).. But close enough. Check.

At this point, I still have a couple of hours before I need to head back to the hotel to get my stuff and get to the airport. And I want ice cream. So I walk a little ways and find a little shop, get myself a cone, and plop down on the ground on the edge of one of the canals. The sun was shining, people were taking their boats up and down, and the birds were only mildly intimidating…

I think I sat there almost an hour, texting Matt through his hangover back home and finding my center again.

Then, as my last act, I spent probably an hour walking away from the city, through a HUGE park, and watching alllll of the people enjoying their Sunday afternoon. The park was filled to the brim in a similar manner to the park in Stockholm, but about 15 times bigger.

I finally got to the other side, and called an Uber ($$).

I get back to the hotel, grab my bags, take the shuttle back to the airport, and check my bag, all without much issue. I was flying EasyJet for the first time (one of the super cheap airlines that have zero free amenities). I get to the airport so early they haven’t even announced what gate I will be flying out of, so I stop and get a pizza and talk to Matt. The sign finally updates to show that I should be in something like “terminal M, area 4”. I can’t remember exactly what words it used, but it wasn’t ‘gate’. But, using my strong deductive reasoning skills as I AM an engineer after all, I head to the M terminal wing kind of place and go to gate H4. Makes sense, right? I sit down (no chairs or benches there) and keep talking. I keep an eye on the sign and listening to the overhead announcements, and no changes… no changes.. No changes.. Then finally right about the time I knew we should be boarding, I hear an announcement saying that my flight was “Now boarding at gate H1”... good grief. So I haul it down the terminal a few gates and board, nervous the whole time that my backpack wasn’t going to fit. Not sure why but for some reason I was expecting EasyJet flights to be on tiny planes with plastic seats, no overhead storage, one flight attendant for safety, and that’s about it. Luckily, it’s essentially a normal plane, they just charge you for food :-)

I make it to the Milan airport, I find my way to the bus that shuttles between Malpensa and Centrale train station near my apartment, and just like that I’m back in Italy and no longer living out of the small Uhaul that is my suitcase!

So. Maybe now you understand why I want a redo, but overall, still very glad I went.

Oh, and for anyone counting and curious, in total I took 7 Uber rides through the weekend and spent approximately $145 to do so...my lord do I want a redo….

See you soon!!!

I am rooted in and guided by the values my parents taught me

(even when they didn't know they were teaching)

I grew strong towards the sun they showed me

I followed my sisters' lead, finding a balance between them

(Both elegant and joyful in their own ways)

I grew confident through the example they set

I'm now developing my own petals and growing towards my own light

(I'm also finding purpose in the rain and shadows)

I stand supported and flourishing by the passion and beauty found in my new home

I am both the flower and the gardener of my own bouquet

(It requires ceaseless tender care)

And I am fulfilled in my ever-changing garden