Iron Curtain & Ironman: Amsterdam (Day 1)

Hola todos!

This new adventure has officially started! I got to the airport too early (because of course I did), my flights were both delayed (because of course they were), and my sleep schedule and body clock are so messed up that I think I might have tricked it into easy adjustment (but I won't count my chickens until... well... I count some sheep).

I'm travelling light (of course) and both bags just happen to be Ironman branded. Don't judge me--they were the perfect sizes!

Traveling to Amsterdam involved an overnight flight to Portugal and a brief layover. Both were a tad delayed, but fortunately there was no harm done. I disembarked in Amsterdam with no complications (no checked bags to be lost!) and headed off to find my bus into the city center. I had pre-purchased a round trip bus ticket from the airport to downtown and back, and I was just hoping that the ticket worked and wasn't a scam.

Great news!

The bus was easy to find, arrived quickly, and accepted my digital ticket without any issues. And we were off to downtown Amsterdam!

I managed to miss my stop in downtown (whoops) but it wasn't a big deal-- I ended up getting dropped off in a neighborhood I wanted to walk around anyways. I was immediately submerged into the rowhomes, stone-paved streets, canals, and bikes.

So. Many. Bikes.

And while Amsterdam is a super pedestrian-friendly city, make no mistake: it is run by the cyclists. Who has right of way? Given their greater size and velocity, I think they automatically win that battle. Every time. Sometimes pedestrians have a "walk" sign and sometimes they have a "don't walk" sign but that doesn't seem to correlate at all with what the bikes will do. Just make sure you always look several times before crossing a street!

I walked maybe a half mile to my hostel, the Hans Brinker Hostel. It definitely seems to lean pretty heavily in the "party hostel" direction, but I have a semi-private bathroom with a shower and the location is amazing. So you won't catch me complaining.

After checking in and dropping of my bag, it was time to start the walking extravaganza. And I did not know it at the time, but I underestimated the city's size. It's definitely walkable, but the distances are not short.

I grabbed a sandwich dinner at a little grab-and-go eatery on the side of the one of the main streets and ate while I walked through town. (Such an American thing to do. I know. But I have places to go and things to see!) Then I walked by a fancy looking stroopwafel store and just had to stop in. It was so yummy!

Then I walked along the main downtown street up to the Centraal Station, which is where you can catch a ferry to the northern neighborhoods of Amsterdam! I didn't have time for a ferry trip to Noord and back, but I sat along the water for a few minutes enjoying the breeze and the view of the water.

Then it was time to continue walking, so headed south back toward the center of the downtown area. Oudekerk (literally "Old Church") is, you guessed it, an Old Church with beautiful architecture. Here is a view from across a large canal:

I knew the church was closed to tourists for the day, but I wanted to get a better view of the exterior. Little did I know that the side street I took from the back to the front of the church would be a mini-Red Light district...

And that leads me to the primary downside to the city thus far: The provocative sex culture is everywhere; you can't avoid it. I don't think I could logistically take a family with small children here since you accidentally walk into Red Light zones and even generic souvenir shops sell some pretty obscene stuff. Consider yourselves warned.

So anyways, I got out of that area as quickly as I could and went back towards the canal streets. Those, at least, seem to be mostly cafes and residences on one side and water on the other.

I walked a few more neighborhoods and then walked to Rembrandtplein (yes, named after that Rembrandt!) which is a plaza surrounded by bars and restaurants. Perfect for resting your feet and people watching.

Then, it was back to the hostel in an attempt to rest my legs and catch some zzzs. I got a bit of sleep on each flight out here, but not much, and Amsterdam is 6 hours ahead of the East Coast. And, it is still pretty bright outside as I write this at 9PM local time. So I have no idea what time my body thinks it is right now, other than "time to sleep."

So with that, I will bid you all:

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora