The last of the Amsterdamage

T. and I

Leiden

Woke up in yet another strange room, it was still dark so I dashed to the loo to try to get back to bed before my mind officially announced itself awake. I bumped into my mate in the hallway and sighed at the thought that the day had started and bedtime would have to wait a few more hours. The miserable rainy weather made it feel early but we were going on midday by the time all the breakfast was on the table. We made a huge fry up, recycling the one available frying pan to make eggs, baked beans, bacon, mushrooms and the rest of the essentials. We wrapped up tight with our rucksack for the day and set off. Dressing for winter is an effort and a half. First you deal with the pain of getting out of whatever warmth you have on you, pushing through the cold to get into the shower and then layering up, tights, jeans, vests, t-shirts, jumpers then coats, gloves, socks, thicker socks, boots - and then you stuff yourself through the door feeling slightly like a Michelin man yet losing all insecurities about what you look like when you can still feel the cold through a million layers. It's the very end of October and the temperature has already gone below 0 - I'm terrified to think about how much worse it will get. 

Crystals at a local market

Our day was action packed, on our way down to the beach we made friends with a  'fun guy that made the rest of the journey slightly more colourful and silly - luckily the clouds had drifted away leaving a pristine blue sky. We took full advantage of enjoying the moment, rolling down sand dunes and hiding from the wind in cave-like indentations in the sand. We bought crisps, grapes and pears from the supermarket to munch on later and then began our stroll towards the little town of Leiden - I experienced 'kibbling' on our way down the windy beach front -- fresh cod fried in batter eaten with mayo. It was the perfect warm snack, followed by apple pie and hot chocolate in the closest café we could find, we sat there enjoying the luxury of the warmth in total defeat from the cold. We considered the 1.5 hour walk home, but decided to clink a few more coins and get the bus instead. A quick bite of a pizza, a little dance to 'Clint Eastwood' by the Gorillaz and we were off to the bus stop. We made sure we'd have at least 10 minutes so as not to miss the bus, as it was the only one coming in our direction for 40 minutes. This bus was essential to catch as one of my mates A. had another bus to catch back to London from Amsterdam and we were already running short on time. We teared up a little waiting for the bus to come, I lay on our pile of bags looking at the two boys in front of me who I'd watched grow into men over the past 3.5 years - wondering when the next time I'd see them again would be. We all looked defeated, but soon saw the bus lights approaching on the dark empty road. Our hearts dropped when it drove straight passed us, tactically ignoring the three teenagers that stood waving their arms in the middle of the road. We panicked and fretted for about 5 minutes, sharing our annoyance towards the dick bus driver before getting practical and working out what to do. We ran to the closest bus station that was 10 minutes away, and managed to catch the bus that was late for its post - thank god we made it. 

By the canal

We all hugged goodbye, A. went off towards Amsterdam and I journeyed onwards to the Hague to see an old friend that was waiting for me as soon as I arrived.  The evening sweetened up as we bought some banana's from the supermarket, in preparation for one of my new favourite snacks, purely due to it's convenient preparation time - banana milkshakes! 2 banana's, a cup of milk, water or ice cream if you want, blended - done. We snuggled up in bed with our shakes, a buzz from a light spliff and breaking bad on full screen  I don't know whether it was the series itself or our mental states but there were some points of the series that were beyond ridiculous, leaving us in stitches. A bathtub full of a decomposing body falling through 2 stories because the acid used to dissolve the body dissolved through the tub and the floor - It's an entertaining series so far, I'll give it that. We fell into a 14 hour peaceful slumber - the next morning the clocks turned back, winter has officially set in, yelp!

Popeyes

The sun rose slowly and we had a lazy morning in bed watching more breaking bad, munching on scrambled eggs, and pondering what we'd do for the next few hours together. Our pro-active minds kicked in soon enough and we went off exploring the Hague on the back of my friends scooter -- free transportation still comes with a price though, as the speedometer rose, the harshness of the wind could be felt on our faces as our eyes streamed. We made our way to a beach about 10 minutes away, the wind picked up as we approached the sea but at least it was fresh air? We walked through the main shopping centre for shelter, popping into T's mums shop for a little hello and having a light coffee and a cigarette for a pause. We walked passed the buildings that were responsible for imprisoning war criminals and laying down the laws on dangerous chemicals etc. -- this country's got such a high moral standard that it made so much sense that it would be the place where crimes etc. were put in question. We returned home and T. left his bike unlocked and leaning against the wall outside his house - apparently it's safe enough to do so! Something I'm not used to at all. It makes me think how sad it is that one has to assume the worst  from people in order to take precautions. After a quick milkshake at home, I jumped on the train back to Centraal station in Amsterdam. That evening we walked to another coffee shop 'Abraxas', picking up a bag of hot chips and mayo on the way, and returning home later that night with a stick of candy floss  crisps and an apple pie - using 'I'm on holiday' to justify my unhealthy eating habits.

Street art

The days are trickling down and we're down to only 2. The next morning began with a spot of yoga, followed by another coffee shop 'Popeye'. We began with a huge breakfast, that was closely followed by a Shawarma, 2 bars of chocolate and lots of tea. I'm fascinated as to how my stomach is coping with all of this, but it'll get it's break soon. Popeye's was a laugh, one mate A. from London sat for the majority of the time squirming over the cute Scottish waitress who stood at the bar seductively licking cream off her fingers and flashing him cheeky smiles - we were entertained. I decided one thing I needed to do while in Dam was buy a winter essential, so I chose boots given that every shop we passed had about 50 pairs on offer and all for fairly reasonable prices compared to London. So I left the others and set off to choose a pair. I spent the next hour stumbling all over the shop floor, stressing out over varying prices - leather or no leather, fur or no fur, heel or no heel ah! The trip was not successful  so we went home, with the mental promise of completing the boots mission the following day. 

Street art:
"We eat the poor to feed the west"
- scary message

That evening we made a full on meal using whatever ingredients we had in our fridge, and a few others. Make-shift ratatouille was the result, with bread and salad. Followed by an chocolate and vanilla pudding! We ate our happy muffins about an hour before we started cooking, and by the time we'd finished, the giggles had kicked in. We'd set up our night, loaded Ice Age 3 on the laptop, made a delicious meal, and got into our PJ's - it was all timed perfectly for once. The idea of watching a movie is always better conceptually, as our non-stop laughing and short attention span that didn't outlive 5 minutes at a time, didn't help us understand what we were watching at all - and failed to distract us from the white/ milk chocolate ginger biscuits, apparently they're a Dutch speciality, and I see why. After we'd ploughed through a huge meal that should have left us with leftovers for at least lunch and dinner, and the vanilla and chocolate pudding AND the bag of white/ milk chocolate ginger biscuits - we were literally left immobile, struggling not to laugh as our stomachs dealt with the immense amount of food that needed to be digested, yet somehow the drive for more more more beat the pain and we finished the entire bag. Eugh.

Street performer

Self explanatory?

I waved goodbye to Amsterdam as we made our way to Eindhoven the next day, I managed to buy boots in the morning which felt like an accomplishment in itself- munching on rye bread and brie (my staples for the week) we packed everything up and left the apartment. Returning to L's home with a warm home-cooked meal awaiting us, made us smile and appreciate the little things. The next morning was a struggle, getting out of bed and beginning the stressful journey to the airport. I stood in line as everyone was checking in, watching countless people in front of me being turned away as they were too late for their flight. I find that no matter how much time you give yourself, travelling is always a stressful process. On my way to the departures gate I found myself in an 'all day breakfast' restaurant that proved as quite a distraction. But I finally made it on to the plane with no extra costs and I zoned out to my tunes with a cup of English Breakfast tea - So what have I taken with me from Amsterdam? It's beautiful canals, flat grounds and beaches. The proof of a successfully functioning city that has legalized and controlled weed consumption, and a beautiful variety of Art, from the graffiti on the walls, to the street performers, to the huge museums and galleries that are scattered all over the city. Dutch food is one thing I don't particularly warm to however, processed meats and cheeses, lots of bread with a weird variety of spreads, and fairly bland accompaniments..  But that's was a minor flaw. Right now I lie in bed on an overcast Saturday morning, snuggled up with a comfy duvet, wearing my old school hoodie with a cuppa, back 'home' in London town.

Centraal station, infront of a big old crowd ♩ ♫

Recipe of the day: Ratatouille

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2903/ratatouille

In a tourists shoes

T. and his cheese

I've had a few days in Amsterdam But it's all been a bit of a blur. I roamed canals, sketching the floating houseboats that drifted passed me. Checked out little market stalls selling scarves, coats and hats. Being pulled in to by the most useless things - almost coming out of the market with old tin boxes and books that I'd never read - until sense kicked in. We made our way up to the Rijksmuseum - enjoying the 30 minute walk past the bustling coffee shops, the temporary funfair in Dam square and café's. We got to the Museum centre, van Gough on my left, the contemporary art museum on my right and the closed Rijksmuseum straight ahead. We walked into the museum shop to browse through the books on artists and their work; I ended up spending half an hour reading about contemporary, political and abstract art, so I still gained a little something from the (free) visit.

Post-dying phase

Stretching the sugar

Stretching the sugar

I don't like the fact that all the museums cost money here, there's the 'hemp and marijuana museum that's €9, the sex museum that's $4 and the art museums that are all around €15. I did have a little sneak-peak into Van Gough's 3D exhibition. At the entrance before you pay for your ticket they had 3D glasses, that created the illusion of the paintings coming to life - looking at the screens was an interactive van Gough experience as you were virtually taken through 'The Yellow House', out of the window to gaze at 'Irises' and then carried up into 'The Starry Night. We couldn't decide between paying for a peep-show in the red light district or a stroll in the sex museum, but to be honest - the red light district was a full on exhibition already. You passed windows with girls of all shapes and sizes wearing kinky clothes and doing their thing inside their glass boxes. Most of them avoided eye contact with other girls but some had the confidence of queens and held their head up high no matter who walked passed. We soon decoded the lights in the windows, red meant girl and blue meant tranny - at least you got more than one option?.. I saw a 'for rent' sign in some of the rooms and after ranting about how ridiculous it was for a woman to put herself up for rent (getting into my inner feminist) a friend explained to me that the signs referred to the rooms and not the women - woops! I still did feel a pang of sympathy for them though, it was so degrading. It was though we were all in a shop, with all our options parading themselves in front of us in little glass boxes.. The only thing that reminded me that this wasn't just a tourist attractions and it was a real life set-up, were the few creepy old single men leering under the shadows, and the police who stood ready at the street corners. It has a completely different vibe here to the red light district in Thailand, that feels quite dodgy - In Holland, everything feels safe. We never made it to any of the shows that they had on offer, or the sex museum but we had our fair share of provocative entertainment. 

Goats cheese and mustard, hm

We also managed to catch a bit of Amsterdam night life - being economical teenagers we had pre-drinks at a friends apartment, huddled in the living room with glasses of wine and malibu-cokes. It was funny being the odd one out, not being able to chime into the conversation once the Dutch started kicking in. I'd have my friend L. turn to me every now and then to explain what was going on -- but it rarely matched the dialogue that they'd been speaking in my head. Watching people's body language and facial expressions as they talk I've learnt, isn't actually a great representation of what they're actually saying. For example when we were crossing the road the other day, a Dutch woman stopped her bike and said something to my friend with a smile. My response was "Oh she looked nice!" When in actual fact she'd said rather patronizingly "This is a road, yeah?" With a slightly malicious smiles, Implying that we had to move out of her way pronto, and hope she stayed smiling :s. 

Our night out in Amsterdam was fun - the walking in-between venues wasn't as our hands and feet lost all sensation, and body heat just seemed to stop generating. But the clubbing scene was great - We went to 'Paradiso', a well known club that's quite central, full of hundreds of raving teens and cheap drinks (surprisingly)! We danced till 5 in the morning before making our way back through the crisp night.

Muffins and tea!

Mexican breakfast!

Cheese fondue

Stoopwaffles

Rather hungover from the night before the alarm clock did not go down particularly well but prior commitments to see an old friend whom I hadn't caught up with in 4.5 years won, over another morning in bed. The cold does wonders in waking you up that's for sure! I was reunited with my old buddy and it didn't take long for the conversation to flow as we reminisced over our days together in Sri Lanka. One of the weirdest things though that I've found, is when you haven't seen each other in so long, the list of things to catch up on is so immense that it can be hard knowing where to begin. Sometimes new topics of conversation or just discussion of little things going on around you are easier than sifting through the ups and downs of the past. I do love the sudden flashbacks of people, places or things that haven't come to mind for years - and remembering the person you were to them and how that's changed.

We spent the day being tourists in Amsterdam. Prancing around cheese shops with hundreds of free samples, munching on stroopwaffles, watching candy being hand-made, stopping in at various coffee shops (both kinds) and restaurants for a casj Mexican breakfast and spot of fondue. It was a day of splurging, the hot chocolate that T. ordered came in the form of a wad of pure chocolate on a stick that had to be stirred into the accompanying mug of hot milk that was served with cocoa dusted chocolate almonds - I hope your mouth's watering as much as mine was. 

We later met up with other old friends from Malaysia in 'Belushi', the one coffee shop we'd found with huge black sofa's that we all lay down on as our minds rose in unison. I couldn't tell you what happened within those few hours, but it was all shits and giggles. As the clock ticked on, we unwillingly left the warmth of the coffee shop and pushed through the cold (that had dipped to -5 degrees) to the station as we struggled to keep our eyes open. We soon needed a rest so we stopped off for hot chocolate and a glass of warm wine - $3.50 per glass but so worth it, before continuing on, and eventually arriving in Leiden where I was staying for a night. After a hot shower and clean PJ's we munched on our recently purchased chocolate muffin - it made us all very happy indeed ;). The rest of the night was spent in a wake-dream state wondering where I was, realizing, and then wondering again - but it's funny that no matter where I am now, If I'm comfortable, it feels like home.

Recipe of the day: Baked breakfast burrito's
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Baked-Breakfast-Burritos

Oh dam

Pretty Canals

Haha, hey Amsterdam

Sitting on the carpet in my friends apartment in the centre of Amsterdam I can hear the church bell tolling and feel the temperature dropping. The bell rings every 15 minutes so it just becomes light and cheery background noise after the initial irritation passes. We're conveniently situated in the centre of dam, right next to the red light district, lovely coffee shops and gorgeous art galleries so we have sex, weed and art at our doorstep, perfect getaway. I'm here staying with a girlfriend for a little break from the madness that is London. I've been surprised by a few things since I've been here 1) not many people actually speak English. The one downfall of not being bi-lingual :s, so navigating my way through platforms and stations that all had kooky names wasn't too easy - thankfully I'd been given directions, all of which were perfect except the spelling mistake of the house number '85' instead of '58'. This lead to some rather exasperating conversations with neighbours that didn't understand a thing I was saying, and those that did were telling me what I refused to accept 'there's no house number 85 around here'. But despite the slight confusion I eventually made it safe and sound. The second thing that surprises me is the not so lackadaisical attitude towards weed. I expected to walk around with fumes of spliff drifting through the air and joints casually being rolled next to the pretty canals, but as I was told by my friend yesterday, that's really not what goes on. Police roam the streets fining public smokers or people with (a rather unlikely amount) >9g in possession, and the frowned upon image of teenage stoners,  is still frowned upon. But it's a fair system that I think should be adopted by more countries, the novelty isn't present if it's so readily available, the coffee shops swarm with tourists, not locals - and the government makes money off us all! The laws are changing, but I doubt they'll last.

Bicycle traffic

Before I came to Holland all I imagined were flat grounds and copious bicycles, and the stereotype rings true! It's so lovely though, I feel a lot more inclined to move out of the way when I hear a bell ring for a bicycle to get passed me as opposed to a loud horn and a bulky convertible. It also adds to the freshness of the air - here you feel like you're actually taking in more oxygen compared to London where the air can be stifling.
Speaking of breathing I learnt an interesting fact the other day -- to 'inspire' or to breathe in, is the root of the concept of inspiration. And if you think about it, when you're inspired you take a deep breath in amazement or admiration for the person, place or thing and you therefore gain something of value. I love looking at the etymology of words, it adds a whole new layer to something that was once flat ground - a bit like Holland, ha.

The second bell just tolled and I'm rocking side to side slightly, trying to keep my eyes open in my fairly delusional state. Over the passed three weeks I don't feel like I've had 1 proper nights sleep and last night didn't help. Flights in the early hours of the morning used to excite me more than anything. Getting up when it's pitch black to go on an adventure somewhere in the world gave me butterflies. But now nothing could be worse than waking up in the cold darkness, and attempting to function well enough to catch your flight on time. I decided against having 3 hours of sleep because that groggy feeling is almost worse than not sleeping at all. And I've come to realize the danger of this - I'd be staring at a painting to realize that the painting wasn't actually spinning in circles around me but when my eyelids had closed for the last blink in-between my nonsensical thoughts, had lasted longer than a few minutes and I was now dreaming. I managed this by setting an alarm every half an hour, much to the annoyance of whoever was sitting next to me but sacrifices had to be made. So now the endless days of not giving my body its 8 hours of sleep is catching up with me, and by 6pm, or after a puff on a joint, my eyes are droopier than the image to the right..

An old friend!

I had to slightly gather myself together and make an effort to socialize with a friend that I hadn't seen in a few months - he introduced me to my first coffee shop, that was by far the best - "Relax" (Binnen Oranjestraat 91013 HZ). I walked in and was sucked into the trip - crystals growing out of the tables, trippy colours and paintings all over the walls and images of eyes made out of beautiful stained glass. I enjoyed the experience while it was still a novelty, it was the strangest thing ordering weed from a menu over the counter and it being OK! You literally choose your strains off a menu, and a communal vibe of rolling and smoking. Looking around me as my head was floating into space I held onto the crystal to ground me and ensure my whole body didn't float off. It was so strange looking around me and wondering whether everyone else was feeling the same when their external appearance looked 100% normal.. besides the red, droopy eyes and the giggles. 

Pies..

It didn't take too long before our stomachs were rumbling and we made our way to the only English food joint that I knew in the area 'Pieminister' - I've figured out the reason why McDonalds, Starbucks etc etc are all so succesful are because no matter where you are, you always know what to expect of the ambiance, the menu, the music etc. it's always guaranteed so it makes people feel comfortable and 'at home'. That's how I felt in the pieminister, surrounded by Dutchies but yumming down a spinach, sundried tomatoes and feta pie with mushy peas and gravy made me feel right at home :) -- Mm so far Amsterdam, you've served me well. 



Recipe of the day: Feta, tomato and spinach pie 

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4540/crispy-greekstyle-pie-