Amsterdam Loves You

Having left our bookings a little late for the peak time to be on holiday in Europe, we ended up living a somewhat festival-like experience in Amsterdam..but without the music.

The canteens at Dutch campsites provide everything from eggs to lollies, camping stoves to pastries and 3 course dinners.  Amsterdam was absolutely no exception.  The very idea of personal space was laughable, every square inch of grass was used (even the parts that are no longer grass) and, even with thousands of visitors, the WiFi was, bafflingly, good enough to have a Skype interview (as that need did happen to arise).  

Camping Zeeburg was a pretty easy 20 minute tram ride from the city centre, close to the inter-city bus park and it had a fantastic restaurant/bar and well equipped laundry, kitchenette with hotplates and vending machines.  But, if you are one who kind of likes the green space between your tent and the next, not waiting in line at the toilet and avoiding the 'special Amsterdam scent' then Zeeburg might not be the place for you, at least, not in summer.  Never-the-less it was a cultural experience.  

Get friendly with your neighbours

While in town, we had two reunions, an informative walking tour from a South African local, a look at Amsterdam Museum and a truly memorable visit to Anne Frank Huis and enjoyed wandering along the canals.

Amazing carpet at Amsterdam Museum that represents the
179 nationalities living in the city

The first reunion was with a bunch of my old work friends from Melbourne (who are still friends despite me leaving). It was grand to catch up with the motley group of Steve, Will, Josh and Phil as they danced, walked and blasted their way through Berlin, Amsterdam and Budapest. Kat had found a great activity for us; some cheese, some stroopwafels, some insanely expensive grapes, some beer and wine, a boat and a basic 2 minute instruction course - what else do you really need?  Well, not a shirt, that's for sure; within 5 minutes Steve was doing it like a local, shirt off enjoying the sun.  Phil was left in charge of the map (a good thing too), as Will and I steered our little dinghy around the canals, dodging tourist boats, luxury homes, bridges and rusting bicycles.  Kat and Josh just came to look pretty, and settle the disputes...oh and take the photos.

Dodging bridges (Steve jumped over it)

Bridge successfully dodged

The Anne Frank Huis and museum was extremely popular with tourists.  The smart ones, booked online, ahead of time allowing them to just straight to the start of the line. We tried that but the allocation was already full so we lined up from very early in the morning with the rest of them, buying over-priced coffee and making chit-chat in the line.  I actually had my head in my phone as my friend DJ had just announced the exciting news that he and his wife Christie are expecting twins!  Thanks for helping me spend the time DJ!

While waiting, we were entertained by this bloke on the canal, whose boat drove itself in circles while he sang and trumpeted in time to the nearby clock tower.  It was quite a performance!

Entertainment outside Anne Frank Huis

The Anne Frank was a great museum, and worth the wait. It was very high on Kat's agenda as she had read the book at a young age and been profoundly affected by it. When my family visited Amsterdam in '94 I don't think I was quite ready to understand everything we were told about the place other than Anne Frank lived there.  Actually, one of Dad's favourite stories is to recall how we went on a walking tour, and the guide discreetly warned him that we would be going through the Red Light District, and perhaps it wasn't suitable for an 8 & 10 year-old, Dad told him not to worry about it; in fact, I remember that conversation more than I remember the tour, so I'd say for this part at least, we were a bit too young to fully understand or appreciate it all.  Maybe I should also point out that I really couldn't understand how a windmill could be used to move water from one place to another, but I just had to accept it at face value.

Anne Frank Huis

Back to the museum, I really got a lot from it, and should read the book.  As we stood in the final reception room, seeing comments left from visitors and dignitaries over the years, I was forced to reflect on the places we have been, and the things we have learned or to which we have been further exposed (S-21 & the Killing Fields in Cambodia spring to mind).  Learning this history and reflecting on it, makes me weary of empty but well meaning statements like "we should not let this happen again", but we must try to learn from our past and remember to extend a helping hand to those who need it.  

Anyone know what these are?

Our second reunion was with Katie and Premtim (well, it was a reunion for me and Katie at any rate).  I think it had been 10 years since Katie and I had seen each other, what a way to do it!  Unfortunately we missed out on meeting up with Kirsten by 2 or 3 days. After several introductions, we caught up about old friends (many of whom recently met up at the International House 50 year reunion) and we talked about where we are going next.  Premtim gave us some great ideas for Eastern Europe, and hopefully one day we can get to see some of the places he mentioned in Albania.  

Catching up with Katie and meeting Premtim