Moose on the Move!

OK, an admission, this trip was made so that after our trip to Norway at Christmas we would be able to say that we had been to 10 different countries this year. How selfish is that?! But anyway.

With christmas coming (and the enforced time off that comes with it) Chris didn't want to take any more time off than neccessary. We were lucky enough to find flights leaving from Bristol (only about an hour's drive north of here) at a reasonable 5pm. We arrived in Amsterdam and made our way via train and foot to our delightful little hotel in the southern canal belt, The Seven Bridges. Our lonely planet guide said it was one of the best hotels in Amsterdam and we felf lucky to get a room there as we'd only called that morning.

We checked in and were given directions to our room: along the hall, down the stairs, around the corner and it's the first door on the right. The door was ajar.

We have seen some interesting rooms in our travels, but never one that was covered, on three walls, from waist height up, with mirrors. Was the idea to make the room feel bigger (like they do in small elevators and airplane toilets)? Who knows. It was a bit strange. At least they had stopped before coating the ceiling too and we were able to sleep without looking at our reflections.

The hotel was located not far from Rembrantsplein so that was where we wandered to for a bit of late dinner and a little look around. It was a cold night and we didn't stay out very long. Amsterdam has an interesting way of addressing the issue of people (men) peeing in the streets after a night out; they have a series of porta-urinals. They are large moulded-plastic thingys that up to four guys at a time can step up to. Chris was kind enough to model the use of this invention. Back at the hotel, neither of us had a particularly good sleep that night in the room with all the mirrors.

The following morning (Saturday) breakfast was delivered to our room and we ate and showered before heading out into the city. It was a cold day and we were pelted with tiny hailstones before we got more than a couple of blocks.

The previous night we had walked past Dam Square, the sight where the River Amstel was originally dammed several hundred years ago, and we headed back there to have a look at the Christmas Markets set up there. All kinds of goods were for sale but I have to say that I as a little disappionted by them. There wasn't the array or quality of things that I was expecting. There was gluhwein though - mulled wine - and an iceskating rink. We spent several minutes watching people of all ages struggle to stay on their feet.

For the rest of the day we enjoyed wandering around the canals, just enjoying being in Amsteram. We stopped for a hot choc and a coffee and considered the map - what to do tomorrow? Once our plans were laid we headed back to the southern canal belt in search of an Indonesian restaurant that our Lonely Planet guide recommended - it was good!

Sunday, as we were not flying out until later inthe afternoon we left our bags at the hotel and went off to see a few more sights. First stop was the Rijksmuseum - the museum which houses a great many Dutch historical items. Unfortuntely most of the museum is closed until sometime next year for renovation (we don't seem to have much luck with museums sometimes) but they did have one small wing open displaying some of the finer pieces inthe museum's collection. It was actually kind of nice, we didn't have to stay too long or walk to far to see all kinds of fabulous stuff.

From th Rijksmuseum we walked up through the city towards the main train station and got on a boat for a tour of the canals. It lasted for about an hour and was a really nice way to see the city. Just for us the sun came out and we enjoyed it's imagined warmth. We saw a multi-story bike park; there are bikes all over this city (they pull a huge number of bikes out of the canals in Amsterdam every year) they even have some for peddaling onthe canals. We saw some of the narrowest buildings in the city - one of them was only about 1.5 metres wide! It's hard to imagine what it looks like inside. We saw various church spires and important buildings - including one called Nemo (it isn't orange with white stripes).

Want a quick bite for lunch? - just duck into a Febo. Here you can select your hamburger or sausage from behind a little window, once you have made your selection you put your money in the slot and open your little window. Weird. We decided to go for the more traditional hot chips with tomato sauce and (ooh exciting) mayonaise. it filled a hole.

Amsterdam is the city where Anne Frank and her family hid during World War 2. Neither Chris nor I have read Anne Frank's diary but it was a moving experience never-the-less. The musuem is in the building alongside the house where the Frank family and four others hid, but from there you are guided through the various rooms of the house and the secret annex. One of the most amazing things about this story is that the entire time they were in hiding, there was a business still in operation in the main part of the house. This meant that during business hours they had to be absolutley quiet. Tip-toeing and whispering only. No going to the toilet. No sneezing. Incredible. We both left knowing a little more about it all and feeling a lot more about it.

One of the major tourist attractions in Amsteredam is, of course, the red light district. We went for a brief walk around the area (don't tell Chris' mum!) and it was an interesting experience. The women inthe windows are so obviously on sale that it can make you feel quite uncomfortable if you're not expecting it. Neither of us was sure if we should look at the women and smile and say 'hi', or just avoid making eye-contact. Would they prefere it if we acknowledge them or ignore them? Probably they don't mind too much either way. We had been warned not to take photos of them though - so no-one poses in front of them like they do with the guards in London! Can you imagine?

Once we had finished in the redlight district we wandered back down to the hotel to collect our luggage and make the trek back up through the city to the train to the airport to fly home to Bristol in the UK to drive home to Exeter and into bed by a reasonable time. It always seems so odd to be in a completly different country by dinner time.

Amsterdam was great - we'd really like to go back in the summer time and see the country side, with the windmills and the tulips and the young people wearing clogs and singing "Tiptoe through the tulips". Maybe next year.