Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Friday July 15, 2005
Today is my first full day in Amsterdam! Being that I am a geek, I decided that I should partake in some culture before I partook of some debauchery. *evil grin*
Here's some pictures of the not-so-amazing-Amstel Botel that I took on my way out.
So the first place that day was the Rijksmuseum... a museum that has artifacts created during the golden age of Amsterdam, when The Netherlands were a world power in the 17th century. This was kind of cool, since I read about this stuff in the book Quicksilver.
This museum had some pretty gardens outside! PRETTY!
There were mostly paintings in the museum, some of them were painted by Rembrandt... that's a famous name, I think.
After looking at all the pretty pictures in things at the Rijksmuseum, I walked to the nearby Van Gogh museum, housing Impressionist art painted by Vincent himself, and some of his contemporaries. I wasn't really familiar with the artist, but the museum did a nice job of explaining his life, and the paintings are very beautiful and expressive. Being able to see the paintings and the textures of big piles of dried oil paint was a wonderful experience. Sorry, I didn't take pictures at this museum.
From the Van Gogh museum, I stopped off at home. Here's some pictures of the harbour that my hotel was floating in:
One of the cool things about Amsterdam was the number of bicycles everywhere. There was separate bike lanes on most roads and separate bike traffic lights at many intersections:
After stopping back off at the hotel, I made my way to the Anne Frank House. This is definitely a place I was looking forward to go to. It is the house that Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis for some two years before being discovered and sent to different extermination camps. It's a extremely emotional place. The building is so small. It's a very saddening experience. I only took pictures of outside the building (the facade of the house has been upgraded somewhat).
So I started to walk back towards the centre of town and my hotel after the Anne Frank House. I saw a store with an excellent name.... KOOT!
(inside joke)
That night, I decided to go out and drink. The first place I went to this pub playing fun music on the Dam Square. It was called the Euro Pub. I wasn't there very long, because a pint of beer was SIX euros! I guess it was called the Euro Pub because of the owner's love of the currency! Ha!
From there I went to a Belgian pub that was more to my liking. They had Leffe Blond on tap! That's a great beer. I started talking to this Irish guy in there who suggested this beer called De Verboden Vrucht (The Forbidden Fruit) by the brewers of Hoegaarden. It was REALLY GOOD! It was a strong beer, with a dark colour, and a sweet taste. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW I COULD GET THIS BEER IN CANADA, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! This Irish guy (sorry I don't remember his name), also suggested that I go to a bar called The Absinthe where they make their own absinth. I decided that I would go there the next night.
Update:September 7, 2005: I have successfully been able to find De Verboden Vrucht at Pub Italia on Labour Day weekend. It was a glorious road trip. I highly recommend Pub Italia... but remember to ask to sit in The Abbey!
From the Belgian pub, I decided it was time to go home. On my way, I walked past this old V.O.C. (Dutch East India Company) guard tower that must have been three hundred years old. It had been converted into a night club. The music was good, and the beers were cheap, so I went in. It was good times until I accidentally walked into the girls bathroom while looking for a urinal. Oops. At that point, I knew it was really time to go home. Hehehe.
Here's some pictures of the not-so-amazing-Amstel Botel that I took on my way out.
So the first place that day was the Rijksmuseum... a museum that has artifacts created during the golden age of Amsterdam, when The Netherlands were a world power in the 17th century. This was kind of cool, since I read about this stuff in the book Quicksilver.
This museum had some pretty gardens outside! PRETTY!
There were mostly paintings in the museum, some of them were painted by Rembrandt... that's a famous name, I think.
After looking at all the pretty pictures in things at the Rijksmuseum, I walked to the nearby Van Gogh museum, housing Impressionist art painted by Vincent himself, and some of his contemporaries. I wasn't really familiar with the artist, but the museum did a nice job of explaining his life, and the paintings are very beautiful and expressive. Being able to see the paintings and the textures of big piles of dried oil paint was a wonderful experience. Sorry, I didn't take pictures at this museum.
From the Van Gogh museum, I stopped off at home. Here's some pictures of the harbour that my hotel was floating in:
One of the cool things about Amsterdam was the number of bicycles everywhere. There was separate bike lanes on most roads and separate bike traffic lights at many intersections:
After stopping back off at the hotel, I made my way to the Anne Frank House. This is definitely a place I was looking forward to go to. It is the house that Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis for some two years before being discovered and sent to different extermination camps. It's a extremely emotional place. The building is so small. It's a very saddening experience. I only took pictures of outside the building (the facade of the house has been upgraded somewhat).
So I started to walk back towards the centre of town and my hotel after the Anne Frank House. I saw a store with an excellent name.... KOOT!
(inside joke)
That night, I decided to go out and drink. The first place I went to this pub playing fun music on the Dam Square. It was called the Euro Pub. I wasn't there very long, because a pint of beer was SIX euros! I guess it was called the Euro Pub because of the owner's love of the currency! Ha!
From there I went to a Belgian pub that was more to my liking. They had Leffe Blond on tap! That's a great beer. I started talking to this Irish guy in there who suggested this beer called De Verboden Vrucht (The Forbidden Fruit) by the brewers of Hoegaarden. It was REALLY GOOD! It was a strong beer, with a dark colour, and a sweet taste. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW I COULD GET THIS BEER IN CANADA, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! This Irish guy (sorry I don't remember his name), also suggested that I go to a bar called The Absinthe where they make their own absinth. I decided that I would go there the next night.
Update:September 7, 2005: I have successfully been able to find De Verboden Vrucht at Pub Italia on Labour Day weekend. It was a glorious road trip. I highly recommend Pub Italia... but remember to ask to sit in The Abbey!
From the Belgian pub, I decided it was time to go home. On my way, I walked past this old V.O.C. (Dutch East India Company) guard tower that must have been three hundred years old. It had been converted into a night club. The music was good, and the beers were cheap, so I went in. It was good times until I accidentally walked into the girls bathroom while looking for a urinal. Oops. At that point, I knew it was really time to go home. Hehehe.
# posted by Rob Szumlakowski @ 4:00 a.m. 
