Amsterdam, Netherlands
In a desperate final attempt to find a travel partner before Orientation Week commenced, I started conversations with as many incoming students at the residence as possible in hopes that at least one would agree in going somewhere in Europe with me on last minute notice. Despite the reality that most students moved in the very day I inquired, I still managed to round up 3 interested people! I was really advocating a trip to Germany & Sweden (since the flights between them were relatively cheap) but by the time we figured out the logistics, midnight had struck and the tickets doubled in price since we would be buying the day of — clearly a no-go now. Given the circumstances, we decided that the best option was to plan a shorter trip that was closer to France but far enough to experience a different culture. It was then decided that we would go to both the Netherlands and then to the neighbouring country Belgium. Prices were still reasonable since we bought the tickets that night for the next morning. I booked a 3-night hostel in Amsterdam and we’d figure out Belgium once we landed.
The one thing about discount plane tickets in Europe is that they are cheap for a reason. One of the ways airline companies can charge such low ticket prices is by flying you to a city that’s close to the city advertised but just far enough to avoid entering large scale airport landing fees in an effort to save money by not using high-traffic terminals. So even though the tickets are advertised as Amsterdam, we were really going to Eindhoven, which is an hour away. Truth be told, a shuttle bus for around €10 and an hour of extra travel time is a great trade when the alternative is paying 3–10 times more for a direct entrance to the main city. Plus, coach busses are cool. So that’s what the 4 of us did and by noon we reached the city of sin.
I imagine you all know that in Amsterdam, laws on prostitution, marijuana, open alcohol and other drugs either legalize their use or are so rarely enforced that it seems as if they aren’t prohibited. When entering Amsterdam at the time we did, you wouldn’t get this impression at all. In fact, you’d probably think the opposite because nearly everyone is on a bicycle — a mode of transportation that requires you to be alert! And when I say nearly everyone rides a bicycle, I mean it since that’s really the only way to get around town. Given the dense population and canal integration into the city, there is really no way of getting around the city if everyone owned a motorized vehicle — everyday would be gridlocked. So the city fully embraces in the cheap and green bicycle alternative which was awesome since biking is a passion of mine.
After exploring the town by foot on the first day, my group of travellers and I rented bikes on day two and really explored the city of Amsterdam from the city’s core to the outskirts. It’s amazing how cycling through the city gave us such a sense of direction and ownership; we really began to feel as if the city was our own.
Some highlights on the bike ride was the giant “I amsterdam” text that you can climb (that’s me on top of the letter “t”!)…
…a restaurant located under an old Dutch windmill…
…and even a remodelled ship!
The city is breathtakingly beautiful during the day and absolutely wild at night because of the Red Light District. Never have I been offered so many drugs by sketchy men or seen such a concentration of prostitutes— it’s quite a scene. Still, the transformation of this beautiful city to the sinful state at night bewilders the mind; it’s like flipping a switch!
Day three consisted of casual drinking in the park and just relishing the fact that we were actually in the Netherlands; the first marker of many trips to come. It was around this point I realized that the best plans during these next 4 months may very likely be the ones made last minute. The reason: rushed plans avoid creating a high level of anticipation, keeping the bar low. It’s not that trips with lots of planning are bad, but they rarely seem to measure up to what you expect them to be when there’s months to think about them. I really had no idea what to expect from the Netherlands since I literally decided to come here the day before and, boy, was I ever impressed!
As such, it was hard to leave Amsterdam in the morning of the forth day but that sadness quickly dissipated when we ran to Central Station and just barely made the train to Belgium. It would only be a few hours until we’d arrive to the second country on this trip — to Brussels we go!
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This blog entry is part of the publication Robert Cekan Travels & was originally written on September 10, 2012
Robert Cekan is a young entrepreneur and proud Hamiltonian. He is the founder of the Hamilton discovery website True Resident, as well as Cekan Group, a property management group. He is also a Hamilton REALTOR® with Ambitious Realty Advisors Inc., Brokerage and an active blogger.
For all of Robert’s projects, please visit robertcekan.com
