Traveling with Laura

Another cloudy morning, but that didn’t stop me from going out for one last walk around the Amsterdam canals before heading to the airport. 

I managed to find a bakery that opened early and had a couple of pastries before I set out on my walk. Since I was not impressed with the menu choices on my flight home, I figured those would tide me over for a while! After breakfast, I just wandered around the canals for a while taking pictures and enjoying the quiet morning. 

Schiphol Airport is massive. I’ve flown through there before so I know how big it is but somehow it seemed even bigger today. There was a coffee place just after passport control and I haven’t had coffee all week so I grabbed an iced caramel latte before heading to the gate. I love looking at the departure boards at major international airports – you can literally go anywhere!

My flight home was uneventful and spent eating, drinking, and watching YouTube videos I had downloaded before I left. I had plenty of food and snacks so I didn’t come home as hungry as I thought I would. And an early departure from Amsterdam, despite a malfuntioning jetbridge in Boston, meant that I got the bus back home an hour earlier than I was planning on.

There are a lot of little things I’ve noticed and taken pictures of this week that didn’t make it into my blog posts. Here are some random thoughts, facts, and pictures from my time in the Netherlands.

Microcars These little microcars are all over the city. They seem to seat one or two people and they are just so darn cute!

Bicycles It might go without saying that Amsterdam is a very bike-friendly city. Bicycles are literally everywhere. The roads all have separate bike lanes, there are rows of bikes lined up everywhere, and there is even a separate bike garage at Amsterdam Centraal Station. In fact, in Amsterdam there are more bicycles than residents of the city. When I went to both Edam and Broek in Waterland, there were bike parking lots at the bus stations. Like I said, there are bikes everywhere.

Red Light District Yes, Amsterdam has a famous red light district. Yes, It is in the middle of the city. Yes, I walked by it, but not until my last day in the city. Amsterdam is very much a “live and let live” city. There are “coffeeshops” all over the city and the smell of marijuana hits you every couple of blocks. I felt very comfortable and safe and though those things aren’t my cup of tea, I wasn’t bothered by them either. To each his own.

Public transit I took the train into the city from the airport, the metro a couple of times, and the bus for my day trips out of the city. All of the transportation is clean and modern and the buses even had USB outlets at every seat. For all transportation, you simply tap in and tap out with your credit card or phone. This trip was the first time I’d used Google Pay and I’m sold. It is so easy and it is accepted everywhere there. I only had a problem one time using it to get into the metro and I just used my credit card for that trip.

English Everybody speaks English. Everybody. And the few times someone started talking to me in Dutch, they just immediately switched to English. I think I only asked one person during the whole trip if they spoke English before I asked a question. 

Jewish Memorials All over Amsterdam, there are little gold plaques in the ground (called stolpersteine; meaning “stumbling stones”) as memorials to the Jewish residents who were victims of the Holocaust, frequently placed outside their former homes.

Canal Houses The homes along the canals were taxed according to their width. So the wider the home, the more wealthy the owners. Because of that, many homes were built tall and skinny so as to maximize space while minimizing cost. The homes all have pulley systems coming out of the attic which were once used to bring in goods and spices for storage.

Kimpton DeWitt I spent weeks reading reviews and trying to find a hotel in Amsterdam. I ultimately settled on the Kimpton DeWitt, not far from Centraal Station and walking distance to most everything in Amsterdam. I’ve never stayed at a Kimpton hotel before, but I found it to be modern, a bit eclectic and edgy, with a touch of luxury all at the same time. Everyone I came into contact with was friendly and outgoing and the evening happy hour with free drinks was a nice treat. When I checked out, I was given a bottle of room spray that is the same as they use in the rooms. I enjoyed coming back to the neon sign reading, “and breathe”, each time I returned.

I know I’ve said it before, but travel will never cease to amaze me. I woke up this morning in Amsterdam, got to walk around the canals for a while, flew 8 hours back to Boston, then went grocery shopping, and now have time to have dinner and relax at home, all in one day. As Hans Christian Andersen said, “To travel is to live”.