The museum-going highlight of my trip to Amsterdam surprisingly turned out to be the Tropenmuseum (also hailed by ptieman in one of his Amsterdam travelogues).
The Tropenmuseum (Tropical Museum)is located in the east side of Amsterdam, near Ooster Park (the eastern park). Oficially known as the KIT(an anacronym which roughly translates as the Tropical Culture Institute), KIT also hosts the Kindermuseum ( Children’s Museum)in the same building.
Getting to Barcelona
After I came back from school, I wanted to go outside the country, to a place I’ve neven been before - it was either Amsterdam or Barcelona. After looking at the guides, I decided that Amsterdam was more for traveling with friends, and since I was the only one who could afford to go, I went with my mother. It was mid-May, and we booked the trip for 8 days, 7 nights - a total of around $2,500, which turned out to be expensive, since it was a last minute, unplanned trip. Since neither of us know any Spanish, it was something to consider, since Barcelona is not as tourist-friendly as other vacation spots, like resorts.
We traveled by Delta France, with a 2 hour stop in the beautiful Charles de Gaulle Paris airport. The entire trip was about 8-9 hours. Not too exhilirating. We heard a lot about pickpockets in Barcelona, so we decided to keep everything with us, locked up. We took a cab to the Hotel Royal, on La Rambla, the center of the city, by the Gothic Quarter. As it turned out, we could not have found a better spot to live out the week.
La Rambla
I will not describe the great hotel accomodations, except that one of our windows overlooked a side street branching off La Rambla, off which we could hear spanish music and watch dancing at all hours of the day and night. The street below us looked like a classic old spanish alleyway, with pots of flowers and clothing lines streaming off the balconies. It was beautiful. Once we decided to go get something to eat, there was a small cafe bar across the street with typical Spanish “tapas,” which Barcelona is so known for. These are small crackers or bread with pieces of seafood, vegetables, olives, etc. mixed together, all marinated and salty. To drink we had a type of punch, which is usually drunk here during the day, like a rose wine. The food in this city is uncommonly fresh and very inexpensive.
As we went out onto La Rambla, the noise rushed at us. It was beautiful, a word I will repeat often. Artists dressed and made up in all types of costumes littered the enourmous street. At every step one could see a tree naiad, or a myriad of fairies, people posing as statues, Houdinis, ninjas, musketeers, 18th century noblemen and women with umbrellas, greek philosophers and playwrights, etc. Along with them, there were tens of little outdoor shops set up. Some with fresh, unwilted, and uncommon flowers; some with birds, and all kinds of tropical parrots; some with ginuia pigs, chinchillas, rabbits, hamsters, etc.; and some with souveniers, calendars, cards, and newspapers. At about 6pm, the artists left and the shops were closed up and taken away. Instead, you could see tables set up for palmreading, with crystal balls and gypsies at every 10 steps, who sat outside the closed up flowershops. Instead of the artists in costume came artists who painted your name with flowery letters, drew your portraits, or sat on the floor and spray-painted far-away galaxies with rainbow colors. Short, dirty men brought out tables and cards, as well as encouraged tourists to play at guessing under which cup the ball was, which they moved so quickly that it was impossible to tell. In a minute’s time one could see a poor tourist losing $50 euros, or dollars, which is a lot of money in Barcelona.
On every side of La Rambla were hotels and food shops and cafes for tourists. The entire street was a tourist attraction, and at no time, not even 4am, would the street be less than as crowded as Times Square in New York City.
A typical day in Barcelona
Every morning, my mother and I would go down to a cafe on La Rambla in search for breakfast. We always had coffee, orange juice, and a croissant with marmalade. The croissants were average, but the coffee was spectacular. It was the most delicious coffee I have ever tasted. And I am not exaggerating. It felt like a cappuccino, but not exactly as frothy, and it wasn’t hot, but just warm enough. The orange juice was freshly squeezed, and the most expensive thing on any menu. As I said earlier, delicious.
After breakfast, we went to the beach. It takes about 40 minutes from our hotel, but since the weather was extremely warm (about 28 celcius) with minimum humidity, it was an enjoyable walk, even if tiring walk. To get to the beach, we passed such unique houses and attractions, as one could never dream of. Many houses are decorated with frescoes and ivy-woven balconies. Restaraunts, museums, and attractions are shaped in strange ways - such as a theater with the roof shaped like a fish, shining golden in the light of the sun. Again, beautiful. On the beach, the sands are soft and small-grained, but the water was still cold in mid-May. It is not a nude beach, to which I would never go with my mother, but the women, no matter the age, did not wear bikini tops.
On the way back from the beach, we stopped by the several market shops, which sold beautiful original jewelry, took pictures of the dancing locals (it was a holiday), and enjoyed a ride over the river to a mountain. We thought it was going to our side of the river (the beach was on the other side), but we turned up at a mountain, from which we tried to hike back to our hotel, it took us two hours. The mountain top was like an old temple. And of course, the view was amazing.
When we came back, it was early afternoon. We went to the famous market (I forget the name), and returned with tiny strawberries which can be found nowhere in America. I believe in Spanish it is fressas. Or something like it. We had the tapas, and took an afternoon nap. Sometimes, after the nap, we would go wander around the Gothic Quarter, or Barrio Gotico, look into local shops, ate Catalonian desserts, and, of course, we got lost plenty of times. These little wanderings took us about 4 hours at a time. Once, instead, we took a tour bus to Montjuic, a small mountain with a village at the heart of it, with examples of over 80 different architectural styles from around the world. Each of these buildings was a shop or restaurant. And of course, ther were examples of Gaudi works. The tour bus also took us to see the most famous Gaudi buildings, the zoo, the museums.
The early evenings, however, were different. Anywhere we went, we would see groups of kids in their early 20s, dirty, dressed in rags, mismatched. This was a typical Barcelonian young person. They laughed and looked like they were constantly having a great time. I hadn’t time to go to any clubs, and it was a bit dangerous, as every street was dark, and many drunk and stoned men strolled around the empty alleyways which were so charming during the daytime. It was also a bit chilly, and a jacket was necessary. We went out to eat, usually seafood, and of course, drank plenty of wine, in the style of the Catalonians. Everything was delicious. We spent the entire week just walking around Barcelona, trying to get to know the culture of this wonderful, lively city.
The End
I believe that you need 2 weeks to really enjoy Barcelona. I regret going with my mother, and not my friends, although I promised to go with them next spring break. When you are in college is probably the best time to visit this city, which seems made for the young. I would definitely recommend going there and at least visiting the clubs, which I hadn’t a chance to do.
Around May is the best time to go to Spain because the weather is warm enough, and at the end of the month, the sea is nice enough to swim in. Later becomes very hot, and earlier is too cold.
On our recent honeymoon my husband and I visited three big cities in Europe: London, Paris and Amsterdam. London was by far my favorite even though we were only there for three days. The climate, atmosphere and cleanliness reminded me a lot of Seattle. We stayed at the Goring Hotel which is right behind Buckingham Palace. The concierge was the most wonderful of any I have ever encountered while traveling. Friendly and efficient, he was able to secure front row seats for us to see Miss Saigon. We inquired in the morning and when we returned that afternoon from sight seeing our tickets were ready for us. I was expecting the English to be stuffy and stodgy, but found them to be extremely friendly and very helpful. If you are planning a short visit and want to see all of the main sites, I highly recommend an open top bus tour. For about $15 you get a 24 hour pass. The bus stops near the main attractions and you can hop off, do some site seeing and catch the bus again when you are finished. The banter of the tour guides can be somewhat silly (a la Disney Jungle Ride) but they do have a lot of useful and interesting information about the history and sites. It rained on and off the entire time we were there, but with warm jackets and an umbrella, we were not discouraged. A traditional English breakfast can be very fortifying, but if you plan to do a lot of walking I recommend fruit salad and yogurt as eggs and sausage might slow you down. Be sure to try the fish and chips at a pub or from a street vendor.
Review Topic: Practical Information
Having lived about 30 kilometers from Amsterdam for over four years, the red light district no longer has that magic appeal that it does for tourists. We would often, quite innocently, meet in the Central Station at 11am, have lunch at Burger King, and then see a movie at the Leidseplein, before heading off to a few bars later on.
It was on one such Saturday morning, September 13, 1997, that I had met two South African friends at the in-station Pizza Hut. Unfortunately, my other two Dutch friends were inexplicably running late. The three of us decided to wait for them, beside a pillar near a pharmacy.
This city is great. It has lots of legal drugs and cheap hookers, while still offering the random tourist stuff that other cities offer like big museums and landmarks. The red light district is lots of fun, as it is the center for all the sex stuff and all the drug stuff. Any hour of any day you can find random guys selling every drug under the sun. Also entertaining is the constant screaming from the sex shops advertising their wares. I recommend skipping the sex shops and going straight for the whores, which are about 50 guilder ($25 USDs!) for full service. If you’re a sick bastard, you can find all kindsa freaks all over the red light districts many shady alleys, while you’ll still find all kinds of good-lookin ho’s facing the main channel that cuts through the district. Don’t be afraid to check the side streets, though…there are more flavas then baskin robbins to choose from. I recommend staying at one of the many affordable yet still comfortable hostels or bed-and-breakfast places. Enjoy the excellent food, meet some fellow wanderers, then hit the red light district for lots of sex with hookers, drinking and druggin.
The Netherlands is a beautiful country. Amsterdam is an amazingly vibrant city and a great place to party. Unfortunately, many visitors to the country focus far too much on the latter with the result that they miss out on the lovely countryside and the great people that are outside the Amsterdam area.
One way to get out and explore the country is by bike. The bicycle (fiets in Dutch, rhymes with “sheets”) is so ubiquitous in the Netherlands that it is almost a symbol for the country, along with wooden shoes (which, in my 3 months in Holland, I have never seen being worn) and the windmill. As such, the country is criss-crossed with a network of bicycle paths, routes and trails that make it one of the most cyclist-friendly places I have visited.
I was a bit hesitant about visiting Amsterdam when my husband suggested it 2 years ago because of all that I had heard regarding the drugs, crime, and prostitution.
We arrived at Central Station, which did nothing to calm my fears about the adventure we had undertaken. Central Station is like any train station in a big city where you can find a variety of individuals (in this case, many looked like they were checking us out as easy targets being that we were obviously tourists). Once we took a cab from the train station to out hotel, I began to think that this trip might be okay after all. Our hotel, the Bilderberg, was in Old South Amsterdam and was a luxurious treat. The price was quite reasonable (about $165/night) and we were treated to a jacuzzi-style tub as well as a piece of fresh fruit brought to our door each evening.
Review Topic: Accommodations
If you like romantic, sappy stories, you’ll love this one…
A year ago last September, I decided to go to Holland with the man I had been dating for 9months. You see, he is Dutch and has a 92 grandmother in Amsterdam and I wanted to meet her while she was still alive (my own 99 year old grandmother had passed away before he could meet her). So off we went.
This review is based on my visit in 2003.
NOTE: It is highly recommended that you go and take some “coffee” before going to the museum.
Sadly enough, I enjoyed the local delicacy and still couldn’t find myself utterly impressed by this museum. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen a few works of Van Gogh in the local museums (I live in LA and frequent the Getty), but I couldn’t get myself completely pumped up after visiting this museum. If there’s any emotion I recall most strongly, it would have to be disappointment.
I guess most reviews are written by people from the West Side of the pond, but as an Englishman, I have much easier access to this particular “product”. It only takes 70 minutes to fly from Manchester.
My first trip was by coach in 1986, the journey was tedious beyond belief especially considering I was press ganged into the trip by a group of friends and did not really want to go.
However, I enjoyed the experience so much, I have been back 14 times since.
My wife has accompanied me on 2 occasions and I once took four work colleagues, including two ladies for a weekend break. All the other visits were “Lads’ Weekends”
