We came back from out trip today… It was eventful to say the least.
So on Friday we left from Liverpool station to go to Harwich, then overnight ferry, then train to Amsterdam. It all went surprisingly well and smoothly, so we relaxed a little. On Saturday morning we arrived to Amsterdam and decided to go to Van Gogh museum without dropping a suitcase. Bad decision! The museum was amazing as expected and we had a nice lunch with a canal view afterwards. Then my husband decided that I can stay and take ‘a few shots’ while he goes to drop the suitcase. We arranged to meet at 5 by the Flower Market. So then on my way to a market I hear a lot of noise, music, see people dressed up, dancing, smoking pot, etc. Turns out it’s Amsterdam’s gay pride day… It was pretty interesting to see, but I was sad that my husband missed it. So I spent an hour there and headed to the market which was nothing spectacular at all. But at least I bought my mother a lot of bulbs (at least 7 different types). At 5 I go to a meeting place… Long story short – my husband used all the credit on his phone, didn’t know how to top it up, got lost, the hotel was OUTSIDE (!!!) of Amsterdam, I dialed his number wrong, and he came to a wrong place to meet me (train station instead of the market). We met at 7 and both were pretty upset (of course we had to decide whose fault it was). Anyways, we went to see the main square (really dirty and touristy) and then to Red Lights district. Wow, that was something you don’t see every day. One lady yelled at me because I passed too close to her booth, but I didn’t even look at her. I couldn’t meet their eyes and felt terrible for them. I’m so against prostitution, legalized or not.
To make matters worse, a strong rain started :D My husband specifically told me not to take umbrella – I have no idea why! I was so cold as I didn’t have socks and my jacket was thin. We couldn’t find a place to eat that we both liked (the area is not really for dining…) But eventually, we found a place to eat and then headed to our hotel (4 transport changes!). I will never book a hotel so far away from center, this was so dumb of me!
Next day was much better. We went to take photos with Iamsterdam sign, had a canal tour, walked in Jordaan and Begijnhof, had a lovely pancake lunch by the main square, saw a church or 2 and took a lot of photos. Overall, the trip was nice although even on Sunday my husband had to drag our suitcase on streets paved with old bricks and wasn’t happy about it :D
Life lessons:
1. While planning a trip always get a second opinion. We both should’ve participated in arranging the hotel, itinerary, etc.
2. Always check calendar for events. Gay parade was not on our to do list and it made the city overcrowded and traffic was bad as well. Plus, I didn’t really felt safe around drunk and high people when I was alone.
3. Always bring an umbrella when you go away, same applies for socks!
4. Put extra money on your phone when you are traveling.
5. Print all the detailed directions before you go.
I hope we will be laughing about this trip in the future. It will be hard to forget, that’s for sure :)
