Amsterdam.
From the time I received that call from my boss, telling me I might have to fly to Amsterdam on a short term assignment, my mind had already begun planning on writing this post. Occasionally, I would day-dream about how I would write it. I would imagine myself sitting at a not-so-crowded cafe by the sidewalk, overlooking a canal, watching dutch people cycle by and a gorgeous waiter would bring me coffee, while this great post was taking shape on my laptop...
Though all the other things happened, I never got to actually writing anything at all while I was at AMS. The only time I remember doing anything remotely close to writing was when I scribbled down a particular memory on my journal, during the 7-hour layover at Abu Dhabi airport while I waited for my return flight, owing to my complete lack of options to kill time.
I am fully aware that I cannot contain all the wonderful sights, taste and feel of Amsterdam in a single post or in actual words. But I can try and chronicle my choice memories from my trip.
So here we go
The first pick from the memory jar is...
The One with the Karaoke.
This happened when my old-time maritime friend A from school visited AMS. Since he already knew every alley-way, bend and turn in the street, I got to see and visit some very interesting and unusual places, which I would have definitely missed on my solo explorations. He said 'The Amsterdam experience is incomplete if you haven't been to RLD' and convinced me to overcome my initial inhibitions about taking a walk in the famous hot spot of the city. Walking through these tabooed streets was not the shady experience, I expected it would be. Instead it was lively and filled with tourists ranging from old Asian couples to young newly wed Afro-american couples, large groups of chatty Hispanic families and not much surprisingly, Indian students. I stopped feeling sorry for the girls at the mannequin windows when I learnt from A that some of them actually made more than what I earned in a year. It is apparently a profession like any other and it does not receive the bad rap it does, back in India. Later, we tried a mini spread at this Spanish tapas place which served baby squids in green peas with clams and other such slimy seafood. The sailor ate his food with much relish while I ordered for a Spanish Omelette to wash down the taste of clams. Spanish omelette looks more like a slice of cheesecake and tastes like masala dosa. After catching up on each other's current affairs, past affairs and a general rant about the elusive 'true love', we decided to hit a Karaoke bar.
This place was a tiny bar hidden away from all the street noise, less crowded and with warm welcoming members. The songs were either in Dutch or English. The lady at the counter who runs the place handed us a large menu-book of songs we could choose from. Most of the songs were pop chartbusters from the 80's. I chose 'If you wanna be my lover' by Spice girls and took the stage. At some point, I remember laughing uncontrollably while rapping ...'so tell me what you want, what you really really want.. I wanna zig a zig a zig..ah' A also got on stage with me so that I didn't embarrass myself so much. Maybe that guy with the garland was drunk, but he shook my hands and said that I sang well. A sang a couple more songs and we left feeling so happy with all our accomplishments of the night.
The One with the walk around Rotterdam.
Those days a luxury cruise ship was harbored at the port of Rotterdam, which our client office overlooked. She was called the 'Harmony of the Seas'. We happened to visit Rotterdam on the day she was setting sail after a few days of being anchored, preparing for her next cruise. Our incredibly friendly client - M, proposed to take us on a walking tour around the city. So after grabbing our free ice cream cones from a sample booth, we set out to explore. Rotterdam was a city built from a burnt down town - much like a phoenix city. Unlike AMS with its old charming buildings, Rotterdam has relatively new buildings and very modern architecture, but in nooks and crannies, you catch a sudden glimpse of history that takes you back in time. M took us to his favorite cafe and we had a nice glass of iced tea, beer and orange juice respectively, in the warmth of hot coals, overlooking his favorite canal. He talked about his family, his childhood, describing what it was like to grow up in Rotterdam and we nodded along, enjoying his pleasant company. Later we climbed up the Euro Mast, which has a revolving top that gives a 360 degree view of the city with an amazing history of the evolution of this port town. We walked through the parks, the medical college, old ports, new ports, wooden bridges, a huge indoor market and the architecturally intriguing cube houses.When M asked me what my favorite cuisine was, I said 'Italian' very promptly. So he took us out for pizzas in the evening after we watched the 'Harmony of the Seas' towing off to her new destination.
The One with the missed train.
On the weekend, me and long-time school friend J, who was studying in Germany, planned to meet. Few more people grouped in and J made elaborate plans to meet at Munich. I was to leave office at around 5 PM, catch a train to Aachen, meet up with J and friends and then we board the overnight train to Munich. The stay was arranged with Airbnb. Tickets were already booked. I decided to reach Aachen from Amsterdam by first taking a train to Brussels, and then take another train to either Aachen or go directly to Koln. Our train to Munich was booked for 11 PM. For some fateful reason I reached Brussels station only at 8.30 PM. I already knew I was late as I ran towards the information center, just as the officer in charge was closing for the day. He told me in broken English, that all trains have already departed and that there are no more trains to Germany or even back to Netherlands and that the next train was only at 6 AM in the morning next day. My heart sank. I fished out my phone to inform J about this disaster and saw that it had run out of battery. I ran around looking for a place to charge my phone only to realize that I forgot to bring my two pin converter. I felt completely lost at this point and I sat down on the steps to take a minute to fully panic, fighting back tears. After 10 minutes, I pulled myself together and walked out of the station. I had exactly 400 euros with me for my last weekend in Europe, perfectly planned and yet so utterly ruined now. Next thing to do was to find a place to stay. I looked around and saw Hilton and Marriott. I walked back into the station and tried talking to a couple of tourists who told me that I could find more affordable places to spend the night at Brussels Midi. I took a tram to Midi and just as I got down, it started to rain. At this point there was not a single thing that could make the night more depressing. I walked around a bit and chose a arty-looking hotel, which charged 60 EUR for a night, I took it. Also, bought a converter from a vending machine I spotted on the way. It was already 11 PM when I finally got a call through to a very concerned J. J and friends had to leave for Munich without me. I decided I would go back to AMS the next morning as I did not have enough euros to last me another train mishap, if at all. I bought myself burger and fries from a 24/7 restaurant across the street and went to sleep, extremely sad about my wasted weekend.
The next morning as I packed up to leave, I remembered vaguely that my old roommate S from Bangalore was currently living in Brussels. I have no idea how I remembered this trivial fact but I logged into Facebook and messaged her. She saw my message called me back almost immediately. She told me the way to her home. I thought I would pay her a short visit and head back to AMS. She was super hospitable and welcoming. Her house was basically a rooftop and it was too lovely and gorgeous for words. She made me feel comfortable in her home and let me tag along with her gang for the European Commission fair. After a whole day of sightseeing Brussels, eating Belgian waffles from a street vendor and trying truffle butters, evening come, we settled in for some TV and a nice home-cooked Indian meal. The next day, S suggested that I take a one-day trip to Bruges, where the famous 'Chaar kadam' from PK was shot. She could not come along due to other commitments.
So, I embarked on my first ever solo European trip to Bruges, mildly excited, not knowing what lay ahead.
When I stepped down at Bruges, I had stepped back in time. Literally, I had to step back onto the pavement to let a horse-drawn carriage pass by. This ancient preserved breathtakingly beautiful town called Bruges, mesmerised me like no other place did. I walked around the city, visiting all the stars on the map. Towards the end of the day, this city had charmed me so much and I was high on happiness. It felt like my whole two months of Europe trip culminated to bringing me to lovely Bruges. I returned to AMS completely satisfied having collected memories for a lifetime.
Epilogue:
It has been 4 months since and writing this post brought back so many good feelings.
I thank God for giving me this unexpected travel opportunity at the most unexpected of times, when I needed it the most...God knows. And to my readers, I would leave this message - Life may seem to disappoint you at times, but have faith! :)
Gallery:
Though all the other things happened, I never got to actually writing anything at all while I was at AMS. The only time I remember doing anything remotely close to writing was when I scribbled down a particular memory on my journal, during the 7-hour layover at Abu Dhabi airport while I waited for my return flight, owing to my complete lack of options to kill time.
I am fully aware that I cannot contain all the wonderful sights, taste and feel of Amsterdam in a single post or in actual words. But I can try and chronicle my choice memories from my trip.
So here we go
The first pick from the memory jar is...
The One with the Karaoke.
This happened when my old-time maritime friend A from school visited AMS. Since he already knew every alley-way, bend and turn in the street, I got to see and visit some very interesting and unusual places, which I would have definitely missed on my solo explorations. He said 'The Amsterdam experience is incomplete if you haven't been to RLD' and convinced me to overcome my initial inhibitions about taking a walk in the famous hot spot of the city. Walking through these tabooed streets was not the shady experience, I expected it would be. Instead it was lively and filled with tourists ranging from old Asian couples to young newly wed Afro-american couples, large groups of chatty Hispanic families and not much surprisingly, Indian students. I stopped feeling sorry for the girls at the mannequin windows when I learnt from A that some of them actually made more than what I earned in a year. It is apparently a profession like any other and it does not receive the bad rap it does, back in India. Later, we tried a mini spread at this Spanish tapas place which served baby squids in green peas with clams and other such slimy seafood. The sailor ate his food with much relish while I ordered for a Spanish Omelette to wash down the taste of clams. Spanish omelette looks more like a slice of cheesecake and tastes like masala dosa. After catching up on each other's current affairs, past affairs and a general rant about the elusive 'true love', we decided to hit a Karaoke bar.
This place was a tiny bar hidden away from all the street noise, less crowded and with warm welcoming members. The songs were either in Dutch or English. The lady at the counter who runs the place handed us a large menu-book of songs we could choose from. Most of the songs were pop chartbusters from the 80's. I chose 'If you wanna be my lover' by Spice girls and took the stage. At some point, I remember laughing uncontrollably while rapping ...'so tell me what you want, what you really really want.. I wanna zig a zig a zig..ah' A also got on stage with me so that I didn't embarrass myself so much. Maybe that guy with the garland was drunk, but he shook my hands and said that I sang well. A sang a couple more songs and we left feeling so happy with all our accomplishments of the night.
The One with the walk around Rotterdam.
Those days a luxury cruise ship was harbored at the port of Rotterdam, which our client office overlooked. She was called the 'Harmony of the Seas'. We happened to visit Rotterdam on the day she was setting sail after a few days of being anchored, preparing for her next cruise. Our incredibly friendly client - M, proposed to take us on a walking tour around the city. So after grabbing our free ice cream cones from a sample booth, we set out to explore. Rotterdam was a city built from a burnt down town - much like a phoenix city. Unlike AMS with its old charming buildings, Rotterdam has relatively new buildings and very modern architecture, but in nooks and crannies, you catch a sudden glimpse of history that takes you back in time. M took us to his favorite cafe and we had a nice glass of iced tea, beer and orange juice respectively, in the warmth of hot coals, overlooking his favorite canal. He talked about his family, his childhood, describing what it was like to grow up in Rotterdam and we nodded along, enjoying his pleasant company. Later we climbed up the Euro Mast, which has a revolving top that gives a 360 degree view of the city with an amazing history of the evolution of this port town. We walked through the parks, the medical college, old ports, new ports, wooden bridges, a huge indoor market and the architecturally intriguing cube houses.When M asked me what my favorite cuisine was, I said 'Italian' very promptly. So he took us out for pizzas in the evening after we watched the 'Harmony of the Seas' towing off to her new destination.
The One with the missed train.
On the weekend, me and long-time school friend J, who was studying in Germany, planned to meet. Few more people grouped in and J made elaborate plans to meet at Munich. I was to leave office at around 5 PM, catch a train to Aachen, meet up with J and friends and then we board the overnight train to Munich. The stay was arranged with Airbnb. Tickets were already booked. I decided to reach Aachen from Amsterdam by first taking a train to Brussels, and then take another train to either Aachen or go directly to Koln. Our train to Munich was booked for 11 PM. For some fateful reason I reached Brussels station only at 8.30 PM. I already knew I was late as I ran towards the information center, just as the officer in charge was closing for the day. He told me in broken English, that all trains have already departed and that there are no more trains to Germany or even back to Netherlands and that the next train was only at 6 AM in the morning next day. My heart sank. I fished out my phone to inform J about this disaster and saw that it had run out of battery. I ran around looking for a place to charge my phone only to realize that I forgot to bring my two pin converter. I felt completely lost at this point and I sat down on the steps to take a minute to fully panic, fighting back tears. After 10 minutes, I pulled myself together and walked out of the station. I had exactly 400 euros with me for my last weekend in Europe, perfectly planned and yet so utterly ruined now. Next thing to do was to find a place to stay. I looked around and saw Hilton and Marriott. I walked back into the station and tried talking to a couple of tourists who told me that I could find more affordable places to spend the night at Brussels Midi. I took a tram to Midi and just as I got down, it started to rain. At this point there was not a single thing that could make the night more depressing. I walked around a bit and chose a arty-looking hotel, which charged 60 EUR for a night, I took it. Also, bought a converter from a vending machine I spotted on the way. It was already 11 PM when I finally got a call through to a very concerned J. J and friends had to leave for Munich without me. I decided I would go back to AMS the next morning as I did not have enough euros to last me another train mishap, if at all. I bought myself burger and fries from a 24/7 restaurant across the street and went to sleep, extremely sad about my wasted weekend.
The next morning as I packed up to leave, I remembered vaguely that my old roommate S from Bangalore was currently living in Brussels. I have no idea how I remembered this trivial fact but I logged into Facebook and messaged her. She saw my message called me back almost immediately. She told me the way to her home. I thought I would pay her a short visit and head back to AMS. She was super hospitable and welcoming. Her house was basically a rooftop and it was too lovely and gorgeous for words. She made me feel comfortable in her home and let me tag along with her gang for the European Commission fair. After a whole day of sightseeing Brussels, eating Belgian waffles from a street vendor and trying truffle butters, evening come, we settled in for some TV and a nice home-cooked Indian meal. The next day, S suggested that I take a one-day trip to Bruges, where the famous 'Chaar kadam' from PK was shot. She could not come along due to other commitments.
So, I embarked on my first ever solo European trip to Bruges, mildly excited, not knowing what lay ahead.
When I stepped down at Bruges, I had stepped back in time. Literally, I had to step back onto the pavement to let a horse-drawn carriage pass by. This ancient preserved breathtakingly beautiful town called Bruges, mesmerised me like no other place did. I walked around the city, visiting all the stars on the map. Towards the end of the day, this city had charmed me so much and I was high on happiness. It felt like my whole two months of Europe trip culminated to bringing me to lovely Bruges. I returned to AMS completely satisfied having collected memories for a lifetime.
Epilogue:
It has been 4 months since and writing this post brought back so many good feelings.
I thank God for giving me this unexpected travel opportunity at the most unexpected of times, when I needed it the most...God knows. And to my readers, I would leave this message - Life may seem to disappoint you at times, but have faith! :)
Gallery:
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| The sailor getting friendly with a soldier Rembrandtplein, Amsterdam |
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| The port city of Rotterdam - View from Euro Mast |
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| 'Harmony of the Seas' - View from EY office, Rotterdam |
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| Cube houses - Rotterdam |
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| A night's stay Bruxelles |
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| S's rooftop house Brussels |
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| My favorite spot in the house though |
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| Time travel Markt, Bruges |
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| A miscalculated timed capture of your's truly By the river, Bruges |
Good read ! Thanks for giving a ride to Amsterdam free of cost !
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome :)
Deletehow to contact you for a random talk?
DeleteYay!! You ka-roaked ! I'm sure you realised how much you enjoyed showing off that u could sing!!
ReplyDeleteI like the part where you call yourself lost! That had to happen atleast once when ur in an unknown city!! Now that's a fun part!
Always liked ur write up ! :*
The pawprint of Peeshu! :) Thanks Peeshu :) And I always knew you would have some feel-good comments up your sleeve. :-*
ReplyDelete