Amsterdam – Netherlands – Europe – 2014 – Day 11-13

111514

The train ride went smoothly but alas it was also raining in Amsterdam upon arrival. The office for tourism was closed so we couldn’t pick up a iamsterdam card for our next two days. We did get a 1 hour ticket for 2,80 euro and hopped on the 13 and got off at the end of the line. About a 20-30 minute tram ride. The tickets are magnetic striped and you need to tap it to get on and off. We are staying at an Airbnb that is pretty big but a little far from everything. We were all starving so we went to the local grocery store Albert Heijn to grab things for breakfast and then saw that there was one restaurant still open. We had Turkish food at Hunkar restaurant (Lambertus Zijlplein, Amsterdam) where the waiter didn’t really understand English so we got the hunkar special plus a Turkish pizza.

Got back and we planned the next day and did laundry. I was about to shower after Ricky who said the shower took a while to drain. I hopped in and turned on the shower to see the drain was backed up and brown and black clumps came up from the drain. The neighbor Victor from below came up to complain about the leaking in his apartment coming from our unit as its the fourth time this week. Good thing about Airbnb is that you can contact the host whenever you need them. Our host was very responsive.

111614

We made sunny side up eggs with bacon and hagelslag which is a Dutch breakfast staple of a slice bread with butter and chocolate sprinkles or flakes. We took the tram back to central to pick up the iamsterdam 48hr city cards which grants us 48 hours unlimited travel as well as admission to certain places and discounts for others. The first thing we did since it wasn’t raining was the canal cruise that took an hour. From there we wandered a bit before hopping onto a tram to Stedelijk Museum which is similar to MOMA.

We caught a late lunch/early dinner at Pompa (Willemsparkweg 6 1071 HD Amsterdam) where I had the fish and chips (14 euro) and a cassis juice (2 euro). The fish was so fresh and the chips were tasty too however took forever to get the table. We went down the street to the iamsterdam sign then hopped back on the tram and venturing the streets and into the red light district. When we originally walked through the red light district it was too early for the prostitutes to be working the windows. We settled for Chipsy King and grabbed a large frites with Belgian mayonnaise. Around 10PM, we went back to the red light and the prostitutes were in full swing working their windows. Prostitution is legal here. For a transaction to go through, the person chooses which woman they want and then open their door. They come to an agreement on what they want and from there pay and finish the transaction. Originally, Aaron wanted Vlaamse Frites but we couldn’t find it until later on and we obviously had to try it.

When we got back to the apartment, Victor the downstairs neighbour had updated us on the status of the apartment and the leaking. There must be a pipe underneath the flooring that had burst because when you step, you can feel how squishy it was and it was the whole apartment. I thought it was the design but each the wood floor paneling has dark marks the edges which is actually water damage. The host whose apartment we rented gave us a full refund as we need to find a new accommodation.

We booked Citizen M for the following night.

111714

We had bought groceries for all three morning so we ended up eating two days worth 14 eggs, bacon and sausage. Then off we went.

Switched over to Citizen M hotel (Prinses Irenestraat 30, 1077 WX Amsterdam) where it’s similar to a capsule hotel but washroom ensuite. It’s tight quarters and no privacy if you are sharing. There is a curtain and cylinder doors to use the toilet or the waterfall shower. We took the 51 train from Guid station and headed over to central and walked to the Library where it has a panoramic view over the harbour. On our way over, the street in front of Central Station was closed off for their Santa Claus parade. Their culture features a blackfaced character. We stopped by the restaurant on the main floor of the Library called Vapiano (Oosterdokskade 145, 1011 DL) where you get a card in the beginning and goto whichever station and tap it. Amsterdam is very tap oriented technology as our bus pass and room key are also tap technology.

After lunch we went across the bridge and went Science Center Nemo. Very kid oriented but interesting to say the least. I prefer Exploratorium in San Francisco much better. It was raining and cold outside so we went back to Citizen M. Mimi and myself watched two movies in the room while the boys took naps. We took the 5 tram back to Chinatown where we ate  at A Fusion (Zeedijk 130, 1012 BC ) run by Cantonese/Dutch/English speaking people. Pineapple fried rice, lamb in black pepper sauce, seafood curry and bubble tea in total around 92 euros.