Saturday, November 13, 2010

Coming to you Live from Amsterdam . . .


Hi Everyone, I arrived safe and sound in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Whoo hoo!  The weather is cool but not freezing so it is the perfect weather to wander around in.  I'm loving it so far.  My apartment is very nice and has a beautiful canal right in front of it.  

I decided rather than to take a taxi from the airport to the apartment I would take the train to Centraal Station and then take a quick taxi ride to the apartment.   You can also take the Stop & Go Bus for 1 Euro but I had just missed it and I had told the owner that I would be there at a certain time and was running late. 

I forgot how confusing it can be to figure out the train system here, but I have to say that there are many infornation booths around and the people are very friendly to just ask.  Still after a 9 1/2 hour flight in lowly economy class,  things were still feeling a bit like, Huh? While at the ticket counter, I also bought my train tickets to Belgium already so I wouldn't have to worry about it.

Here is a photo just outside of customs at Schiphol Airport


My beautiful canal . . . 


My first Coffee House Sighting and isn't the name too funny!



Am I making you drool . . .



My beautiful canal, still beautiful at night . . .



I did some exploring around and ended up in Rembrandtplein.  I spotted a great looking Indonesian Restaurant and knew this was it. My first Indonesian meal called Rijsttafel.  I had the fried noodles, Chicken Satay and and Omelette Java with hot sauce. So delicious!  This square is pretty lively with so many restuarants and cafes/bars. Really reminds me of Prague and Madrid. High Octane! I love it though. 

And everything I had read and seen about the bikes here are all true. I have to watch out for the bikes more than the cars when crossing the streets. I can't wait to rent one. I just hope I don't crash into another biker. 

Well, the canals are calling out to me and then tomorrow I have a big day at the museums. :)

Bye for now . . .


9 comments:

  1. Funny - I take it for granted that it is easy to get around by train after all these years. It sounds like you did well. It really isn't that hard. BTW, I don't know if I mentioned this site - http://journeyplanner.9292.nl/ It is the best for planning a journey since it will give you bus, train, tram and walking directions.

    Tot Zeins!

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  2. Are you going to go to a coffee shop? Go to the rokerji!
    http://www.rokerij.net/coffieshop/leidsestraat/index.html

    They have a bar, so you can get a drink and just check everything out. It is a trippy place full of trippy things and trippy people. Check it out!

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  3. Wow, Kathy, what a fantastic arrival! "Your" canal looks really beautiful and I'm envious of the coffee houses and restaurants you'll get to visit (to say nothing of the museums.)

    I'm glad to hear you arrived safe and sound, can't wait to hear more

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  4. Thanks for this, glad to know you've arrived without incident and that the weather is cooperating. Your canal is absolutely gorgeous, how lucky to have such a scenic setting for your apartment. Biking sounds fun, although I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to cycling in traffic, so am not sure if it would be for me or not. The food sound delish (especially since I am very hungry right now!)

    Enjoy the museums tomorrow, looking forward to hearing all about them!

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  5. Hi Everyone, woo I woke up so late this morning. It's a little rainey so it is a perfect day for the museums, ha ha

    Marta thanks so much for your link I'll check it out. Can you believe I forgot to pack the little map I bought for the trip. good thing there is some here in the apartment the train was easy once I figured it out. Everything moves so fast here tho it was a shock to my LA driver system. :) it went smoothly. I

    Shannon, definitely going to a coffee house. In fact I cracked up yesterday, I know it is illegal to take it out on the streets but I know I smelled a Mary Jane somewhere on my explorations :) I like being amongst some trippy folks, I'll have a look at that link and try to find it. Isn't that funny they have a Coffee house named Sevilla - I might have to go in there too, if I can remember where I found it. I can say I had some "coffee" in Sevilla.

    Hi Sandra, thanks so much....I'll think of you and Annie and all my art friends today as I visit the museums. I'vd always loved Van Gough so I am looking forward to seeing his work live at his dedicated museum.

    Hi Anne, I'm a good biker but seeing how they bike here it pretty wild. I have never heard so many bike bells too. The kind you hear when you're a kid on your first training bike. too funny. The name of the restaurant is Pelangi, and I hope to submit a restaurant review to ST. I actually took notes this time so I can remember. In fact I may have to return there for another sampler before I make my review. He he.

    Thanks again everyone...

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  6. Hi Kathy, glad to hear that you arrived with no dramas. Your canal looks like a beaut. Funny that you can visit Sevilla in the heart of Amsterdam.
    I'm still not sure about twitter, but will have it all figured out by the end of your trip!
    I look forward to more of your travel tales.

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  7. Woo hoo! I'm glad you're there safely. The canal is so beautiful and the food sounds great. Have a wonderful day in the musems!

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  8. Hi Maya, thanks so much...yes isn't a Sevilla coffee house to funny...don't worry if you can't get the Twitter thing. It's not for everyone. I like it because u can get a lot of highlighted info and it is sometimes amusing depending on who you follow. There's some other fon st people like mart, girasoli, Colleen and Pauline too I had a fun day today but lost my connection for my laptop so could' t post, I'll try again tomorrow...

    Hi Annie, Thanks so much for your comments, food was delicious thanks so much for introducing me to indoneian food! Awesome day at the museums can't post now cuz lost my connection will TTY again tomorrow morning with my cup of coffee...real coffee that is :)

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  9. No, Kathy Im not drooling yet. Have fun

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It's me Trekcapri (aka Kathy). Thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment.