It’s 8 AM and we’re awake. Actually, Alex is more awake than I am: he’s already been to the bank (but it was closed) and now he’s at a convenience store trying to find something to drink. (He complained that he was hot.) I feel like I’m still asleep. It’s too early.

We went to bed around 2 AM last night. We spent an hour or so planning for the next day (today) because our time here so far has been incredibly unorganized. We’re finding it difficult to navigate 4 people through the city without a daily agenda.

Yesterday, for example, we left the hotel at around 11:30 AM. Hoping the staff would be able to make a recommendation for a breakfast place, we headed to the reception desk. The girl was flustered and said that every place is good. That wasn’t very useful to us so we just headed out the door and walked north, where we once saw a sign for crepes.

As it turned out, that place was no longer in business. We decided to keep walking and finally settled for a place called Cafe de Jonghe Dominus. They had outdoor seating and a breakfast menu. Our waitor appeared within minutes and we placed our order. Alex bought the “full English breakfast” (fried eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, French fries, toast, and coffee) and I ordered the pancakes w/jam and coffee. Funny how the menu said pancakeS (plural) but only one was brought out. Alex’s breakfast cost €8 or something and mine was €5 + €1.50 for jam (which was a tiny portion in a tiny disposable container, like in an American diner or on the plane) + €2 for coffee. Needless to say, I felt a little ripped off. However, that one pancake (which is a lot like the Russian blin but thicker and more buttery) filled me up, surprisingly.

After we ate and paid (around 1:30 PM), we started walking towards the zoo, Artis, in the Plantage neighborhood (east Amsterdam). On our way there, we passed Waterloopleinmarkt, a huge flea market type of venue. We didn’t buy anything but it was interesting to see all the tables/booths and people.

The admission into Artis was €18.50 per person. However, it was huge so we didn’t feel too bad. Alex took a lot of photos, especially of the reptiles… so expect a lot of photos of animals when we return ;)

After the zoo (around 6 PM), we didn’t know where to go. No one could make a decision so we just headed back the exact same way that we came. Once we were near enough the hotel that we recognized the neighborhood, Alex and I stopped at a restaurant, Orff, while Kate and Yehuda kept going. Again, we sat outside because it was so nice (mid-80s and not humid). Alex ordered fish & chips and I got a double burger. (Both dishes came with French fries and small side salads.) We also ordered beer (which was really good but we forgot to ask our waitress for its name). Our total came to €36.50, which is kind of expensive for just 2 entrees + beer.

Afterwards, we headed back to our hotel to shower. (We walked around a lot that day and we were getting gross.) Then we went searching for the Red Light District. All we had to do was follow the hordes of teenage boys and old men. We saw a lot of stores and bars and, of course, girls in windows. Alex found it interesting (obviously) but I didn’t see the big deal. It was just very crowded.

We were back in our hotel room by midnight.

Our plane was delayed for about 30 minutes on the runway. However, we still managed to arrive on time. Unfortunately, I got very sick upon landing :( That has slowed us down significantly since I have to keep stopping everyone to wait for my nausea to subside. Alex has been great, carrying my luggage for me and buying water.

We took the train from the airport to Amsterdam Centraal. From there, we walked to the hotel. On the way, we saw HUNDREDS of bikes! I’ve never seen anything like it. There are a LOT of parked bikes and a lot that were in use. The streets are kind of dangerous because of all the traffic: pedestrians, bicycles, trams, cars, buses.

We checked into the hotel but we were slightly early so our rooms weren’t ready yet. We sat in the lobby, desperately wanting a shower and a nap. (We didn’t sleep on the plane. It was far too uncomfortable.)  We finally got to our room at 3 PM, where we proceeded to shower.  Then we headed out the door. We walked around some of the canals and just watched Dutch people live their lives. It’s amazing how carefree they all seem to be!

We decided that we should probably get something to eat so we headed to an area called Koningsplein and looked for a restaurant. We settled for Kantjil, an Indonesian-inspired place. The waiters were laid back and really nice.  Actually, everyone we’ve interacted with so far has been extremely nice. That’s something that we were warned about before we left for Amsterdam: people told us they were envious of our trip and that “the Dutch are some of the nicest people in the world.” And it’s true! Everyone is so accommodating, it’s unusual.

After we ate, Alex and I headed back to the hotel… and took an impromptu 3-hour nap. Oops. When we woke up at 10 PM, we were very disoriented. To wake ourselves up, we went for a walk. It surprised us how quiet Amsterdam is at night! Right outside our hotel is Dam Square, an area similar to Manhattan’s Union Square: lots of people and vendors and street performers. However, at night, it was empty. As we walked north, though, towards the train station, we found all of the nocturnal Dutchies (and lots of tourists) on the streets near the canals. Coffeeshops were swarming with customers who ordered coffee with their marijuana. Alex wanted a cappuccino and we were forced to visit three coffeeshops because they wouldn’t sell coffee without purchase of hash. We didn’t do business at places that had such requirements.

We headed back to our hotel room at around 1 AM. However, we couldn’t fall asleep until 3-ish. We watched TV until we did. There’s a lot of English/American TV here. Channels like the Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel were pretty much just the English/American channels with Dutch subtitles and local commercials. Other channels, like Comedy Central, were Dutch but played lots of American shows (with Dutch subtitles). I can’t say anything about the Dutch channels because we didn’t understand them ;)

Unrelated: Neither Alex (AT&T) nor I (T-Mobile) get cellular service here. That means no phone calls and no text messages. So email is the only means of communication that we have.  (The hotel offers free Wi-Fi.)  Because of this, we also can’t keep track of our friends Kate and Yehuda. We need, like, walkie-talkies or something ;)