Amsterdam

 A short night’s sleep, jet lag, and dehydration. I didn’t feel the need to actually fall asleep until about 8 am, coincidentally roughly when I was hoping to start waking up for the Rijksmuseum. I’m a fan of Dutch masters and there’s no better place to see them than right here. I chose to not fall asleep standing at the museum and took a nap, or something that resembled one.

Breakfast was in order. I went to a cafe in the northern part of the city, near a canal where else? Baguette, butter, jam, tea and a hard boiled egg. To my delight the egg came in one of those silly little egg cups that you just don’t see in the US. They gave me a cracking tool so I cooks quietly open up my breakfast. It sort of looks like a slide hammer with an egg shaped face. Very silly and unnecessary. I want one.

Breakfast restored my strength but I was out of time for Rijks. A museum was in order so I went to the houseboat museum. Back in the day the city had a substantial population of people living on the canals in houseboats. Many of these folks were musicians since a houseboat is the only place in the city you can make noise without bothering the neighbor on the other side of the wall. The museum is built into an old houseboat. These boats were typically built in the early 1900s to haul cargo. They had a small living space for a family of four to shack up in as they floated their way down. This setup is actually quite similar to the canal boats I read about in Cumberland a few weeks back. As canal shipping waned, old boats were bought up and the cargo holds were transformed into living space. Survivable for four becomes quite alright for one or two. The city is starting to regulate the boats away. Taxes are increasing, the cost of moorings are going up, and since the canals are UNESCO listed outward appearances are important. What was once a cheap way to live eccentrically is now being bought and sold for prices that don’t make this Californian raise an eyebrow. Yikes.

Rugs I need

There was still time and my thirst for learning had not been quenched (although I was still broadly rather dehydrated). At The New Church (new but disused like all churches in the city) there is an exhibition about the Jews of Amsterdam. An interesting history for sure. Most of the Sephardi came to Amsterdam during the inquisition, the Ashkenaz trickled in during various bouts of persecution. Just like in English, Dutch is full of loanwords from Yiddish. One of the more popular names for Amsterdam, Mokum, is actually a Yiddish word.

Why was I short on time this morning? I have a friend in the nearby city of Eindhoven I have not seen for some years. We’ve conspired to catch up and this means I unusually am on some sort of schedule. Normally the ride from Amsterdam to Eindhoven is about an hour and can be accomplished in one seat. Unlucky me, there was track work. Two seats and a little more than two hours. The plus is that now I can say I’ve visited The Hague.

VS and I met going to school in Philadelphia, we were both studying Engineering at the time. Only difference is that he managed to leave with an engineering degree and I went for business in the end. He moved to Eindhoven once lockdown ended to pursue a master’s. He’s pulled that off and just landed a job working for one of the area’s many tech firms. Siliciumkanaal? We haven’t seen each other for the better part of a decade but it feels great to pick up right where we left off. We catch up and share our thoughts on the expatriate experience in this fascinating country. He explains to me that Eindhoven, unlike Amsterdam, is generally a well behaved place unless there is a football match. Those weekly games present an opportunity for everyone to get their yah yahs out.

I mention that there are two Dutch food experiences I haven’t had yet, bitterbollen and stroopwafels. Bitterbollen are fried balls filled with a meat based goo. Nobody seems to understand exactly what goes inside them but they are fantastic. For the wafels we have the authentic Dutch experience. It is common for tourists like me to be overcharged for this treat, especially in Amsterdam. With his guidance, we popped into a grocery store and picked up a sack of the things for a couple euro. A bargain fit for the locals.

Two selfies in one day, crazy

The train ride back proves to be more daunting than the outbound trip. Not only is there track work on the line linking my station and his directly but they aren’t running service from The Hague to my station in Amsterdam. Obnoxiously this adds still more time and a transfer to my journey. Back at the Hostel there is plenty to do. I’m heading to the UK and while travel is “visa free” you do need an Electronic Travel Authorization. The process is fast and easy with their app. Passport scan, NFC passport read, face scan, attenuation that you aren’t a war criminal, £20 payable by apple pay. Within 5 minutes of submitting I had automated approval. Frankly I give the experience an F because the whole thing wasn’t needed at all before Brexit.