2 Weeks working and playing in Amsterdam
August-September 2001
Best things about the trip
Very friendly people
Interesting and very walkable city, nighttime was great for walking
Worst things about the trip
Weather got a little cold and rainy.
Amsterdam
Working a trade show brought us to Amsterdam - ESCRS (European Society of
Cataract and Refractive Surgery). The exhibits were for five days, so why not
take a little more time before and after to see the sights?
Hotel Amsterdam, near Dam Square
Roomy and overlooking a pedestrian street.
Room 112 Hotel Amsterdam
Phallic fountain in The Red Light District
With a preference for warm weather, I wouldn't have picked Amsterdam as a
vacation destination - but it turned out that we enjoyed it a lot. The first
night we walked to the Red Light district I was a bit wary due to the many
cautions in guidebooks. And indeed a shady character standing on the bridge over
the canal whispered his wares 'viagra'. That was the most sinister event of the
entire trip. Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands and seeing the working
girls displaying their wares in the red light windows is interesting. Seeing the
gawkers and customers engage in transactions with the ladies is also highly
entertaining. The red light district is in the oldest part of Amsterdam.
de Waag
We loved the restaurant-cafe in de Waag,
the bar had great wines and also had internet access while you enjoyed the
ambiance. We kept coming back, and of course it was on the other side of the red
light district from our hotel so we became quite comfortable with this area.
Interesting that de Waag dining room is lit only by candles.
Hidden Church in an Attic
With a week before ESCRS we had plenty of time for the
Ann Frank house, the Rijksmuseum, the
Van Gogh museum, Rembrandt House
Museum,
Museum Amstelkring, canal tours, and many many self-guided walking tours.
One of the walking tours took us through the historic area (guess where - yep
the Red Light District) and interesting places like the Hidden Church in an
Attic.
Amsterdam is famous for Koffieshops - businesses where you can buy cannabis
products from a "smokers menu". Many have internet access which we found very
handy.
Food was fantastic in Amsterdam! We ate at the same restaurant many times -
Cafe Luxembourg - always in the covered outdoor tables right on the busy
sidewalk; Fabulous blue cheese fondue at de Prins; Special dinner at de Waag;
Bagels and Beans was just right in the morning;
Lots of entertainment options in Amsterdam - we caught the latest Brad Pitt
movie "Snatch" at the free outdoor film venue in Nieuwmarkt square (that's where
de Waag is); Wandered into lively
Leidseplein square with street performers, jugglers, fire-eaters and
fire-twirlers; Strolled to the Reguliersgracht canal to catch some of the
entertainment of the Seven Bridges Jazz Festival.
Nighttime was great for walking
We were lucky with the weather up to the last couple of days. When it rained it
was usually over quickly. The evenings were great for strolling and glimpsing
the lives of the natives. It's the custom in Amsterdam to leave the windows
unabashedly uncovered.
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