Amsterdam. Netherlands

Amsterdamage Proceedings have been complete. The captains 4th return to the city once again proved why it would not be his last (I love this place!). Reaching Holland on Christmas Day meant Santa had delivered and the Captain had been a very bad boy in the year

Like every new recruit Admiral Akbar has survived, although the culture shock has her still stuck in awe of the progressive nature of the country.

Due to the lost day in Qatar, the Captain and Admiral derived a pact, a treaty of sorts, and vowed to use every second of the time we had in Amsterdam. With that in mind upon our arrival into the country the exit procedures were swift and stealthy, like a fine tuned Dutch Ninja. We quickly left the airport, buying train tickets for a train that was in 180 seconds – we just made it, and with that started our approach to the city.

Like previous log entries, the marvels of the land can not be disclosed or described in these logs, due to many reasons, some of which the reader of this blog will know. However, this adult Disney land is full of mystery and intrigue that could be discussed with the captain over a bottle of Rum (in other words this is PG rated, the R18 version is available over a drink)

We arrived at our centrally located hotel – only to find the size of the room did not even permit both our large suitcases! Shoe box (or rather ClogBox) room, had a bed and a toilet with barely enough room to access either or. We quickly maneuvered our luggage, changed and moved. Our first few venues fall into the categories covered under the NDA therefore can not be disclosed in this forum, but shortly after and feeling slightly dizzy, we walked around admiring the beautiful architecture the city had to offer. Even after 4 times, this city still blows my mind – something that you would not see anywhere in the world. Speaking of which we also dropped into FEBO, a fast food chain in Holland that involved cooks cooking the foodies and placing it in a vending machine style wall – see other Amsterdam logs for more FEBO details.

Stumbling around ended when we decided it was time to go the Heineken experience. This worried the Admiral as she was not a beer fan. She had arrived the Bethlehem of it and she was about to see the Birth of beer on Christmas. Romantic aint it?
To the Admiral’s surprise, she not only enjoyed the experience but even had 2 glasses of the golden elixir (which she did not completely enjoy). The beer theme park was a Dutch Duffland without the Duff oompa loompas. We left with smiles resembling the Heineken smiling ‘e’s.

With some Mega munchies we headed to the famous Frites shop (Chips with Mayo) walking (stumbling) along in the cold snowy city. the Admiral had the chance to taste the Frietz the captain had been raving about for a while – Chips in a Cone with Mayo – These Dutch know how to live.

Munching on our chips and stopping to have some “coffee” we walked to the to the Sex museum, only to find it was closed for Christmas – who would have thought.
Keeping with the theme and craving some more giggles and adventure we walked towards the Red light district. This is where the Admiral was left in awe (shocked) and the term window shopping had changed forever. We walked around viewing the goods, unfortunately the captain was not allowed to sample.  It took some time for the Admiral to come to terms with what she had witnessed and a philosophical debate ensued… it was a long walk home…

Our last day in Amsterdam had begun, we had until 1 pm to venture before we had to head to the airport and not risk missing our flight again.
A quick breakfast of boiled eggs and cold meats and we were off – our mission was to view the Van Gogh museum before we left the country.

We got to the museum in high spirts and after a wait, which to the admiral seemed forever (was 10 minutes) we got in. the second time in the museum and the wow factor does not cease, we walked around for a while reading the story and admiring the “Brushstrokes” of our man VG. We started running late, this only resulted in the admiral running around like a squirrel and popping her head to see the paintings like a Meerkat, jumping in front of serious art enthusiasts “hey, hey look at this! its Potato eaters!”. With time running into minus 15 minutes we rushed to the station, grabbing some take aways and souvenirs.

Checking in, with enough time to spare we spent the last few hours reminiscing how beautiful the experience was, and vowing to return.

Getting ready to Morroc N Roll!

Amsterdam – The city of Awe, Shock and Beauty all in one sentence. It will keep you coming back over and over again.