Today the road trip takes us to Amsterdam. Driving via Delft which is a very picturesque little place. Many a book refers the Warme Bakkers for a full sensory experience. They are right! The yummiest bread rolls made on site to your liking. Ham and cheese was the order of the day. No butter or marg. Who needs it when the cheese is so creamy! Mmh Mhhh! Now, honestly... if I told you that's all we left with, I would be lying! Yep, some sweet pastries accompanied these as afternoon tea eats. They never made it to tea – but were rather devoured as dessert shortly after! Note that on a Monday shops and businesses only open in Netherlands at around 11am (until 6pm). So it was a good idea to go in the morning, before the tourists and the bustle. It was a must do after seeing all the Delftware that our Mom's have collected.
Back on the highway we decided to stop in the Hague which is a huge conglomerate of buildings and city space. This is mostly the government centre, I believe. Hussle, hussle and traffic made us leave quite quickly.
Off to Leiden – just to suss it out... Our stocks that were brought along from home were really just a handful of dry goods. We want to make sure we eat the food of the countries each place we go... but were yet to find a store larger than a cafe. We were very surprised to finally find an actual large size supermarket – with FREE parking for 1 hour! Yippeee! So we shopped.
We reached Amsterdam at around 1ish and made a turn to Durgerdam. A very quaint road along the marina lined waterside and houses that look like they should only be owned by writers and artists. This road took us to the Uitdammerdijk viewpoint. This, we think and will confirm, is where a wall was made to keep the water out of the lower lying inhabited lands. When Nick told me about it – I imagined a big, ugly, man-made - but it was nothing of the sort. It looked like nature had made it this way with rolling grass and extensive sea views – just for us man-made sort.
That is one thing with the Netherlands, it is beautiful, organised, neat and clean. The roads are in impeccable condition. Where there are road works – they seem to really dig up everything they need to – only to get it right first time round, until next maintenance is needed.
Amsterdam was nothing like I dreamt of. I genuinely have dreamt (in my sleep) about it. There were no tall buildings in my dreams... (maybe I had been there in a past life, before modernisation) Nevertheless, wonderful! Such an incredible city. Nick even described it as romantic. Again, such friendly people, beautiful atmosphere but yet a very strange smell in the air.
Our campsite is in Zeeburg, about 5 minute walk to the tramline and perhaps 10 minutes (max) away from the city centre. The afternoon was spent wondering the streets and canals. Stopping for a beer (Heineken, of course) to watch the passing people. Some of which have enveloped the European dress and styles from ages past. Though, yet again... there was this weird smell in the air?
After a good few beers – Nick and I managed to go look in a sexshop or two. Then, visited the Red Light District... which is pretty much in the centre of town. We stumbled through it without even knowing. Nick insisted that we go when it gets darker as he couldn't see through the windows easily as it was too light. If anyone doesn't know Nick, he's very colour blind and I think the red light above each door might have tampered his sight. Me, I could see perfectly! But, as I said to Nick, this will be the first time for a long while that I will totally insist that he gawks at whom ever he pleases!!! It was great fun! Some absolute beauties, some really yucky ones, some very average, overweight ones and even a few tranny's (aka transvestites). Even one pretty tranny. We were informed by a passerbyer – that she has had work done (in all seriousness). The longer we stayed, the more casual Nick became. After seeing enough hot chicks in very skimpy outfits – we decided to go home.
Sex shop display
Red Light District
haha sounds like great fun!
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