They call Paris the city of light, but Amsterdam sparkles and glows with lights. Amsterdam was an accident. Well, maybe more of a less than planned diversion. We were in Brussels, which is definitively not my favorite city, and had been bumped from the last flight of the day back to the US. We had to spend the night somewhere, and the only thing we were sure of was that we didn’t want it to be there. We really only had two options. We could get back on the train and return to Paris, or we could go north, to Amsterdam. We looked at each other and both said, “Amsterdam”. Great, Amsterdam, in the winter, with no plan, and only the vague hope we would make it onto the flight home from there the next day. Sure, why not? Anywhere was a better option than Brussels.
We decided to save a little money and took the slower commuter train, instead of the high speed railway. It took an hour longer but saved us $100 per ticket, so that was a win. We booked a room at the Sheraton, attached to Schipol Airport, dropped our bags in the room, and instantly got back on the train to go downtown.
The canals in Amsterdam are stunning. There is art everywhere, from the incredible tile mural in the tunnel from the train station, to the lighted sculptures along the canals. There is also weed everywhere, in great clouds of miasma. It is so thick in some areas it burns your eyes, and makes you pretty sure you’ll get pulled aside and searched before boarding your U.S. bound flight the next day, because you will still reek of it.
We really only had the evening, as it was nearly dark by the time we got off the train, so we made the most of the time we had. We took a canal boat cruise, avoided the “special” brownies in the gelato shop, had a quick supper in a cafe, wandered the streets along the canals, and did some exploring. At one point we needed a quick powder room stop before setting off for the red light district, so we crossed back over to the train station. There was a little market still open, and as it was quite late by then we grabbed some snacks in case they were closed when we came back. One of the things we bought was a giant clamshell of gorgeous raspberries. We ate them as we walked. All of them. They were fantastic, and raspberries will now forever make me think of Amsterdam, just as the scent of star anise reminds me of Paris.
Vagabond.Belle 