09.13.09 - Amsterdam and The Hague

I know you must be wondering why the local Dutch cities if I seemingly can travel anywhere in western Europe. This weekend we had a mandatory Muhlenberg group day trip to Amsterdam, so why not spend an extra day if I am already going to be in the area. Our Muhlenberg group boarded our coach bus for Amsterdam around 9AM, unfortunately 2 hours late. When we arrived we indulged ourselves for lunch at a Pancake Restaurant on Prinsengracht. Then we walked off our thousand calorie meal on our way to the Rijksmuseum, where we got to enjoy Vermeer, Rembrant and other indigenous paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries. From the museum we went to the Heineken factory for the official Heineken ‘Experience’ – no joke that is what it is called – where Heineken must have done everything possible to keep us there. The ‘experience’ had beer-making demonstrations, virtual tours, horses, commercial exhibits, couches, club areas and of course free drinks. After Heineken, about half of the Muhlenberg group departed back to Maastricht, while the other half, divided into three groups of friends, remained in Amsterdam for the weekend. Obviously this is when the fun began!

For this weekend I was bunking up with Josh Willig and Mike Feinberg, two guys who I have gotten considerably close with while here in Maastricht. The three of us diverted from the large group of students remaining in Maastricht to find our hostel for the night. Having been in Amsterdam before, and having the only map in my pocket, I took a kind of tour guide and navigator role. For me, this time in Amsterdam was much more relaxed. I had felt as though I had seen much of the city before, which I had, and therefore, this time, I was far less inclined to rush everywhere, to see all the tourist sites, monuments and museums. This time I really got to enjoy the culture, the beauty, and certainly the uniqueness of the city. Eventually, we got to our hostel, The Christian Shelter City, and checked in. Allow me to mention a word about this hostel: First off, lets analyze the words in the name of the hostel. Christian – the hostel had Jesus signs, with axioms like, “Jesus is Lord”, and New Testament quotes everywhere. They also offered prayer services and Christian discussion groups each day. There were free copies of different Bibles available. Now I by no means minded this Christian exposure. What I did mind was my interpretation of the second important word in the hostel’s name. Shelter – I will attempt to quote Mike’s reaction. “When it said shelter city, I didn’t think they meant it was actually like a homeless shelter.” Look, I am no prissy girl but common. The sheets were grimy, blankets stained, pillows felt like they were run over by an 18-wheeler, no towels available, bathrooms small, walls brownish…shall I go on. You get it. Now lets talk about City – True, the hostel was in the center of the city of Amsterdam, but inside the hostel it didn’t need to feel like an urban slum. To be frank, I passionately hate the man who at 2:30 in the morning became the ninth person, in my 8 person room nonetheless, by placing a cot in the only walkway between all of the beds. To make matters worse he was the worst snorer I have ever experienced. Lets just say that I will never go back to that hostel again!

But besides that, the night in Amsterdam was a blast. My friends and I enjoyed the nightlife very much on Friday night. Enough said. Between New Market, Dam Square, the RLD, and Rembrantplein there was plenty of entertainment to go around. Saturday morning, after we escaped from the Shelter City and locked our belongings up in a locker in the central station, Josh and Mike went to Anne Frank’s house and the Van Gogh museum, both of which I had seen, and I went to services at the famous and ancient Portuguese Synagogue. Besides the two undercover security guards who wouldn’t let me into the synagogue without a few rounds of interrogation and convincing, my experience at this shul was very memorable. The torah reading was very unique, the hats the clergyman wore were different and obviously the shul was extremely grand. It was sad though that so few people attended services. WWII really had its impact on the Jewish community of Amsterdam. After services and a light Kiddush in a room across the courtyard, I piggybacked onto a group of Israelis who were in Amsterdam for a conference, who were offered a free tour of the Jewish museum. After the museum I met back up with Mike and Josh. The three of us hung around for the duration of the afternoon, including spending about an hour watching a chess game in a small plaza and another hour in the Flower market. From Amsterdam we took a train to The Hague.

We arrived in The Hague in the evening. Immediately, we went straight for Tram #1 to our beached themed hostel, Jorplace, checked in, dropped our stuff and scurried five minutes up the street to enjoy the sunset on the beach over the North Sea. Then we ate some dinner, hung out in the lounge and bar of the hostel while watching some soccer, and eventually made our way to the boardwalk for some unsuccessful bar hopping. Afterwards we packed it in.
In the morning we enjoyed the incredible breakfast spread, and then made our way to the train station to lock up our belongings for the day. In The Hague we saw the parliament, Peace Palace, International Court and I would say, our favorite, the MC Escher exhibit. He is the artist that does all of the crazy images that play with your eyes between the 2nd and 3rd dimension. We walked around the city a lot and really got a great taste for the atmosphere. By around 3 PM we were pretty tired from the busy weekend and decided it was time to return home to Maastricht. Overall, I am happy that we explored various domestic cities. Traveling to other countries, although being in the EU, adds additional stressors that were nice to avoid this weekend.