Amster-Hot-Damn: Day V

After a bit of an interruption in service I am back and will, hopefully, fill in our last few days in Amsterdam (although it may take a while yet). When you last heard from me, the last session of I-CHORA2 had ended and we had seen "Hair" at the film museum. The fifth day was supposed to start with a field trip to the Municipal Archives of Amsterdam. That, however, did not occur as we kinda slept in and then got a smidge turned around. By the time we ended up in a position to actually get to the archives the tour was more than half over so we decided to cut our losses, head back downtown, and try to make the most of the rest of the day.

No beer lover's trip to Amsterdam would be complete without visiting the home of everyone's favourite Dutch brew, so it was off to the Heineken Experience we went. The tour was pretty interesting - detailing the history of the brewery and how beer is made etc. - if a bit cheesy. There were two rides along with the exhibits: one which you got to become a bottle and go through the bottling plant (you stand on a platform and get shaken around while a video-projection of the bottle's point-of-view gets played on the screen in front of you) and get to 'ride' on the horse-drawn Heineken delivery cart that goes around the city. At the midpoint and at the end of the tour there are bars where you can get a chance to sample the goods. I must say that it really does taste better at the source (well, close to the source as they no longer brew the beer onsite anymore). The entire Experience is quite interactive as they have places where you can answer trivia and play games as well as send emails and videomessages by email. The tour was good if kinda lame at parts but I am happy to have done it (and even happier that we got in free thanks to my boss' nephew who works for Heineken and hooked us up with free passes. Thanks!) and we got some good beer and a complementary Heineken glass for our efforts.


We headed to the Albert Cuypmarkt (photo by) to see the market and find something to eat. And eat we did. We started with one of the exceptional freshly made stroopwafels, a sandwich-type thing made with really thin waffles with caramel in the middle, and then, my curiosity getting the better of me, I tried the authentic Dutch treat - raw herring, apparently called Nieuwe Hollandse. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. The little fish was cut up and served with onions and pickles. It did taste fishy but not overly so, and the texture was quite nice. I have no intention of running out and getting it again but I it was a worthwhile experience. Also on the menu were freshly roasted cashews and an excellent springroll. We wandered through the bustling market (unlike the photo, the street was packed) which covers three large blocks, enjoying the sights and people watching but not buying anything except some food.

We headed back uptown and I visited the Stedelijk Museum in its temporary home while the main site is renovated. The Stedelijk has one of the greatest modern & contemporary art collections in the world. The temporary site, however, focused on art dating from after 1965, which meant that what I am most interested in (ie pre-1965 modern art) was not on display. There were some interesting things on show but by and large I was disappointed. Too much space was given to an artist that I really didn't care for named Michel Majerus and the rest of the galleries showing the highlights had something of a scattered feeling. It really didn't seem worth the 9Euro admission fee - which was pretty damn steep for such a small (and in my opinion lackluster) exhibition. Ah well. I look forward to seeing the full collection in its refurbished gallery the next time I visit.

We headed back to the hostel for a bit of a rest before we went looking for dinner. Since I hadn't set foot in the Red Light District up to this point we headed there looking for something to eat. At the very edge, before seeing any of the infamous red lights was a street filled with restaurants and coffee shops. We ended up trying a Mexican restaurant called Café Pacifico which was quite good although the service was just like every other Dutch restaurant, from what I have heard and seen, as the wait staff essentially ignores you. With bellies full we headed out into the Red Light District proper. We didn't stay terribly long, just enough to walk down a few streets and get a feel of the place. I must admit is was a very very odd place. Just as you have heard there are beautiful women hanging out in windows wearing very little. They range from being bored to actively trying to get guys to step inside. Just walking through leaves you feeling rather strange and perhaps just a bit dirty. I do think the liberal attitude the Dutch have towards sex (and drugs for that matter) is refreshing and something to be applauded. All the power to them, I say. It is just not something that I as the by-product of a rather Victorian value system I was not entirely prepared for. Definitely unlike anywhere else I have ever been to.

It was an early night after emerging from the RLD into Dam Square we headed back to the hostel for a drink, a bit of television, and sleep.
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That is it for this evening. Two more days left are left to detail, but as I spent the better part of the afternoon making steak and stout pie and my typing time has seem to have vanished they will have to be done later.
rgsc.