I started off the morning with something I've greatly missed: my morning jogs. The heat, hilliness, and generally acceptability of women in running shorts had made jogging difficult in Istanbul, so I was happy to finally get a good jog in. I didn't see a whole lot of other joggers on the streets (not a big surprise given the amount of anything that the Dutch smoke), but the city is very flat and great for jogging.
After spending my morning running around the city, I took care of laundry (the situation was getting pretty desperate) before heading out for some sightseeing to the floating flower market and other city landmarks.
In the afternoon, I walked to the Van Gogh museum, where I happily spent nearly three hours wandering through the largest collection of my favorite artist's works. The collection was interesting because it's a little light on Van Gogh's most famous works (many of which are in New York), but has an enormous collection of his sort of second-tier works (not that I think Van Gogh has any second-rate works, but you know what I mean). I was very disappointed that no photography was allowed inside the museum, because I saw several works for the first time that I would have liked to have reminders of later.
I spent the late evening wandering around Amsterdam before heading back to my hostel. My wanders included a tour of the large and beautiful Vondelpark, a favorite place for the locals to lazily hang out. While spending the morning touring around city, I did find some nicer sections with beautiful streets and a more charming ambience. The area that I'm staying in, however, is pretty seedy. After dark, I don't really feel comfortable walking around the area alone. This apprehension is based on both my own perceptions of the people I see on the streets, and hostel guests' stories from the night before (a drunk guy tried to rob them). After 10pm, I feel a little like I'm on lockdown in my hostel, which is rather boring.
Amsterdam is probably not the best place to visit as a solo tourist, particularly the area that my hostel is located in. The hostel is basically at the center of the party, and I don't think it's a good idea to show up at this party alone.
I did check out the neighborhood that Mom and I will be staying in for the last part of the trip, and it's far quieter and charming, so hopefully my impression of the city will improve (and hers will be nothing but wonderful).
More photos of Amsterdam:
Lovely photos! Glad to hear that you and your Mom will be in a nicer area! xoxo
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear that Madeleine has landed. We'll be watching for your further adventures!
ReplyDeleteTio N.