Day 19 , 7 Aug 2019
Good morning !
Today I’m leaving for the final destination. Its AMSTERDAM.
Yeah you got it right ,its Amsterdam people 😊
I don’t think I should be writing why I chose this place. It’s a feeling in itself which needs no explanation.
But yeah it was last on my list because after almost three weeks travelling around Europe I wanted to just relax and do nothing for my birthday. What better place than Amsterdam !
Also, I wanted to celebrate my birthday here SOLO , away from the people I know.
I was still in Belgium this morning and had my bus at 8 so I got ready. Swanand dropped me off and went to office. Unfortunately my bus was late .
I was waiting at the bus stop.A butterfly sat on me for quite sometime, it wouldn't leave even when I moved. I remembered my Naani here . She calls me a Fulpakhru , that's butterfly in Marathi. When I asked why, she would say you're always hopping places and do not stay in one place for long. and that made me realise , may be I'm meant to be this way. I honestly cannot imagine myself being stuck at one place for longer than needed. I always do and always will crave for something new, exciting , adventurous even if that means some bad experiences . But I'll learn something new about life and myself and that's what matter to me.
I waited there for my bus introspecting the trip so far. Its been hell of a journey in and out. Few days ago I couldn’t have imagined pulling this up on my own, a solo Euro trip. And here I was on the last lap of the trip. I was happy to have discovered this side of me.
Sometimes you surprise your own self.
Finally the bus came, it was three hours journey. My cousin brother lives in Amsterdam. I was going to spend the day with him. After being with friends in Germany I was glad to have family in Amsterdam. My next 4 nights were in Amsterdam. I thought of covering all important tourist places with Dada today and be on my own from tomorrow.
I slept on the bus and when I reached Amsterdam, Dada was already there waiting for me. When I got down he immediately bought me a 4 day bus/train ticket to move around the city. He then took me to a good eating place for middle eastern food. That was delicious .
On our way he showed me all the important landmarks and places and train/bus stations.
It was 3 PM. So the plan now was to check-in at my hostel, put my stuff, freshen up and cover as many place as we can today.
We went to the main station, Amsterdam central. For my hostel we had to take a ferry from here. It was on the other side of the river. The ferry moved continuously between the two sides. You could take innumerable ferry trips for free.
The hostel I had booked here "ClinkNoord" is one of the best hostels in the world. It was expensive but looked great. I'd booked a mixed dorm.
I checked in and went to my dorm to freshen up, while Dada waited for me here at the common area. I didn't get enough time to see around the hostel yet but whatever I saw looked great. I couldn't wait to be back and explore it later tonight.
The first place we went to see was the zaanse schans a neighbourhood of Zaandam, near Zaandijk, Netherlands. It is best known for its collection of well-preserved historic windmills and houses. This place is very picturesque .
The weather was pleasant. The large green fields, the lake, the blue sky and those windmills all looked like those villages in story books from childhood. The wind was strong at this place.
We bought tickets to see one of these windmills from the inside. They showed the mechanism of how things work . The wind energy is used to ground the grains to coarse powder here.
We then went to see the cheese factory in the same area. They have so many varieties of cheese here.
Later I came across the beautiful ducks in the pond.
We spent 2 -3 hours at this place. It was so big and scenic.
There is also a clog (wooden shoe ) factory here . In medieval times the dutch used to wear these shoes as they proved handy for protecting feet against the dirt on the ground. you will still find small clogs at souvenirs shop all over Amsterdam.
After this we returned to the central station and had coffee. Dada suggested we go for the canal ride now .
This was our ride for the evening.
They take you around the entire city of Amsterdam and show you important places like museums, iconic buildings from the canals itself. It was a very good experience to see the city from the water.
The sun had set now. Dada treated me with this for dinner from a local joint. It was too yum. Chicken, fries, cheese and sauces loaded with veggies . He has been in Amsterdam for 12+ years now, so he knows all the good eateries here.
I was too full after this. I took the ferry and returned to my hostel while Dada left for his place.
The view from the hostel's side at night was beautiful. The other side had the central station.
Next day I was to explore the city alone. Dada had given me tips about what to see , where to eat and where to go. I was excited to see this city by myself tomorrow and enjoy what it is famous for ,lol.
Learning from the day : I'm meant to hop places and not get stuck in one place.
Comentarios