All pictures after the text block!!!
Finally, I’ve been to Amsterdam!
The short trip had already been planned in July when I got a ticket for the Jessie J concert. Ever since, I’ve been looking forward to visiting the city – and of course, going to the concert.
I took 12 hours from Munich to Amsterdam with my preferred mode of transportation – the overnight-bus. For half of the trip, I had two seats to myself, and for the other half I at least had the window seat. Most of the time I slept, anyways, and even “missed” a few stops. Couldn’t have gone any better!
After I had arrived in Amsterdam, the first thing I did was go to the hostel to load off some of my belongings. Then, I bought some food for breakfast at the supermarket around the corner, before making my way downtown in search of a nice park bench. On my way there, I already took some pictures. (About 120 of overall 450 pictures made it onto my blog; not a bad ratio at all!)
Even though I had looked at some guides at home, I didn’t take one with me and wandered more or less aimlessly through the city. Google Maps helped me stay somewhat on track, but for the most part I just went where my feet took me.
I could tell that I had reached the city center when I spotted the first Coffeeshops. It would take a few more hours and pep-talks from to friends to eventually go into one, though.
“Street Photography” was a lot of fun for me and is what brought me to the Dam. There was a huge flock of pigeons on the square. Some of the birds even sat down on the passersby, who eagerly took pictures. I kept a safe distance and shot a few pictures of a little girl who stood out from the crowd thanks to her bright pink jacket and almost-white hair.
I started wandering around again when I spotted a street performer at the other end of the square, who was just preparing for his show. I stopped in the hopes to get some cool shots and shortly became part of the show myself. Me and four other spectators were asked to step forward. We lined up and were then advised to kneel down, make ourselves really small and keep our heads low; he would front flip over all of us! I was the first in the line, and when he took a running start towards us, I did get a bit nervous. The acrobat jumped off just a few inches from me and safely landed behind the last person. Sadly, I didn’t get to see much of this stunt, but what a cool experience!
I strolled through Amsterdam the whole day and took pictures. When it got dark, I made my way back to the hostel. And then I finally went into a Coffeeshop after all. The young man behind the counter was really nice and helpful, and within 20 minutes I had what I wanted.
Upon arriving at the hostel, I got settled in before making my way to the concert. I had to take the metro to get there, since it was at the other end of the city.
The concert was amazing. I had a great time, even though it was a stupid idea to go to a concert in the Netherlands. The Netherlands are the tallest country in the world – and, yeah, Germany comes in at number 6 with not even an inch less, but the difference was noticeable – and I have never in my life felt as short as at this concert. Limited view or not – it wasn’t about seeing but listening anyways – I would definitely go see (hear?) Jessie J live again, if I get the chance to.
After the concert, I went straight back to the hostel. Once there, I sat outside for a while before I went to my 8-bed dormitory and got a surprisingly good night’s sleep.
