Last night, I headed to Amsterdam on a whim. Emily, my friend from high school, is doing her masters in Amsterdam. She said a big party was going down and invited me to come along. This is what I found:
First off, the actual ride to Amsterdam took about 35 minutes. This is mindblowing for someone who can’t get from her bus stop to Finch Station in 35 minutes. When I got to Amsterdam Centraal, I had to ask a security guard help me use the payphone to call Emily. In my defense, the phone I was trying to use turned out to be broken. When I put in my 0,50€, he told me that the phone time would go fast and to talk quickly. I’ve never been cut off by a payphone in Canada so my idea of “fast” is a one minute call. It cut me off after 30 seconds. The second time I called back I got voicemail. And the third I finally arranged details to meet. The last two times I called, I only had 1€ coins and soon discovered that payphones don’t give change. That was probably the worst (though necessary) 2,50€ I ever spent, considering that costs more than a glass of beer.
Other things that don’t give change: vending machines. These ones took my 2€ and neglected to give back the remaining 0.40€ for a plate of delicious kroket. Kroket is breaded stick with meat inside, kind of like a chicken nugget but with Chunky soup filling. (Unfortunately there is no picture of my kroket as it was consumed immediately.) The kitchen with the chefs is behind the vending machine and they fill each space as they make the food. The best part was seeing a drunken British girl bargain through an open slot with a chef for more food and slipping coins through it.
We hit up three bars over the course of the night. The first one was apparently the most Dutch bar in town. The music they played was so weird. I couldn’t tell whether it was supposed to be ironic or whether that’s just what they enjoy. They played modern Dutch music but also traditional Dutch songs (a.k.a. polka-like music.) Other weird songs they played between thumpy euro hits were: Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” a song that had the same tune as “The Lonely Goatherd” in the “Sound of Music” and a dance remix of “Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The best reaction was when they played Robbie Williams’ “Angels.” All of Emily’s foreign friends knew it, all the Dutch natives knew it and they all sang along with unbridled passion. I couldn’t stop giggling. Last call is WAY later than Toronto. We left at 5:30AM and things were still going on.
I said I wanted to live in a university town and get away from big city life. but damn it, I want to live in the ‘Dam.
