Oh man oh man, we spent the weekend in Amsterdam! After leaving my lovely British friends in London and saying goodbye to good memories of constantly being slightly cold and damp, we arrived and were just a bit less so-cold and damp.
I knew we were in the right country after the ticket lady let us exit the train station without checking our tickets. When we tried showing her them she responded in fluent English, “I don’t really care” and just used her all access pass to let us through. Perfect. Mission Accomplished. This country is for me.
Literally every building matches my Pinterest board of the perfect house. Unlike New York filled with similar matching cement buildings, or any housing development in suburban America where we use the word “cookie cutter” to describe the layout, Amsterdam stands apart.
Every building unit has a bit of personality. Everything is painted different bright colors that stand out from the grey landscape and even the architecture seems to have the buildings swoop in and out of the skyline. *Kisses fingers like an Italian lady* Just beautiful.
Be forewarned though friends, Amsterdam is not an easily walkable city. Where Florence you could walk end to end in 20 minutes, Amsterdam is a bit of a hike to and fro. Though I bet the Metro and other forms of public transportation are quite easy to figure out, if given the time, we were only around for a weekend, so having the option to use Uber was phenomenal.
But, I’m a walker and my travel companion for this week Mr. Ciro is also a walker by nature. We’re happiest when meandering around new cities just looking for cool things to do with absolutely no plan or itinerary in mind. That’s how we happened upon the Banksy “Laugh Now” exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
I’m quite familiar with old Mr. Banksy. A few documentaries watched, a couple presentations given and you could say we’re on a first name basis. Thus, when you see a gallery filled with things that he’s done, with the museum stating, “The ‘Laugh Now’ exhibition is not authorised by Banksy, nor was it curated in collaboration with the artist,” that leaves you a bit open to suspicion, no?
Basically, because of Banksy’s new popularity, a lot of his pieces have been just ripped or carved off the wall and sold to the highest bidder. Now, not saying any of these pieces weren’t obtained completely legally, but without the artists approval for the show, how can it even happen?
Oh, and totally accepting that I’m a hypocrite for paying money to see the show and finding all the art dope as all heck, but… just think about it friends and neighbors, just think about it.
Now onto the Heineken Experience! To be totally honest, wasn’t a massive fan of the whole thing. It felt like one of those middle school trips that really aren’t that exciting, but you’re enjoying it because at least you’re not in school, you know?
It was more than just a museum. You’re lead throughout this giant plant thing learning about the production of beer, before ending the tour with some beer tasting; definitely different than any trip I went on in middle school. But really, with the slightly out of date visual effects to make it look like we were in the factory and some laser lights here and there, I wasn’t all that impressed.
Maybe it’ll be your thing if you’re super into beer, but it wasn’t my cup of tea and everyone in my group was much more interested in the gift shop at the end than any of the actual beer facts.
But again, whatever. At least I didn’t get hit by a bike while on one of our walks. I can’t even ride a bike, so an injury like that would just be ironic. Go Amsterdam!
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