Amsterdam

The first thing I noticed about Amsterdam was how it felt to be out of Turkey and somewhere new. I felt vulnerable and strange. But in a good way. Quiet streets! Bicycles! I wonder if everyone in the world could experience a city like this, if cities around the world would suddenly start to improve. Sonia took me from the airport and we went out to a bar with friends right after dropping off my things.

I had set my mental city gauge to 'Copenhagen', but immediately noticed several major differences.
In Amsterdam,
- there is water everywhere
- it seems like every other person is a tourist
- the city is a bit more compact

My first day out, I was handed a map and a bike with the mission of finding Misa so as to say hi and procure my jacket which had been transported from the US. I got lost and the weather was cold, so I stopped inside a coffee shop to warm up, drink a coffee and take a long look at my map. I walked into the shop and then realized what I had walked into. The guy was holding a BUCKET of marijuana. With a friendly smile and an accent reminiscent of that shadowy guy from Spartacus: Blood and Sand, he said "welcome, what would you like?". I said "Actually, just a coffee." With my coffee, I studied the map. I discovered that I was about 2 blocks from my destination. I knew I was close, but I didn't think I was THAT close. I left and found Misa at work. She decided to take the rest of the day off and we got on our bikes.

Misa with her bike, Spartacus:

Misa took me around to some interesting and busy parts of town such as the outdoor market. She had to run a couple errands anyway. The evening we were joined by Robin. First meet-up with Misa and Robin at Gambrinus (one of the most excellent pubs I have ever been in):

Notice how I'm drinking a De Koning (the King) from its special glass. What a delicious ale. The day hadn't yet run out of coolness. Later that evening, Sonia had a really cool surprise planned for me for which I was totally unprepared:

Die Antwoord!!
There are videos on YouTube from the concert that are far better than what I took from where I was. Here are a couple that I found:
Video 1 - Intro and Ninja
Video 2 - In your face, Sail Away and Rich Bitch

The concert was certainly awesome. More than that though, it was such a nice surprise. I don't know what was going through Sonia's head when she bought the tickets, but it was so much fun to be there with her and enjoying the concert. Afterward, we went to one of Sonia's favorite bars, The Last Waterhole. The most notable thing there was that the guitarist of one of the live bands looked just like Patrick Stewart. I tried to get a good picture without seeming creepy, but I think I failed on both counts. So you'll just have to believe me.

The next day, I was running errands with Sonia. When finished, we had a coffee.

I noticed how things were a little busier with it being Friday. In the evening, Sonia had some work to do and I went to meet up with Misa and Robin. I was late getting to their apartment, but we had time for pizza. It was really really good. After dinner we went to go bowling with lots of friends. It was boys vs. girls on two lanes. There was a lot of trash talk and the first round was pretty close, but in the end the guys pulled away with the victory. The second round wasn't close, but to be honest I think the girls were having more fun. The beers kept coming which caused noticeable improvements in some of us and a noticeable handicap in others.

After bowling, we all went to Gambrinus. 

We stayed there a long time.

 

Saturday morning was actually Saturday afternoon. Exiting the apartment at around 2pm, I felt like it was 9am. It was not because of the previous evening's activities... It actually LOOKED like 9am. The sunlight could barely reach the street over the buildings (which were not that tall). The light and everything would make anyone not accustomed to such an extreme latitude guess very wrongly about the time of day. Anyway, Misa, Robin and I went to a Turkish restaurant called Bazar for breakfast. It was a strange experience for me in there. Imagine visiting a living open air museum in the distant future meant to depict the life and time you live in today. The atmosphere and the food was clearly inspired and reminiscent of Turkey, but at the same time was also it's own unique combination of other influences. What I mean to say is that it was all at once quality, enjoyable, interesting, unexpected and yet very familiar. I would go back to that restaurant in the future not in a desperate attempt to relive my experience in Turkey, but rather for it's own original atmosphere, product and presentation. It rocked just to have a hot meal with Misa and Robin after a long night, but for the location it was additionally special.

On the way back we passed a cheese stand in the market.

And as we neared the apartment, there was Gambrinus.

I said goodbye to Misa and Robin. It had been nearly a year and a half since I had last seen them, but Misa and I agreed to see each other again soon. It's much easier to do now that I live a bit closer (about half the distance from Amsterdam that I used to live in the US). As for Robin, he was preparing to move to Thailand for a year. That's where he is now. I was happy to see him and sad to see him go, but I am thankful that we were able to find time to get together on such a crazy weekend, the three of us.

On the ride back to Sonia's, I paused to be a tourist for a moment.

Saturday up to that point had been rather relaxing, but Sonia had some special plans for us in the evening. We went to a friend's place for some Slovak food with Slovak friends.

Food was delicious of course. Friends were fun of course. I was feeling a bit more tired than I would have liked, so I chose to listen to the conversation for long bouts and try to decipher the Slovak when that started flying. I reflected on my trip up to that point and was thinking about how to spend the last day. Anyway, the food kept coming and so did the beer. I wanted to try everything that was offered to me, but I didn't have the Bols.

My last day in Amsterdam was quite a bit different than the others. It was when I had the most time alone with Sonia. We hadn't really had a great chance to talk before then, and it was nice to just have some time away from it all with her. We got on our bikes and rode all over town. We went to the library by the water, and many places in between. It was so cold though! Eventually our tour ended in a Czech pub, but since it was Sunday some Dutch guy was running the place and I was told the atmosphere was not as good as usual. Still, I much enjoyed how the pub staff occasionally brought free hot snacks by the tables. Also, all the Czech paraphernalia covering the walls was interesting to peruse with my gaze. I acknowledged to myself that Prague is very high on my list as a place to visit soon.

On the ride back home, we stopped by a coffee shop to buy a smoke. Erring on the side of caution, we asked for something mild. Back at the house, we watched one of our favorite shows, Coupling, while sampling one of Amsterdam's treasures. Turns out we went too mild and nothing happened. So we ate our munchies and relaxed. It was just as well. Before going to bed, Sonia walked me to where I would take the bus the following morning. I woke up to my alarm at 4:20am, said goodbye to Sonia and began the short trip back to İstanbul.