Amsterdam - more than fun
While walking alongside numerous canals in Amsterdam, feeling the unmistakable smell of weed pervading the streets, watching throngs of loud, cheerful tourists march through the red-light district and other districts on the "have fun" list, one may not immediately notice how beautiful and peculiar this city is.
Whether you just want to get immersed into popular neighborhoods like Jordaan or De Pijp enjoying the atmosphere of endless cafes and admiring the distinct architecture of narrow houses whose façades resemble chocolate bars, or explore the Dutch masters in one of the museums, Amsterdam will not leave you disappointed.
If you're staying there over a few days, here's what you can do:
It's a city of bikes, rent one and enjoy a crazy ride around town. This is a place where cyclist reign the traffic and it's better to forget about any other kind of transport. However, if you need to go a bit further out, you can rely on the Amsterdam Metro.
For anyone who likes drinking endless coffees or drinking one over an infinite amount of time, again this is the place to be. Sitting on one of the lively terraces, you'll be caught by surprise realizing that it's near 11 p.m. and it's still quite bright outside. Yes, the day in Amsterdam lasts that long.
Once the night comes the streets get more buzz from tourists who roam The Red Light District looking at beautiful girls in window parlours. Packs of men and groups of women, couples, hen and stag parties are all headed to this part of town.
The other part of the night can be spent in one of many clubs. Most of those in the center, however, will offer you a typical tourist fun, being either fancy or playing commercial music. For some serious clubbing, you may want to check Sugar Factory, Bitterzoet or OT30. Or just find something that caters best for your taste; there is plenty to choose from.
If you wake up to a Saturday morning and it's sunny the next day, make sure you head out to the former NDSM Amsterdam ship wharf. Any other context would make it sound as if you were in for a gloomy morning, but be prepared to have a lot of fun. There is a free ferry that will take you to this wharf after 10 minutes of sunny ride (and your bike if you want to take it along as many do). When you have arrived there, the place to go is Pllek, a cafe and a restaurant with a great outside terrace, situated along the waterfront. Pllek in Dutch means "place or spot" and it indeed is. In summer, or on a warm spring day like this one, it becomes an Amsterdam city beach. It's full of people who enjoy the indoor and outdoor offer or just lie on the beach with a drink or two.
As my friend who lives in Amsterdam said, "the industrial is the new black here", you will notice that Pllek is made up of old ship containers combined with lots of glass. So the feeling is definitely that of an oasis in the midst of a harsh industrial scenery.
And last but not the least is the food you can munch on in Amsterdam. Be prepared for greasy but tasty snacks and meals. Everywhere you'll come across fries, or thick Dutch fries patatje. Make sure you try them with mayo, onions and maybe curry ketchup. For more greasy food, especially if you've been drinking, take a bite or a few of bitterballen or deep fried crispy meatballs served with mustard for dipping. On a sweeter note, try a stroopwafel. If you're up for some healthy and traditional food, try raw herring or broodje haring served with pickles and onions.
Also try some traditional soups, which are quite thick. And in the morning, if you don't feel like experimenting but want a hearty meal, you will always find plenty of places that serve English breakfast.
My favourite beer? Hoegaarden :)
(All photos are copyright @ meninaidris for connected)
café
café
Day trip to Trieste
My first idea of Trieste was the one from my grandparents' and parents' stories about visiting this popular Italian tourist destination back in the day. Those were the times when no such entertainment was to be had here in Croatia. Fashionable ladies and everyone who thought of themselves so would visit Trieste at least a few times a year. My granny still remembers exquisite clothes and above all the shoes she would buy there.
Nowadays when everything is available everywhere and when there are much more exciting places lurking from the Internet, Trieste seems to have lost its reputation. Yet, if you spend a day in this town, you will see this conclusion is very wrong.
I was pleasantly surprised by the charming atmosphere and laid-back pace of sunny Trieste on a Saturday. I decided to spend a few hours there after having arrived on an early bus at 9.30 in the morning. So how to make the most of that time?
First, take a 5 minute stroll from Trieste Centrale, the railway station, to Piazza Unita d'Italia. After enjoying the spacious squares and admiring their majestic buildings, have a coffee in one of the numerous cafes on the way.
When you have finished resting on a cafe's sunny terrace, take the tram number 2 from Piazza Oberdan. It links this square, on the northern edge of the city centre, with the village of Villa Opicina in the hills above. It is an unusual hybrid between the tram and funicular railway. Your ride on this tram will be anything but boring.
When you have reached Opicina, enjoy the nice view of Trieste and simply take the same tram to go back to town.
In the afternoon, take a bus near Piazza Oberdan which will take you to Miramare Castle. You will need about half an hour on a bus to reach it, but on the way you will enjoy the view of Trieste's beautiful seafront.
When you have reached Miramare Castle, enjoy a nice stroll around and inside the castle, as well as all its surroundings. As this takes you an hour or two, my day trip in Trieste finished here and I took a bus going back home. During these few hours in Trieste, I got a whole new picture of this town that I took home with me.
Why love (my town) Zagreb in winter
December arrived and I started getting ready for my second trip to South America. I was so excited about it and all I could think of was how I can't wait for December to pass and then go in January. It seemed I'd breeze through all December holidays and festivities without noticing much. At least that's what I used to tell myself every December. For the past few years I've been thinking holiday spirit and decorations in town were just getting out of hand. Everything was artificial and consumer society was showing its ugly face.
Those had been my thoughts until this December. I realized then how I'd always been waiting for something to pass only to look forward to something in the future. In that way, as you may guess, you never really enjoy the present moment. And there were things to enjoy last December.
Amid political crisis, poverty and all other problems that Croatia has been facing for many years now, one could say there is no room for Christmas lights, decorations and all the hustle&bustle that goes with it.
Yet, according to some, Zagreb was elected the top European destination to visit in winter.
And I couldn't help but admire the effort which turned Zagreb into a really stunning image.
I decided to enjoy my town once again without any prejudice. Life will always go on and what we can remember forever are moments.
(Photo copyright: MeninaIdris for Connected)
