It's nice being the only one in the room. I had the place to myself for a while and it's nice. I hate sharing, I really do. But what can I do when the Airbnb and hotels are so expensive. (cries in Chinese) The hostel is nice, pretty place, amazing facilities, friendly staff, but I just hate hate HATE not having my own personal space. I need my little space to just recharge cos I need to not see people for a bit. I want and need my peace and quiet.
Amsterdam is not peace and quiet.
Well, at least not in the tourist places.
I went to Leidseplein first and I just gotta tell you this. You know I'm horrible at maps right? Right, keep that in mind. And my phone's GPS is wonky, it's important, remember that. So I have to walk to this tram station, no problem, I can walk, but the problem is my GPS is not showing my exact location so I was left wandering around wondering if I'm in the right place. I went to this tram station, which turns out is NOT my station. So okay, fine, I went to another one, which is also NOT my station. I was so mad at myself cos I am dumb, so eventually, third time's a charm, I went to the right one. Tram 14. Finally.
So I got to Leidseplein, and it's beautiful. I was so overwhelmed by the number of people there I just shut down for a while. So I started walking around taking pictures of buildings cos it's really beautiful. I can't even put into words how pretty it is. But the number of people is just pure nightmare. I walked along the street, using my instinct cos I don't really mind getting lost cos I can just use Apple Maps to get back right? No, remember I am shit at maps? I am just comforting myself so that I don't have a panic attack. So I walk along the street, enjoying the view and the pleasant feeling of travelling alone. I went into souvenir shops, bought some magnets (a must!) and into candy shops. I wanted to buy something sweet but then I just couldn't cos it's just so expensive, and the portion is huge. Then I went to this Asian noodle shop and ate my breakfast (brunch more likely). The portion, again, was HUGE. I couldn't finish and I feel so bad cos it's like 9 euros and I couldn't finish. After eating I walked along the street again, passed some shops like MAC, Pandora, Abercrombie and Fitch etc. Then my stupid ass got stopped by a salesperson, drank their tea and she insisted on me following her inside the shop to see something (which is expensive skincare stuff), I took her sample and ran. She wanted me to follow her so when she turned around I bailed. I heard her calling me behind but I just ran. I should just walk away like I do every time at salesperson tho. I am so stupid. Then I went to the Bloemenmarkt (which is NOT in my itinerary, I just happen to overhear people asking direction to it so I went). It is basically flower market (literal translation) and they don't really have flowers. Only bulbs. Only two places I passed got sell real flowers. I was disappointed, of course, cos I am a big fan of flowers and I love me some tulips. Then I went to the Rijksmuseum, well I passed the Rijksmuseum cos I didn't bother going in cos I figure it might cost me money and I don't feel like spending money on museums that I don't know what's inside. Well they have Rembrandt but I am not really familiar with him, so I skipped. The 'I Amsterdam' sign is there and a number of people there are just scary. And they were climbing on it taking pics and I was like 'wtf are you people doing STAHP', well I didn't really get a pic with it cos people. Oh well, so I then went straight to my homie's museum.
VAN GOGH!
My homie.
I love Van Gogh. He's my favourite. His story brings tears to my eyes every time. I was planning to go and see the famous starry sky BUT it's not there.
THE FAMOUS STARRY SKY IS NOT IN VAN GOGH MUSEUM ARE YOU KIDDING ME WTF DUDE
It's in New York.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN NEW YORK BRO COME BACK TO AMSTERDAM GOSH THEY BUILT A MUSEUM FOR YOU
But anyways, I got to see his other works. I love the Sunflower and his self-portraits. And I got emotional at the letters that he wrote and received. They were on display and they have little speakers on the wall for you to listen to an excerpt of the letter. I love the concept. Made me even more emotional. The museum is smaller than the Louvre (OF COURSE DUH) and I only took about an hour to finish everything. I was tempted to buy the audio guide but it's 5 euro and I am cheap. Well, I can read, so I will just read the descriptions there. I bought a book and a picture card from the museum gift shop. Usually, I don't buy stuff from gift shops but this is an exception. The book I purposely bought the German one because it would inspire me to study. Cos it's Van Gogh and in German. Oh, and there is no student discount (BOO!) it's 17 euro. Was it worth it, not really, Louvre was 15, and it's huge and has Mona Lisa. You don't even have Starry Sky.
Oh well.
After Van Gogh, I went to another museum just opposite - Stedelijk Museum. I didn't go inside. It's like 8 euros (student price) cos I don't wanna go see contemporary art. (I am not really a fan? I like dead people stuff. Sorry) I went to the gift shop instead (haha), there are a lot of books about art here in Amsterdam and there is a book that I especially like, but it's like 25 euros so I didn't buy and I don't think my parents would approve. Cos it has nudity and sexual themes. It's a photo book. I like it a lot cos it's real, it's human, it's natural, it's raw, it's art. I like erotic things, I feel like it's the rawest form of art and it's human. I don't know. I don't feel poetic right now my brain is falling asleep but I am determined to finish this post, or I might just break it down into two parts, or not. Anyways, after visiting the gift shop, I went to this huge field outside and just lie down on it. It's so chill and relaxing. If I were to do this in Malaysia, lying on the grass with the sun shining down on my face, people would think I have brain damage or something. But here, it's just nice. It's really nice. The sky is very blue, the grass is green, and at that moment, everything was perfect. I stayed there, ate my waffle and just enjoying life. I saw an adorable doggo who's ears flew so high cos of the wind. It has been an amazing day.
After that, I took the tram and went to... Okay, I seriously forgot where I went. From what I can recall, I went to a bookstore, I went to quite a number of bookstores. I went into a lot of shops cos it's freezing outside and I just need to go inside to warm myself up. Oh, and I saw a couple got separated cos the boyfriend didn't get into the tram in time and it's so funny. The whole tram laughed. The guys face was like 'WTF MANNNN' but the station is just nearby so no problems. I went to a cafe (not coffee shop cos those sell cannabis and weed and I hate the smell. Seriously hate it) and had Americano like I always do. It's yum. The Americano here is slightly more sour than the one in Paris but otherwise still good. Then I went to Dam Square (also not in my itinerary, come to think of it I went to lots of places that are not in my itinerary today) and Rembrandt Square. I just kept walking and walking and walking with no real destination cos I really don't know where to go and I am just lost. Like really lost. I don't know where I was and I don't really care.
So, in the end, I took the tram to go back to my hostel. Again, I had to try three times before I got the right tram. I was really tired, mentally mostly, I just hope there's someone here to help me figure out the way.
Oh well.
And it's FREEZING. The wind is just too much and I was mentally screaming the whole time. I couldn't understand how people could wear only tank tops in the icy wind. It's murder. It's so horrible. Oh yeah, I almost went inside the Sex Museum. It's 5 euros but I figure it would be boring if I went alone.
I'll be leaving to Düsseldorf tomorrow to start my course. Study time. Finally.
Like for real, I am actually glad cos at least I will be at a place where I won't be alone, and not have to think about what to do all the time. So I'm excited. And to a place where I understand about 30% of the language.
Yayerz.
Air kisses,
Delilah
