Amsterdam: Take 2

Okay, technically last night was my fifth time or so in Amsterdam, but only my second time going out there for the night. And it was the first time I hitched a ride there with friends and didn’t have to take the train, so that was exciting. Squeezing six people into the car seemed like a good idea at the time, until we remembered how small the Dutch cars are. Even my civic would have been a step up. But hey, we got there.

Nothing too crazy happened last night – first, we went to a club where a friend was having a birthday party. (Always fun to have your name on “no cover charge” list.) The club was not very exciting – very expensive drinks, bad music, and a bunch of strange Dutch people who kept hitting on all my female friends (and asking me which of the girls were mine). We didn’t stay long. The second club was a little better; I think it’s a movie theater that turns into a club late at night. Each room had a different theme to it – one was hip-hip, one was karaoke, etc. It was a little more of a young tourist crowd (maybe the first time I’ve ever felt old at a club) and the floor was so sticky that I had to pull my feet off of it, but we still had a good time.

After the clubs, we went to an Irish bar, for the benefit of the Irishwomen in our group. (And I was getting myself acclimated, since I just made plans to go to Dublin!) Then we went to some Arab falafel store as an end to the evening. It was a fun evening out; the only time we entered the Amsterdam Central Police Station was to use their bathroom, so that’s always good. (I’m still not a big fan of the street-urinals.)

The most amusing moment of the night for me was when a Dutch friend suggested that we meet someone at what sounded like a “kike shop.” I was fairly certain he wasn’t aware of the slur, but it took me a good five minutes to work out that he was saying “kijkshop,” a tchotchke-catalogue type store. Good to know.

In The Hague, we’ve been hearing weather advisories all week. This weekend was apparently the worst storm in the Netherlands since 1953. Winds here have been about 60 mph (which makes biking to work take a lot longer than usual). So, we’ve been staying indoors a lot this week, but at least it’s getting me prepped for Chicago winter...