Solo In Amsterdam
I’ve just returned from a week spent in Amsterdam. The notoriously fickle Dutch weather put on a splendid display for me while I was there – sunny, temps in the mid to high teens (going up to 21C a couple of days).
Arriving sleepless and tired after an overnight flight, I took a train to my hotel. Let me say here how great the transportation is in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Trains every few minutes into the city centre; trains that will get you anywhere and everywhere; and plenty of methods of public transportation around the city. You don’t even need to purchase a ticket/OV card, just tap your debit/credit card in and out. Seamless, easy. Whenever I travel to Europe I always marvel at:
a) Their public transportation
b) How Europeans speak two or more languages (sometimes
four or five) with such ease, sometimes switching fluidly from one language to
the next in the same breath.
I travelled solo (as I frequently do) and, if you’ve followed me here for a while, you know that I’m often torn between straddling my two selves: my home self and my away self.
If you’re interested in the
highlights, I did a series of Instagram posts. But here in this blog (with fewer
readers and who are willing to read longer ramblings), I can write and reflect differently. I did spend my birthday solo in
Amsterdam (it wasn’t intended to be a birthday trip, it happened that the
flights I chose had the best rates on those days that coincided with my
schedule).
So, here are some random things I observed/did or didn’t do/reflected upon:
- Lots of young Dutch women (teens/twenties) are
very natural and fresh-faced, unlike the majority of their counterparts in
North American cities who seem to favour heavily made-up visages. No
judgements, just an observation that struck me as I rode the trains and trams.
- While Amsterdam is a pretty city (how can it not
be with those lovely canals), what I enjoyed more were the day trips outside
Amsterdam. Delft was absolutely picture-postcard perfect. Utrecht was lovely
too, both easy to get to by train. I wish I’d been able to visit Gouda as well
as Haarlem. An online friend (originally Dutch) told me to get outside
Amsterdam and she was right.
- The guided tour I took to the countryside and
the small towns of Edam, Marken, Volendam and the preserved windmills at Zaanse
Schans was another highlight away from the bustle of Amsterdam. The group was
larger than I’d have liked (about 50 people) and of course there are always the
stragglers who do not return to the meeting point at the appointed time after a
free spell to wander. I had to silently
concur when the guide gave a stern lecture about respecting the time of others.
I do not understand these people. As the guide said, everyone has a
phone/smartwatch etc., so there’s no excuse. People, please don’t be the one
others have to stand around waiting for on a group tour.
- On this same tour, I was sitting on the bus next
to an American woman who was travelling with friends (12 women on a cruise
ending in Amsterdam). We both pointedly avoided talking politics or U.S./Canada
relations. She was from New Jersey, so I had a feeling she might be on the right
(as in correct) side, but I wasn’t going to try and verify that.
- If you’re using Google to navigate streets to a
certain destination (like a tram stop to return to the hotel), Google will
sometimes lie to you. You have arrived! No, I haven’t.
- The Rijks Museum was superb. I love visiting art
museums but I also find it tiring and sometimes overwhelming, so I found it
best to pace myself and include frequent sitting breaks. There can be such a
thing as too much art all at once! I did not make it to the Van Gogh Museum (the only day tickets were available was the day I had a ticket to the Anne
Frank house. I chose the latter).
- Anne Frank house. Somber, sobering, moving, with
a superb audio guide. After the tour I had to sit quietly for a while. When we
went up to the secret annex of the house, there were quite a few people in the
first small, dark room we entered, and I initially panicked, feeling the lack
of air. But I calmed down and reminded myself of the 8 people (including Anne) who
shared the secret annex for two years! The annex is divided up into three floors
and one tiny bathroom which they had to be very careful using lest the noise of
the water give them away to anyone who might be at the house looking for Jews.
I read The Diary of Anne Frank many years ago. I have it on my bookshelves at
home and have pulled it out for a re-read.
- Location, location, location is what I always look for when booking a hotel. But Amsterdam is an expensive city and I had booked my flight only a month before I left, my accommodation even later. And so I stayed in an area, which, even though just 5 minutes by train into Amsterdam Centraal, and 20 minutes by Tram 19 to the museum neighbourhood, was mostly just a commuter district without the charm of the city. There was a big conference centre and casino (not my thing) nearby, but a lack of places to walk to for dinner. Although, one of the best dinners I had was at a snazzy Japanese restaurant across from the casino.
- Speaking of food, my trips usually have a focus on food. The Dutch, however, are not known for their cuisine and so, apart from a few delicious items, this trip wasn’t really a ‘food’ experience. My favourites were the stroopwafel, the apple pie, and the poffertjes (mini pancakes). I had the poffertjes from a little stall in Marken (on the bus tour) and the husband-wife team made them right in front of me, hot, delicious, smothered in butter and powdered sugar. The wife communicated with me in English, the next woman in Spanish, and the next in Dutch. When I asked her how many languages she spoke, she said, nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal, “Five.” This is such an advantage, to have that power of languages which widens the possibility of connection to so many more people.
- You can pack a resistance band and tell yourself
you will use it. You won’t.
- I travel light (one tiny carry-on, one small
backpack), and in my pics you will see me in the same clothes over and over. I
don’t care. I wash and wear because I absolutely loathe lugging a bulky case
around. But even so, I usually return having not worn one or two things. This
time was no exception, there was one top I didn’t wear and the dress I took I
wore only once. Lesson learned, because on my previous trip I also wore a dress
only once. No more dresses.
- If you spend a birthday alone in a foreign city,
it’s not a big deal, not when you’ve already had a LOT of birthdays (and
hopefully a lot more). After a day spent on a walking tour, then wandering on
my own (including through the Red Light district which I found quite poignant
and sad), when I got back to my hotel room there was a small bottle of prosecco
and two flute glasses (I only needed one) awaiting me. I poured a glass of
bubbly and wished myself a happy birthday. I video-chatted with my daughter as
well as a close friend and poured myself the last of the bubbly.
- Which brings me to: solo travel and the two selves. I ponder this often when I travel. I love being home, enjoy my routines and activities, and when I’m away I sometimes wonder why I extricate myself from one comfortable zone and plonk myself into an unfamiliar one, alone. And yet, I do it over and over, because wanderlust continues to tug at me. Not only do I learn about the places I travel to and immerse myself in, but I also realize small, sometimes inconsequential, things about myself. I much prefer smaller towns to most big cities, although I love many of the things that big cities offer (like art museums). The hotel can have amenities like a gym, sauna, rooftop terrace and launderette (which my hotel did), and I’ll never use them (I wash my clothes by hand). The hotel location is far more important than its amenities.
- I love day-tripping. I am confident in my
ability (and my phone, although see prior reference to Google) to navigate
public transportation in a foreign city. I’m okay with being alone at home
(I’ve known this for a long time), but when I’m travelling solo, I do enjoy the
occasional tour with people (maybe not 50 of them) and getting a feel for who
they are, where they come from, and what brought them there. Small connections
can serve as substitutes for the deeper ones at home.
- When I’m away from home I sometimes miss my ‘home’ self, the one that reads and thinks and writes and paints. But I know I will return to her. She is always there, waiting.
Thanks for all your insights
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your insights gleaned from your solo travel experiences.
ReplyDeleteI am someone who shies away from traveling alone and even business and conference solo travel used to make me anxious and uncomfortable. I am now wondering if there might be a way for me to ease into the experience in my future. Thank you for opening that door.
You can start small. Check out the blog site of Travel Bug Tonic (drop down on the upper left under Blogs I follow). Tracy recently did a series of how to approach solo travel and taking small steps to get you there. I can guarantee that solo travel will give you a liberating feeling of confidence and being able to depend on yourself.
DeleteHappy birthday!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great trip! I was in Amsterdam only for three days back in 2001, and the Anne Frank house stands out as the most memorable. My son might be doing a semester of study there, and I will definitely travel outside of Amsterdam when we go to visit. Beautiful!
Europeans and their ease with languages amaze me!
Thanks Nicole. If your son is going to study there and you go, yes you must go outside Amsterdam. It's so lovely.
DeleteMy daughter, granddaughter and I stayed in Amsterdam 10 years ago. We found an Air B & B close to the museum area and found it to be a wonderful walking city; we did take a boat tour and it was fun but walking was better. We were on our way to the Anne Frank house when my daughter was pick pocketed so that day was full of police reports, trying to cancel credit cards etc. It was a nasty experience and a learning one too. I loved the museums and we went to the Van Gogh one as well. Oddly one of the nicest ones I say was the Purse Museum. Lots of eye rolling from my family but it really was fascinating. Back then we didn't have to reserve. I would love to go the the Netherlands again and visit the smaller towns. I am not a city person either Pearl.
DeleteI didn't know about the Purse museum and I was sorry to miss the Van Gogh
DeleteGreat post Pearl. Many of your points really landed with me. I also travel light and only take items that are comfortable and make me feel good. Always wear good footwear that you can walk in. And I too have great respect for European public transport and their amazing capacity for languages. And as much as I love it, there can in fact be too many churches and too much art! Love your writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading Kim. And yes, seems a weird thing to say but sometimes...too many churches and museums and too much art!
DeleteA great read! Amazingly we seemed to be on the same wavelength re: home self and away self . I like how you've captured it. The tug is something I've struggled with (and I tend to lay on guilt too)..but am coming to terms with it (better with age?). You made me laugh with the resistance band comment - kudos to you for even thinking about it!
ReplyDelete