Day 5: No Shower
Red Light DistrictDay 1: Fly In, Hostel, Dinner, Red Light District
Our flight being at about 2:00pm, we left the house around 11:00am to catch the Easy Bus at Victoria Tube Station to Luton Airport. We (Liz, Molly, Jeanette, Mike, Jimmy and myself) got there safely and the bus ride was about an hour and 10 minutes. At Luton we had to wait in this common area for all flights until 15 minutes before our flight when they would throw on the board which gate we were at so that we could go check-in and stand, waiting to board. I liked the no frills Easy Jet airline deal. If you have just a carry on and are going through a secondary airport, everything is just so much smoother. Going to Heathrow when my trip is over will SUCK! It's just too hectic and I'll have so many bags. All the stewards(esses) are young so that they demand less from the airline. When giving instructions, first it was in Dutch, second in English. Dutch is GREAT! It's sort of like German with a nasally midwestern accent, lol. There might be a phlegmier sound as well. Entertaining language.
We landed just after 45 minutes and then had to catch a twenty minute train from Schipol Airport to Centraal Station. Theoretically, Centraal Station is a five minute walk to our hostel...except for awhile we couldn't find the hostel! Eek! Eventually we found it and checked in to the Aivengo Hostel on Spuistraat. The place was really reeeeeeeeeeeally nicely decorated with an Indian flair. There were see-through curtains in shiny bright colors and vivid colors on the walls and mosaics and little bejeweled stones glued on in certain spots making designs. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture! Anyway, everyone but Jeanette was in the 20 room mixed gender. It's not really as bad as one might think. I met some guys that actually work at Luton for Easy Jet. What a coincidence. The room was in an L-shape so it was nicely spaced out with bunk beds and there was a very warm fleece blanket. Mmmm.
After settling in we went for Pizza somewhere after hanging out at a coffeeshop called Resin, right down the road from our Hostel. Afterwards we walked off all that pizza and ran into the Red Light District. Whoa. Talk about disturbing. I wasn't really prepared for what I would see. Women displayed behind glass in separate stalls lined with neon pink/red lights, signaling their prostitute status. The worst part was them leering at you as you walked by. They don't care who you are, they want a fast sell. During the day they're still active and at one point we saw a little girl riding her bike through the area. I'm glad though that prostitution is legal there. They get tested, get healthcare benefits and pay taxes on their earnings. Prostitution is going to happen, why not make it a safer lifestyle if it must be done.
Day 2: Van Gogh Museum, Meeting David
Fifteen euro...that is how much it cost me to get into the Van Gogh museum. I figured I should still go to experience all the crazy good paintings. After separating from the group, Jeanette, Liz and I made our way to the hostel to meet up with everyone else. While chilaxing, Molly made friends with the guy next to her who happened to be attending Ohio State and is studying abroad in Germany at the moment. He was really generous and funny and also had a crazy Polish friend. There was just a lot of eating and walking around the rest of the time we weren't hanging out with David or at the Van Gogh museum.
Day 3: Morning Coffee, Grocery Food, Anne Frank House, Polish Friend
Today Liz and I decided to google a coffeeshop and then go on an adventure to find it. We ended up successful and landed at a place called Dutch Flowers. It was really chill and had a beautiful, sunny view of a main canal. After throwing off the drowsy blanket, we headed to a grocery store because it gets really annoying having to spend so much food on money when we could buy a days worth of snacks for four euro. Yay for saving money! We were separated from the rest of the group...but didn't really mind. Big groups make me feel awkward.
Next, Anne Frank Museum! What an interesting place. Otto Frank, Anne's dad, requested that the place never again be furnished as a symbol of what's now gone and lost. They had them furnished at one point and made videos of it so everyone could stand in an empty room and watch videos of what it used to look like. My favorite part was going through the tiny doorway behind the infamous staircase. The only thing I didn't like was that it was totally refurbished. So the walls and such had a fake feeling to them.
At night, we hung out with the Polish guy, just Liz and I because David had already left. For some reason, we never knew his name so we tried to avoid that in conversation. We headed to the Red Light District part of town and found a really cool coffeeshop and then just hung out and talked. For some reason, although he had a thickish accent, he tried to convince us he was from Chicago! Crazy man.
Day 4: Israelis
The jist of today was meeting three really neat Israeli kids, two guys and one girl. I can't remember their names but they were a week away from being enlisted in the Israeli army like all people must do when they're 20. They had just left Sweden, advising us never to go there during winter because it's miserable. I think that's a little obvious, lol. Anyway, we hung out with them for hours and then headed home to sleep because we have to get up hella early the next day.
Day 5: No Shower, Fly Out
Showering. We just didn't feel like it which resulted in five days of not showering so suffice it to say I was a greasy little guy. Liz and I got up at 6:30am or so, checked out, and made our way smoothly to the airport. We got back to London (home sweet home) at about 9:30am, went back to the flat, and paaaaaassed the fuck out.
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