I AMsterdam

I made it!  I was traveling pretty much all day today.  Left the hostel around 9:30 am, got the 10 o clock bus to Belfast.  Had some time to eat lunch and walk around (with my heavy backpack in tow)  Caught the 2:15 bus to the Airport.  Had awhile to wait to board my 6 o clock flight.  Landed in Amsterdam at 8:30ish….I lost another hour of my life as I crossed another time zone so am now 9 hours ahead of home I believe.

I didn’t rush out of the airport as I decided I wanted to eat and get everything organized there before setting out to find my hostel at 10 pm in Amsterdam!  Yikes!

Nothing like jumping in full force.

Managed to get on the right train to Central Station….yay me.  This part of traveling is probably much easier for those that have ventured off the island and been forced to use public transit for me, the total oblivious to trains, trams and busses this is the worst part and I dread it everytime I board one.   So far I haven’t made any huge mistakes but at this part in the game I still get nervous about it.  When does that go away?  Maybe I’m just too sensitive on the topic….I dunno it just stressed me out. From the central train station the the 5-10 minute walking directions sounded pretty easy.  Apparently not so as I ended up walking around for a good 45 mins with my damn heavy backpack so by this time I felt like with every step that my feet are being grinded against the pavement.  I weaved in and out of streets as wizzing biclyes went by and whofts of marijuana smoke slithered out of the cafes.  Oh boy do I feel far from Canada at this point!  I can’t even begin to pronounce the Dutch signs and although most people speak English it doesn’t seem to be the first language they try when speaking to you….it at least seemed that way tonight anyways.  But people were friendly.  A few pointed me in the wrong direction hence walking for such a long time but at least they tried.

From the few places I’ve seen tonight it’s even harder to navigate then Ireland, there’s even less street signs and even fewer cross walks.  I thought people were bad for ignoring signs in Ireland….well there weren’t all that many signs to look at here for people just cross whenever.  And there’s tram tracks all over the place, from every direction I didn’t even know which way to look to see if they were coming haha.  And the bikes…..bikes EVERYWHERE.  Not sure I’m ready to jump in and ride around like they do.

Finally at 11:15 pm I made it to St. Christophers Hostel.   I have to walk through a very busy bar to get to reception…..that should be fun for tomorrow but tonight think I might just hit the sack.  I apparently a booked a 4 person female dorm which looks more hotel style with real single beds….quite nice.  It’s technically next door to the main hostel and up some pretty intense stairs.  But there’s only two rooms at the top for a total of 8 people I think and a bathroom/shower just outside.  The only thing is they only have wifi down in the bar.  I hate that as it’s a bar not a place to be sitting on your computer…..at least that’s how I feel and I need some computer time to arrange the next part of my trip.  For now I am writing this from my room and then will quickly upload it when I head down.

I think that’s about all to report for today.  I miss Ireland already but am uber excited to explore Amsterdam in all it’s hustle and bustle.  The sound level of the bar downstairs is increasing…..earplugs it is!  But after a long day it’s just too much excitement for me to face tonight.

Sweet dreams all.