DAY 3 - A BLAST!

On our thrid day of our journey, we decided to amble through the streets of Amsterdam and once again shop around a little bit. Completly exhausted from the shopping tour, we stopped by at an Argentinian steakhouse called "La Pampa". Guys, I've got to tell you- the food was amazing! I definitely can recommend this restaurant to anybody who wants to eat cheaply and deliciously.

Anyway, chatting and eating there, we were addressed by two Duchmen. At first they seemed kind of weird, but talking to them for about an hour made us change our minds. So, the first impression isn't everything. Finally, we got invited to Herman's apartment. As we were four girls, we accepted their invitation and joined them.

Shock! The apartment was run- down, almost impossible to describe: filthy, filthy, filthy as far as the eye could reach. But after some Heineken we totally forgot the dirty surroundings.

The two guys and Rokus another friend of them, who dropped over were just a barrel of a fun, though. Their sense of humour was just awesome and we were laughing our heads off, when talking to them. After staying at Herman's the whole afternoon, we finally left at 7 p.m.

On our way to the hotel, we met another Dutchmen named Gino, who right away invited us for another booze.

Returning squiffily to the hotel, we got together with the French soccer players with whom we were sitting down in our "hotel bar" to drink, for a change, something nonalcoholic.:-)

Well, that night was our last night, unfortunately! It was great to go to Amsterdam again, meeting very welcoming and friendly people.

HAD A BLAST!

DAY 2 in Amsterdam- Heineken Experience

After this very interesting, but also kind of “not-funny- visit” we were searching for “HEINEKEN EXPERIENCE”- “THE” SPOT! For all the beer-lovers that’s the place to go to. At the entrance you get four buttons, for one you get a gift at the end of the exhibition and for the others you get beer.
The tour through the 140 year old brewery gives you an insight into the history, the brewing, the bottling, the worldwide communication, and the facts and figures about how many litres and how many people drink Heineken over the world.

In the end of “Heineken Experience” there’s the “SEE YOU AGAIN BAR”, where you can get your beer. There we got to know some Dutch men, who were celebrating a Bachelor party for one of those guys. “The-yet- bachelor” had to collect as many kisses on his shirt as possible, for which he got a beer. So they asked us if every one of us could give him a kiss. Well, as he was a goodlooker we didn’t refuse… Talking to them was just hilarious!
After this sweet coincidence with those guys it was already 8 p.m and we decided to get something to eat and to become sober again. (The 3 Heineken were strong!)
Pizzeria-here we come! Apparently, it was our day that day, because the boss and his employee were great fun- eating, drinking, and chatting! Could it become any better?
“Surely- Schnurli” as I prefer to say. When we got home I met some French guys, who were in Amsterdam to take part in a soccer tournament. Although my French “no est tres bien”, I managed to understand them or vice-versa.

DAY 2 in Amsterdam- Van Gogh

On the second day of our weekend-trip we woke up early and energetically left for visiting “the must-have-seen museums”. In our case, it was the VAN-GOGH museum. (When I told other people that I had been there they didn’t believe in me at all)

Anyway, although I am not very into art, I really liked the exhibition. This museum holds the largest collection of works by Vincent van Gogh.

It houses more than 200 paintings, including many famous masterpieces like “Sunflowers”. The museum also provides a wide range of works of other 19th-century painters and sculptors.
Further information on Vincent Van Gogh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh
If you go to Amsterdam you really should have a look at this museum, it’s worth the money.
VAN GOGH MUSEUM (Info): info@vangoghmuseum.nl

AMSTERDAM- ONCE AGAIN

Hey guys! Sorry, it’s been a while since I last posted an entry, but I’ve got a very good excuse: I was in Amsterdam over the weekend once more! I’ve already told you that I was there in 2005 and I returned to "the loveliest-city-ever" once again.

Although I had solely slept 3 hours and was therefore really tired, I was way to excited to go to bed when my friends and I arrived at the airport, named Schiphol, in Amsterdam. Anita, Daniela and Gudrun- my friends who accompanied me on this trip, couldn’t wait to see all the impressive sights for which Amsterdam is famous. As the sun was gloriously shining, we headed to our hotel called Hans Brinker. There we stored our luggage in the luggage room, because our room wasn’t ready then. Anyway, instead of wasting any time checking in, we decided to do so later in the afternoon. We wanted to take advantage of the great weather and headed for “the Dam”, the main street in Amsterdam which makes women lose control when it comes to shopping: A shopping paradise, which stretches over two “Mariahilferstraßen”. So Daniela and I decided to go on a little shopping tour- which in the end lasted about 6 hours. Anyway, Anita and Gudrun settled for a “Grachtenfahrt”- a drive through the canals of Amsterdam.
In the evening we dined out and went to bed earlier than usually since we were really exhausted from the rigorous sightseeing.

Interrail - Amsterdam

As I've already mentioned our first stop of our one-month backpacking tour was Amsterdam. Stop laughing! We weren't there to get toasted. No, we wanted to explore the city and sight see different areas. So, we settled for a drive through the "Grachten" (the Dutch expression for canals), waterways which exist within the city center. The three prinicpal ones are Herengracht, Prisengracht and Keizersgracht. Since the boat was very slow, we even werer able to take some pictures of some sights, or of some "things" which seemed beautiful or important.

Not wanting to stress ourselves, we were just wandering around the shops in the main area and enjoying the grat atmosphere. Back i our youth hostel we got to know the two Americans Courtney, Sasha and Jaghoub (Italian guy), whith whom we decided to check out the anticipating "Red-Light-District". Covering a large area in the oldest part of the city it has been servicing the personal needs and desires of locals and visitors for five centuries. Well, that was an eye-opening experience. I was speechless and it still remains undescribable. You really have got to be there and check it out yourself to get it. (I'd wanted to take some pics but I didn't want to get a clob on the head by a high heel shoe or get tossed into a nearby canal, so I didn't.)

Of course, we stopped by at a Coffee shop to see what's going on in there: seeing people smoking marijuana and drinking coffee. As there were coffee shops on every other corner, we decided to continue our "nighttime-town-walk" with our friends to sit down in other coffee shop. Unfortunately, we got hold of such a coffee shop where the "waiter" told us: "No drinking, just smoking!" Could you imagine something happening in Austria? Well, I don't think so. After ambling around, we finally found a bar where we got drinks as well.

Apart from that little misunderstanding nothing terrible happened. I think Amsterdam is great: the people are very friendly, warm-hearted, helpful and hospitable. People from other countries should take a leaf out of their book.

Interrail 2005

Hey guys! It's time now to put some personal stuff into my blog such as one of the most fascinating experience I've made so far: my one-month backpacking tour through some countries of Europe with my friend Tini.

This journey involved a lot of organised planning before actually leaving like: looking for inexpensive accommodation possibilities and finding out who to contact if any problems arise.

Well, as finally the day of our departure was getting closer and closer we really excited and anxious at the same time, because we didn't know what to expect of touring around with a backpack on our shoulders in more or less foreign countries. Once we left, there was no turning back. Our first stop was in the Netherlands, to more precise in Amsterdam. :-) Then we moved on to Spain, where we visited Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and Sevilla and last but now least we relaxed a little bit in Portugal. ...Don't worry guys, you'll get more information on every stop ...
We were really inspired by the incredibly intoxicating and breath-taking atmosphere of each of these countries or cities. Not to forget all the new friends we made during our trip. I couldn't wait to meet new interesting people and talk to them.

However, I noticed that my personal attitudes have changed towards other people, their beliefs, their culture and customs. I've definitely become more mature and independent than I was before I left my mum's apron string, because we had to deal with our problems on our own. A good example for this is probably when my friend's Interrail ticket and passport were stolen. No mommy or daddy was along, who could help us out.

It was an unforgettable experience which I wouldn't want to miss. In my opinion, a lot more people should experience such a trip to broaden their horizons, become more tolerant and broad- minded people instead of carrying on being stuck in their roots. Everybody should be encouraged to take the initiative and go for such a type of vacation, which will be an experience for a life-time.

pics will follow, but it's not working right now