Adventure Accounting

Most people spend a lot of time dreaming and planning how to get there. As I stated at the beginning of this Europe Series , “A goal without a plan, is just a wish”. I spent and I still continue to spend a considerable amount of time reading books and blogs how to motivate myself and keep my vision, my dreams. How to get there. The plan was just a plan, not so long ago. But I was not prepared how to ease myself out of a dream. Most people dream about buying a house, a car or getting married and settling down and all that. Well, you live with that forever. This dream of mine took two years of saving and planning which took place for three weeks. So how do you ease yourself out of a dream? What do you do when you finally hit the ground? I can’t stay in my dream. It was still a cold morning. But I revered in the cold moment. My next morning will be warm (if not hot and humid). I dragged my luggage and myself to the tram station. I was fortunate enough to witness a canal g...

It was a scenic ride going back to Amsterdam. I had 3.5 hours to kill. Memories swirl my mind as I recalled what happened during the last three weeks. I landed in the Amsterdam Centraal Station with memories in tow . I located GVB’s building outside the station to purchase a day’s worth of pass. I was leaving in 18 hours. *sniff**sob*

Time to say goodbye to Amsterdam and say hello to Cologne, Germany! My train leaving for Germany was at 8:04am. I didn’t have time to eat breakfast since I wanted to be at the station at 7:00am. Tsktsk, sayang ang buffet. Getting to the station was easy enough. The next challenge is finding the correct train. I booked my train ticket via DbBahn before leaving the Philippines. The ticket reflects the time, platform number and the train number. I asked around and some other waiting passengers whether I was waiting at the right spot. There should be no problem right? Very un-MRT

Some random notes and tips to make your visit enjoyable. Do not be afraid to ask. Most Dutch speak good English. Do not be afraid to ask for directions. Say “Thank You” after. Do not be shy to ask someone to take your picture. My fave targets are fellow travelers. I offer to take their picture in return. The Dutch are friendly people. Just stay away from the bicycle lanes. When you hear a bell or a “tsk” sound, step aside.    In fastfood chains, clean as you go. Waiters do not clean up after you. When in doubt, watch the locals. Amsterdam have the BEST fries. With mayo please. Eat them everyday. I highly recommend getting the IAmsterdam card. It covers a lot of places and gives you the flexibility to choose another destination (e.g. I chose the windmill over the museums) Do not take pictures in the Red Light District. DO NOT. If you are meeting with a relative or friend in Europe, consider getting a simcard. I got Lycamobile for € 15 which comes with a loaded am...

I used Hostelbookers to search for hostels in Amsterdam but booked through Stayokay’s website directly. The ratings are pretty high and there were plenty of good things mentioned in the comments. Stayokay has two other hostels in Amsterdam but I chose this one because of its “calm atmosphere”. There are plenty of other hostels but they are mostly party hostels  - which I didn’t want. I wasn’t really looking for a place to party and drink. The downside: you have to immediately pay for the full amount. I paid €49 for my two-night stay, that includes breakfast already. I think you should cancel a full month before your arrival date so you can get the whole amount refunded. I took the risk of booking without a visa yet since I didn’t want to search for other hostels anymore.

Some other spots and pictures in Amsterdam. A gas station. See that? We have cheaper gas prices. Booking.com's office. I immediately recognized the logo, of course.

My first day of solo backpacking was already an adventure. I got more excited for the upcoming days. For Day 2, I was feeling bolder so I decided to do venture outside the city. An interesting place caught my eye in IAmsterdam’s booklet: Sloten Windmill. Windmills seems more interesting than touring other museums. While doing my research about Amsterdam, I learned that the windmills were quite far from the city and some are not open to the public. Apparently, Sloten Windmill is open to the public all year round. It takes one hour to reach the windmill from the city center...according to the booklet. According to my own pace, it took longer than that. I took Tram 1 to Meer en Vaart stop. Then I had to wait fro bus 192 and stop at Langsom. The buses in Amsterdam are scheduled. The schedules are posted in the waiting sheds. I arrived at the Meer en Vaart just when bus 192 was leaving. I had to wait for 20 minutes before the next bus arrives. Where I was waiting:

If you love artwork and museums, you will definitely have a ball in Amsterdam. The IAmsterdam card lists more than 30 museums that you can visit -  excluding The Anne Frank House. I just visited two: Rijksmuseum I eventually found my way to Rijkmuseum after getting lost. Time to appreciate art. I was able to snap this photo before a guard blocked my way and said “No photo, no photo”. Oh, okay then.  Since I can’t take any, and I didn’t want to be sneaky, I just browsed through the collections. 

The walking tour ended shortly past lunch time. For some reason, I wasn’t really hungry even after all that walking. I still had pent-up energy. I was supposed to spend the rest of the day visiting one or two museum. I decided to go to Rijksmusuem by taking tram 10, my destination was just two stops away. boarded. The standard Amsterdam shot with the canal as the backdrop. I was discreetly looking at the map to watch for the street signs. Even if I was sitting in front of the screen, my short term memory cannot keep up with the names of the streets. I was supposed to get off at the Nieuwe Spiegelgracht stop. Sige nga, i-memorize mo yan . The tram had a couple of stops which are difficult to memorize as well. The tram stopped... at its last stop. I was the only one left in the tram and the doors were left open. The conductor said ”Last stop”. I got out.

First, I have to get to my hostel for this leg to get rid of my stuff. I will be staying here: Stayokay Amsterdam Stadsdoelen Kloveniersburgwal  97. The last two words are a mouthful to memorize. To get there, I have to take tram 4/9/16/24 or 25 and get off at Munplein. Muntplein. Muntplein. Inside the Centraal station, I asked where I can find the trams. The information person said “just outside”. So went outside and found the trams. But but but, I cannot find and of the trams that I should be riding even after waiting for almost an hour. Passed time taking pics.

After more than 12 hours of flight, I landed in the continent of my dreams. Schiphol airport was another state of the art airport.  This gorgeous airport is actually below sea level. Amazing eh? First thing in order was to find my luggage. I had to pass by immigration first. The IO just asked me “how long will you stay in Amsterdam?”. I simply answered “two nights”. Tatak! Muwahahahaha! Said a silent prayer of thanks for my safe and stress-free arrival. Then I’m off to find my luggage.