Bus to the train station - easy
Train to Antwerp - easy
Train transfer - easy
Amsterdam tram to hotel stop - easy
Finding the hotel - uh-oh
Seems the exact hotel street is not on our map. We asked at a Pastry shop, they pulled out the city atlas. Nope, not listed in the index. We asked at a pub. They had heard of the hotel, it is somewhere in ‘that’ direction. We asked at a restaurant closer, nope don’t know where it is. Finally, after about 45 minutes of wandering aimlessly down very long blocks, we found it.
The hotel bumped us over to a 5th story apartment, complete with washing machine and kitchen. Seems they overbooked. I can’t say I was thrilled with the steep climb or not being in the main hotel, but the apartment was decent and quiet. We could see a horse corral from the window. An odd sight in the middle of a city.
We headed out for the early evening and had an excellent meal at an Indian restaurant. Amsterdam has a huge number of ethnic restaurants. We figured we could eat our way around the city for at least a month.
Wandered around and ended up in the Red Light district. It is a holiday weekend, so even more people were out than usual. Watched the young girls-prostitutes in the windows doing business. The going rate is 50 Euros for 20 minutes. The clientelle looked mostly in their 20’s and 30’s, and left the doorways with ridiculous grins on their faces. Went to a live sex show that was the epitome of silly. Banana dances and dragging audience men up onto the stage to tease. The audience was more fun to watch than show, since this is the touristy risque show to attend. Watch out for the pink elephant as you leave, as it spouts out water across the walkway on tourists wandering through.
