So Saturday morning, while the rest of Amsterdam was still sleeping I arrived at the main station. It was a misty, cold day and I thanked my lucky stars that Oxana had given me her museum card since the weather lent itself to staying indoors.

After I'd dropped my luggage at the youth hostel I was staying at I went in search of breakfast. I found this lovely little place, where I had the most delicious chocolate croissant, amongst other things. Then I made my way to the Van Gogh Museum after which I checked out the Rijksmuseum. As museums go they are quite OK, however, I was very picky. Especially in the Rijksmuseum I skipped all the stuff by Rembrandt and his contemporaries and went straight for Vermeer. In Delft I heard quite a lot about him and I wanted to check out his paintings. They weren't that impressive. After all this culture I decided to have a sleepy.

The afternoon I checked out an exhibition on Instanbul and met up with Audrey (American I'm studying with) in the evening. Audrey studied in A'dam last year and had kept contact with the students there. We went to a party for foreign students and then moved the party to Audrey's friend's room, Schuyler (pronounced Sky-ler). By this time the trams had stopped running, so I never made it back to the youth hostel. It wasn't a problem and maybe even a blessing since Schuyler had an extra bed which came with these great blinds that block out daylight completely. I had a glorious sleep until midday:)))

The next day Audrey and I undertook a bike tour of A'dam. Audrey had worked as a tour guide while she was studying there, so not only could she show me the sights, she could also tell me about their history and significance. It also helps that she really loves the place. After cycling around and through the city centre, we made our way to the river Ij, where we took a ferry to the North islands, which aren't really that impressive - all new (read: ugly) apartment blocks, but it was great to sit on the river bank and stare out across the city centre. Then we went to her favourite cafe for some coffee and food. As it was getting dark I returned to the youth hostel for a much needed shower and a nap. I woke up to find this Australian on the bed below mine. We talked a little before going to bed. We shared our room with four Spanish girls, who looked no older than 14, but I guess they had to be at least 18 to be able to go on holiday in Amsterdam without parental supervision.

As I bode A'dam farewell the next day I was quite satisfied that I need not return to the place again. I'd seen quite a lot of it and could comfortably use it's public transport. It helps that one can read all the signs and that one, if pushed, could communicate with the people in something that resembles their mother tongue. I've never really big A'dam fan, sure it's a great city, but no greater than Hamburg. For instance it sucks that even over the weekends the trams stop running at 1am when nothing else closes then.

Today's my last day in Hamburg before I leave for Düsseldorf and Karneval. Karneval is not celebrated in northern Germany - they're too protestant for that. In the south the Catholic church is more prominent and therefore they go big on Karneval. The cities, that have reputations as great Karneval venues are Cologne and Mainz. Apparently everybody dresses up for Karneval and there's a massive parade. It is held the Sunday and Monday before Ash Wednesday (in a week's time) which ushers in the fasting period before Easter. It's just an excuse to have a massive party before being pious and holy.

I'll post again on the flip side of that.
Keep well

P.S. Guess where I did that thing one has to do when in Amsterdam. The winner will get extra chocolate when I get back;-) Christelle you may not play because you know.