Amsterdam!

Alright, I admit it. I'm a terrible person. I promised you I'd be more consistent with these posts, and I even promised you an Amsterdam post. Its been a very busy last few weeks though. You see, going without any plans means that you spend your not busy time trying to figure out how to place your next step. Especially with how expensive a wrong step can be. Anyhow, without futher adieu...

This ole' place?

 

 

 

   From Munich my next stop on "Matt Schneider's Eurotastical Journey" was none other than Amsterdam. If you've never heard of Amsterdam, you're... well everyone's heard of Amsterdam. Come on, even my grandma warned me about the "special buildings with the curtains and the ladies". Then of course everyone thinks about drugs upon mention of Amsterdam. Which, might I add, my grandma was also quick to warn me about. Having spent a solid week there, I'm here to tell you it's all absolutely true. You can legally (and quite easily illegaly) buy drugs, legally buy a prostitute (all kinds... short, tall, big, small, etc.), and there's no shortage of overpriced bars bursting with "interesting" people from all over the world. I myself had some crazy times. Take for instance my first night, when Marius and I were shown around "town" (actually just the red light district) by a really drunk guy. Amsterdam can be a lot of fun, but perhaps just a bit too fun. I woke up the next day with a thunderstorm in my head, an ocean of drool on my pillow, and a desert in my throat. The headache came to pass, but I actually lost my voice for the rest of the week that I was there. When the smoke cleared, I had one of those awesome "I SPENT HOW MUCH LAST NIGHT?!" moments. Don't worry though: No prostitutes. I mean come on, I've got morals.

But I am a teenaged boy, so I had to at least see the red light district.

 So, yea there is a lot of stuff for the various roughians and rapscalions of the world... if that's all you're looking for. In fact you don't even have to go much further than the train station, which is the center of town, to see that whole side of the city. But for anyone who actually wants to enjoy the beautiful city of Amsterdam in all of its wonderful Dutch glory, there's a whole rest of the city to love. We took a canal tour, and learned all kinds of awesome stuff about the city, like how it was started by two fisherman and a dog who built a dam on the Amstel river (Am - stel - dam... my God... its... just like... Am - STER - dam!). And as you stroll up and down the narrow streets and look at some of the coolest architecture ever, you've gotta try your best not to get run over by one of the insane bikers. They say there are more bikes in Amsterdam than there are people, I say there are probably even more bike related injuries. And believe it or not, most of the Dutch people don't even smoke weed. Yeah, seriously. In fact a lot of people aren't fans of all the drug tourists it brings to Amsterdam. This is reflected in that fact that soon, in order to be allowed into the "coffee shops" you need to show a European passport. But in the meantime, they certainly have to appreciate the money they bring. And they really try their best to break your bank.

Bikes... EVERYWHERE!

When Marius and I got there, we decided to go get a nice kebab from a restaurant around the city center. We ended up being charged 7.50 euro (about $10), though the price on the menu was 5.50. Not even full, and sickened at the trickery that had befallen us, we decided to split a meal at McDonalds to try and make up for the money we'd been screwed out of. But low and behold! What does McDonalds do, but try overcharging us 50 freaking cents too. This time though, we decided to confront him and he changed the price without hesitation. Still, McDonalds, the pillar of Americaness that I've come to rely on tried cheating me out of money! Thankfully, we did end up finding some of the secrets to cheap dinging. We decided one day to go out of the city center to visit a botanical garden, and at lunchtime ate like kings for only 4 euro each. In addition to being a really cheap price (especially for Amsterdam), it too was kebab house. The only difference was it's non-proximity to all the coffee shops, bars, and brothels. True success came though, with the 78 cent, 1 liter can of pea soup. And then there were the amazing 800 ml bottles of freshly squeezed juice for only 2 euros- sadly we discovered it on our last day.

 Probably a good thing though... because if i had known about these bad boys, I'd be broke right now.

All in all, we had a pretty freaking successful trip to Amsterdam. But I'd go back in a second because even in my 7 days there I left a lot to still be seen. And the people watching alone makes a trip worthwhile: If you're not watching someone shamefully hand over 50 euros for the night of their life, you're pretty much in "Stoner Disneyworld"... so there's that.

A Long Overdue Post

Six or seven months ago, when the "going to Germany" planning and saving began, I thought to myself, "These next few months are gonna take forever". And even before I left, I remember thinking "This trip is probably gonna feel so fast... I hope I make it count." But now, I can honestly say that these last few weeks, I feel like I've lived a lifetime. I've seen the beer capital of the world, Munich, in all of it's glorious Bavarian splendor and I've seen the absolutely insane world of Amsterdam- and I've still got months ahead of me. But anyway, I've got a lot to tell, and you've probably got a lot to do, so let's just get down to business. I've decided that Munich and Amsterdam were post-worthy in their own right, so I'll begin with Munich, and make an Amsterdam post soon after. Enjoy!

 The Monday before last began for me with a drive down the autobahn at a steady 100-120 miles per hour, no big deal. Three high-octane hours later, we  were in Munich,  the capital of beer, Bavaria, and all that we Wisconsinites think of as being "German" (bratwurst, pretzels, Lederhosen etc.). Awesomely enough, my accommodation for the week was Marius' uncle's house. I thought that I'd see some different aspect of Munich than what most visitors see. Oddly enough though, from what I gathered, I think the people may just be the jolly, beer-loving, happy Germans that I'd expected them not to be. I mean, the Bavarian idea of a "traditional breakfast" is weißwurst and beer. And every night for dinner, my host-dad had a big mug of beer with dinner, which was usually cheese and sausage with pretzel rolls. Awesome, am I right? I guess the stereotype isn't really so different than the reality in this case.

It's the same mentality I wanted to take in my day-to-day activities there, I didn't want to be "that tourist" who saw the Glockenspiel and ate at a grossly overpriced Biergarten thinking they'd really seen Munich. But once again, I found that it doesn't matter really where you go, Munich is Munich. With how friendly everyone was, I often forgot that I was in a city with well over a million inhabitants. In fact, from the people I talked to, as far as big cities go, it's one of the safest. I mean, in my host family the 6 year old took the public bus to and from school every day all be herself. I bet the biggest threat you face in Munich is getting trampled by the hoards of tourists. I mean, the Glockenspiel at Marienplatz is packed every morning with tourists. As I stood to watch it myself, I heard a commentary about it in like 6 different languages. But its no wonder it's always so packed with tourists, the place has got tons to offer.

The Isar

 

The town's got shopping, the Isar (a blue river, no seriously, it's actually blue), a massive park, and of course every single piece of Munich is steeped in historical awesomeness... Oh and beer. Lots of delicious, wonderful beer. Even the town's name sake "München" or "the monk's place" contributes to the city's "beer" identity. During my stay we visited the nearby Andechs monastery where the monks brew beer to pay for the upkeep of the buildings, and have been since the doors of the monastery opened. On a side note, go there. It really doesn't get much better than staring with awe out at the Alps as you drink your beer and eat bratwurst with sauerkraut. Especially when it's the most amazing bratwurst and sauerkraut you've ever had, and the beer you're drinking is brewed in the building next to you.