Arriving in Amsterdam

After visiting Amsterdam on the Contiki tour, I decided it was a place that I was happy I had seen, but not one that I would rush back to particularly. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, it just wasn’t among my favourite European cities. So it is interesting that I am now working here for a month and get a chance to really get to know the city by living here.

On the train journey I was looking forward to experiencing the city as well as starting work again after 2 months without playing (even Piano Man seemed kind of appealing…)

I had organized with the owner of the bar to collect the key to the apartment from a restaurant across the road from Maxims (the piano bar). Of course, I arrived and the guys in the restaurant know nothing about the key. They do have a key to the bar, though, so I leave my luggage in there and call the owner who says he will be there in an hour.

The bar itself looks a bit old and dingy, but often places like that can have a lot of atmosphere and be really fun. It is in a very busy nightlife and tourist area (near Leidseplein) and apparently gets especially busy on weekends.

I take some time to wander around the area and get my bearings, as the apartment I will be staying in is just around the corner. It is very close to the Rijksmuseum and Museumsplein so I spend some time sitting in the park outside listening to music and watching the world go by.

After 3 hours of waiting and still not hearing from the owner, I call him to find he is already at the bar trying to sort out a fairly major problem. There is no electricity. Although he had now sorted out all of the bills, he is told that it will be impossible to get the electricity reconnected for at least 4 days. The apartment I’m meant to be staying in is also without electricity… a slightly uneasy feeling starts to set in… (after all, I am a bit scarred from the Howl at the Moon experience)

After a few more frantic phone calls by the owner, he decides the bar will have to be closed for the weekend and I will have to stay in his daughter’s apartment (she has just gone to Indonesia for a few weeks). The apartment is right in the city centre, which is nice, but it is very strange living in someone’s apartment when you don’t know them. I feel like a bit of an intruder. And wonder how she can live without a fridge…

So it seems that my first weekend in Amsterdam, which is meant to be a working weekend, is now a free weekend in the city to go out and explore. On my own. With an apartment in the middle of the city.

This could be very good, or very, very ugly. It will almost certainly be at least a little bizarre.

Welcome to Amsterdam…