Amsterdam - Part 2

All three of us hungover we saw queen's day on TV from the hotel instead of outside.  we finally got out at 3pm



I tried to rally the troops by doing most dutch thing i knew, dancing around in the decorative "klompen" from the hotel room wall.



look at the map of amsterdam, it literally is all canals.



orange is the color of the netherlands so everyone wears orange and parties on boats, etc...





at the King's Day festival.  a huge festival of the all the music i hate but everyone was going so i said ok.  it was a pre meditated ok because we had to buy tix weeks in advance and even then we ended up with the late late bird tickets for 29 euros.  we were all so worn out from the night before that this was kind of a waste.  but the only way i would have had fun with all this techno/electronic/electro playing is if i was in the state i was the night before.  it was a young crowd with lots of pretty young things and yoon came to the realization that he is middle aged.





Van der Sister.  bye bye Bea(trix).



the day after nothing was cleaned up.  we saw some garbage trucks going around lazily picking up a ripped beer box here, a bottle there.  it looked like it would take weeks for the city to be cleaned up at this rate.  many people were just cleaning the streets in front of their house by themselves.



dutch pancakes are these huge things with different stuff mixed in like cheese and bacon.  i forgot to take a photo of the actual pancake i was so hungry.



you pour this stroop (syrup) over it.  its not like maple syrup but more like molasses and its not the same stroop in stroop waffles.



wall of dreams







nothing gets us up off the grass in the sun faster then recieving a text from Van Der Kock's dad saying if we can get to their house by 6:00pm there will be BBQ.  we ran for the train but in the end were late because a stickler conductor said no bikes on the train during rush hour (which is the rule).  so we had to wait and take the next one after rush hour.  we still got our bbq.  next stop, Van Der House! 

Amsterdam - Part 1

we went to Amsterdam for 3 days for Queen's day 2013.  Queen's day is the biggest day and party in the Netherlands and Amsterdam.  My old London pal Sebastiaan Van Der Kock is dutch and was more than happy to hop over to his home country and party with us.



we had a few days off back in Paris between the budapest/berlin trip and the Holland trip.  Here is Ile St. Louis, my favorite corner of Paris.  Weeks later the water will have risen up to the banks.





chocolate covered face.  Also my camera is official f'd now after that camera strap attachment broke and my camera smashed on the ground.  magenta and green Chromatic abberations a plenty along with sharpness and focus and color issues.  this is the kind of photo you should get from a $300 pocket camera in 2005 not from a $2,500 5D Mark II!!!!!!!



had to stand up on trains a few times in Holland, even in the stairwell of this double decker train from the airport.



Central station



I love canals and amsterdam is literally all canals.



we stayed at a really nice place, Andaz Amsterdam Hyatt.  It was a suite and like a boutique hotel









there was artwork and installations all throughout the hotel.



Indonesian "rice table".  Indonesia used to be a dutch ruled so their food is part of dutch food now.



Queen Beatrix handed over the crown to prince Willem-Alexander on Queen's day 2013.  its the first time the Netherlands has had a King in 123 years.  After this year it will be called King's day.  Willem-Alexander's wife is Argentinian. 



we discovered Stroop Waffles.  they are the best thing in the world.  there is carmel and butter in between those sweet waffle cookie things.  oh man we at at least 15 of these each.  We even called down to the desk at 4 am and requested more and they said they are a complimentary thing and they aren't for sale either.  finally they agreed to bring us another tin of them and we devoured that too. 



my camera is f'd look at all that magenta chromatic abberation action going on.  (magenta halos)



this is taken with the polorizing filter.  i don't remember photos being taken with it looking so weird and photoshopped before the camera smash.  it's not photoshopped.



amsterdam is totally a biking city but it looks like it would not be fun because there are just too many people on bikes and literally everyone uses them to get around



"War" Fries are fries with indonesian satay sauce, mayo, and onions.  good stuff, especially since the fries are twice fried.



chillin' with beer along the canals of amsterdam is pretty sweet.



a good example of chromatic abberations happening.



Bitterballen "are a savoury Dutch meat-based snack, typically containing a mixture of beef or veal (minced or chopped), beef broth, butter, flour for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper, resulting in a thick ragout. Most recipes include nutmeg and there are also variations utilising curry powder or that add in finely chopped vegetables such as carrot" (wikipedia).  They are awesome!



not pictured:  all three of us getting blackout drunk by 8pm at the hotel, leaving the hotel and going around places and then all coming back home separately at separate times.  i came home in a taxi for some reason, didn't have enough money and saw this when i walked in.  The next day we tried to piece it all together and we don't even remember leaving the hotel.  we're not 21 yrs old, the 3 of us have been drinking for years, how did this happen to us?  How could we make such a rookie mistake like this and be totally sh!tty and hung over the next day for Queen's day, the big draw?  We are dumb but its seriously a mystery.  and no there weren't any drugs involved so it really is a mystery.