Journey through Western Europe 2017. Poland and the Netherlands
Part 1. Poland and the Netherlands
In the courtyard of the distant 2007 year. To a shaggy teenager, the girl Alena brings a rubber duck from Belgium. The duck begins its journey conquering the cities of Ukraine. Once, the duck was so brave that she even climbed Hoverla. The collection of ducks began to grow. Only on the ceiling there were 136 fluorescent ones, but the very first one always took pride of place in the collection. Once Utochka even personally met Evgeny Kaspersky, who left her an autograph as a keepsake. Since then, about ten years have passed. Now we simply could not help but take her home. So, we begin our nine-day confusing trip.
Cold and bad weather were rapidly approaching Kyiv, and even four days off in a row. In general, everything indicated that it was time to go. Also promotional tickets were suitable for the dates. In Zhuliany, there was a long line at the check-in desk, but fortunately, along with the abolition of the visa regime, the visa check was also canceled. Now with hand luggage and biometrics you can go straight to the checkpoints. But on the X-ray, they gave us a full screening.
We got into our favorite Vizeir plane and hit the road! The duck endured the flight calmly. We enjoyed the last opportunity to drink relatively cheap tea in front of expensive countries. Our first stop was in Poland. Something went wrong at the border and we were surprised to be told that we had a Hungarian visa. I clarified that also a biometric passport. The answer was “Not valid! ”. This is. What else is a note valid?? ? What are the rules. We have no time to be more honest. Why not the officer could not explain to us. Then I asked about the purpose, I proudly declared “Transit! ” and even tickets with hotels are all there. The girl silently put the entry stamp and let us through. What it was, it seems, will remain a mystery. We rented a hotel for ourselves right near the airport, so that in the morning we could sleep as long as possible and fly further. Friendly hostess in pure Polish told us useful information. Dasha understands Polish better. But I nodded my head so actively and said: “So, ” that at the end the woman advised Dasha to communicate less with drivers so that they would not cheat the price like on a tourist, because your husband speaks Polish perfectly.
Krakow
In almost native Krakow went through Katowice. This turned out to be much cheaper. Although obviously longer. But there was nowhere for us to hurry. We had a planned visit to friends on the outskirts of the city. There we were waiting for the most luxurious fields and forests. I don't understand how Krakow manages to be so loved.
In the evening we wandered around the old city, watched the dragon spewing flames and, of course, had dinner at the Milky Bar.
It seems that they didn’t do anything like that in a day, but the city, like last time, left some warmth in my memory.
But the evening getting to the hotel left a number of memories of the cold. The temperature was dropping rapidly, down to 12-14 degrees, and a real dubar began. The long commute to the airport hotel was accompanied by the thought “I’d rather be under the covers. ” I remember that sweet moment when we finally crawled under the covers.
Amsterdam
In the morning we flew to the Dutch city of Eindhoven. Right next to the airport, we boarded a bus and left for Amsterdam. described a year ago about how cool Amsterdam is. But then we had about 7 hours only. Now we can watch it not only during the day, but also at night. Once again, I would gladly describe the beauty of its canals and the facades of the houses, from which you can’t take your eyes off, but I won’t repeat myself.
Autumn was waiting for us in Amsterdam. The trees seemed to be green, but the air was warm autumn. Our hotel was far from the center. I had to figure out how to get to it. As soon as I connected to the local Wi-Fi, the unexpected happened - the operating system on the tablet broke. The reboots have begun. It was clearly connected to the WiFi. But now it was impossible to turn it off. The network, as if alive, clung to our tablet. At the beginning of the trip, this is not at all good for us. The tablet with great difficulty turned out to be brought to a relatively stable operation. But reboots now haunted our journey.
We were able to get to the hotel by bus, inside which you could pay with a card. Then we bought ourselves a daily pass and in general everything became easy. The hotel was very strange. Everything seems to be fine, but you have to buy a towel, and it's yours forever. We just didn't have enough towels in our hand luggage. For some reason, the bed linen also had to be refueled. And one of the light switches was about 2.5 meters from the floor. It completely threw me into a stupor. But then Dasha came up with the idea that there used to be a two-story bed. In general, the hotel seems to be good, but something was clearly wrong with it.
We started our day at the NEMO Museum. This certainly sounds strange, since we usually don’t go to museums, but this one was hard to miss. The museum was a giant ship. The paid museum is located inside the ship and, according to our friends, was not very interesting. And you can walk on the top for free. That's where we walked. Various fountains and rainbow generators helped us fight the summer heat. Feet were happy to help. Not far from the museum, we came across a very cozy Dutch courtyard. In that courtyard, in general, I wanted to stay forever. Low houses are surrounded by a wide branch of the canal and a wall with an arch, which is entwined with a living climbing plant.
The first half of the day the sun shone through the haze. There was an atmosphere of deep autumn and slight melancholy. At some point, a strong and fast rain swept through, betraying the freshness of inner peace. To be honest, I even wanted to sleep a little. But as soon as you get to one of the famous Amsterdam parks, the melancholy dissipated.
Birds, tourists, local people with dogs, all nestled comfortably in the endless glades. Last time we were in another park, and we liked it just as much. It seems that this country knows a lot about urban recreation areas. You can roam and roam around the park. A microdistrict was built along the park, consisting of themed pubs and shops.
Now we are heading back to the center. Soon we saw a real European queue. The queue was very long and winding. I immediately thought that this is the famous line that stretches to the Louvre in Paris. With a quick step, it took me more than a minute to reach the end of the line. It was the line to the Anne Frank house. But, fortunately, we are further to the center. There, a street actor has already given his performance. We really like these activities. I noticed that they are held in the central squares of the main cities at about 20:00.
Had a bad experience with breakfast this morning. In principle, the vegetarian cafe was delicious, but a check for 30 euros is a record!
With dinner, we acted more carefully, I ordered a menu for myself at Burger King, and Dasha took a large plate of salad for herself in one of the markets. At a price more than twice, it turned out more democratic. But in general, I noticed that in the Netherlands there is a constantly underestimated feeling of hunger due to abundant tastings in cheese shops. The main thing is to read the signs carefully, otherwise you will grab the old goat cheese and ruin the day. In any case, I would definitely have been spoiled. We left the fast food, it was getting dark outside. When it gets dark in Amsterdam, there is only one road, to the red-light district. Last time, because of the flight, we could not wait for the lights. Now walk as much as you like. Girls in red windows are like fishermen on a fishing trip. And here is the fish! One of the guys happily went into one of the doors, and he and the girl disappeared. A satisfied visitor, who was waiting for a group of friends, was already coming out of another door. Behind one of the windows, the announcers were broadcasting Red Lights radio. Now it was necessary to step over a small moral barrier.
Casa Rosso
There is one rather spicy show Casa Rosso in Amsterdam. Tickets for the show cost 45 euros per person without drinks. There is also the issue of price bites a bit. In other words, you have to be exactly sure what you expect from this show to be ready to invest almost a hundred euros for two. After weighing all the pros and cons, we headed to the checkout. I clarified in English what exactly this show was, in order to accurately determine whether we understand everything correctly. The guy asked in response, what exactly do we expect to see there, apparently so as not to injure random curious tourists. To be honest, I did not expect such a question a bit, but I said briefly “Hmm… mm. . sex? ”.
The guy understood that we had come to the right place and briefly listed what exactly and in what variations awaits us at this show. “Aha, well… two tickets please! ”. Limits have been triggered on the cards. The bank seemed to be trying to save our psyche. But the cash was at hand) Along with the tickets, Dasha was given a themed candy that you can suck on during the show. A commemorative photo against the backdrop of a branded pink elephant with a raised trunk and go! After passing the control, we ended up inside the theater building. The show runs non-stop from 19:00 to midnight. Dasha decided to go to the toilet, but there was such a big guy with an infinitely dark tan walking towards her that it became scary to go alone. And now we go into the hall... we will never be the same again... everything that was on the red-light district that evening will remain there forever.
After an hour and a half, overwhelmed with emotions, having laughed at the full positive, we left. Although there is a lot of criticism towards this show on the Internet, we believe that it is a must to visit it. Then we can discuss the best moments together) This show also set a certain atmosphere for Amsterdam at night. After wandering a little along the central streets, we went to sleep.
Zanse Schans
In just 15 minutes by train, you can reach the very themed town of Zaanse Schans. The only difficulty is buying tickets and validating them at the stations. You need to buy tickets by choosing a station with a different name. The result of scanning tickets is displayed in Dutch and it is immediately unclear what exactly happened. If you click again on the same column, he will say something obviously warning. And if on the other, then the ticket will simply be redeemed as used. But that's as far as we can understand.
We had a roundtrip ticket and this made it very difficult to understand exactly how and where to pick it. In general, it’s good that they didn’t run into control. But in any case, we had honestly bought tickets. On the way from the station to the museum part of the city, there was a strong smell of chocolate from the local chocolate factory. And here is our first drawbridge on the route, and even in a divorced state.
Well, it's fun! Entrance to the territory of the open-air museum is free. But you can buy some kind of ticket for 15 euros, which we haven’t fully figured out where it should come in handy. All workshops and themed houses also with free admission. Here they show you how to make wooden shoes, they teach you how to cook cheese and so on. Even just wandering through the countryside streets is very joyful.
There is nothing to do here for three hours at all. One of the attractions of this museum is climbing a working mill, such a pleasure costs 4 euros. You can see how all the mechanisms work inside the mill. And even go out to the balcony. In the districts of the village there are paths of health, long walking routes through green and dense reed groves. There was no time to walk along the trails, but it was just right for 20 minutes to walk.
Volendam
Now we went by direct bus to the fishing town of Volendam. The bus driver issued probably the most beautiful tickets that we came across. We drove about 40 minutes through the green fields. Since we had a return train ticket from Zaans, we had to return there by bus. The last bus will be at 17:00, which is a little over an hour. But an hour is just enough to explore the fishing and tourist village. Although if time permits, then you can also go along the embankment to Edam. Unfortunately, not the most beautiful color, this city got the sea. But everything is quite thematic - boats, houses and cafes. In this city, mini pancakes were sold on every corner.
Apparently local cuisine, so you have to try. Of course, not the height of bliss, but delicious) But the main thing that you have to try here is sandwiches with herring. The time for the return bus was already running out, but not trying the herring here meant that we would have to go again) As a result, with a sandwich in our hands, we rushed towards the stop. We did. Now you can enjoy a sandwich while enjoying the views from the window.
By the way, the herring really tasted special. We are back in Zaans. Now there are practically no people here. The last groups of tourists are taken away and the museum begins to empty.
We went for a walk along the streets that are located on the residential side of the city. There were no people there at all. It's like time has stopped. The streets are quiet and no one is there. The whole city is ours. And not just a city, but very beautiful, cozy, well-groomed, all in flowers. However, it seems that there is no shortage of beautiful cities in the Netherlands.
Amsterdam again
The tablet showed us that there is a subway in Amsterdam. It was a little strange, as the city has a very large number of channels. Since we had a travel card, we decided to see some remote area of the city. The area was chosen at random and went down to the subway. To our surprise there really was a subway. In addition, with a considerable number of stations. What I mean is, Amsterdam seems to be beautiful in all areas. This was the area with the Sarphatipark. After walking around the streets, we went to the park. It was already evening time and something had to be done with dinner. Fortunately, not far from the park there was a market that sold ready-made salads. This is a real lifesaver, not expensive, and also did not have to spend a lot of time waiting for dinner. It's a pity there was no microwave in the market. But they explained to me that this large bowl of pasta with vegetables is considered a salad and does not need to be heated. We returned to the park with provisions, chose a more comfortable shop and began an evening meal. Was it delicious????
On an empty table, a draw watermelon looked at us sadly. The most interesting thing is that half an hour ago, when we first went to the park, there were two watermelons. Apparently one of them got bored, and he rolled home. Cold weather descended on the city in the evening, everything indicated that it was necessary to go and rest before tomorrow's France. I didn’t want to leave the Netherlands at all, it’s good here. Yes, and always a sign of a good city or country is the fear “What if it will not be so cool further”.
It's an interesting feeling, we get it on our best trips. At the interchange tram station, the next street performers showed the show. It was the Rembrandt Square. People walked, rejoiced and rested on the illuminated night glades. The area was headed by the central office of booking. It was a joy to see my potential future job. Summing up - the Netherlands is a beautiful, beautiful and very clean country with its own zest.
There is an atmosphere here and something that we have not seen in other cities, the perfect combination of canals and a big city, endlessly delicious cheeses and positive tourists. Many directions in all directions, where you can go for a walk and of course the red-light district, which keeps more and more secrets of visiting tourists every day. Netherlands, see you soon!
