Amsterdream - a high moral day on the low-lying lands 😉

"Okay, so let's go to Amsterdam tomorrow", said Ajay eating dosa at home after an exhausting day at Baarle. "What's there in Amsterdam?" Asked me intriguingly. Bro said, "Nothing specific for us, we will go stroll the city and come back". 

Hmm.... 🤨 - that was me. 

Amsterdam — a dam on the river Amstel.

So no, it wasn’t surprising to see canals crisscrossing the city. I thought I knew exactly what to expect in Amsterdam. Or so I believed. 💀

Not every trip needs to be a rollercoaster. Some can be chill and peaceful. But no travel leaves you completely unsurprised.

So what was there in Amsterdam for me? Let’s see.

I honestly had no great ambitions on photographing the city's architecture. I just wanted to go see the city, click some photos for travel memories, and come back. This was the preset for the day. 

We started around 11-ish—because I was very lazy in getting ready.

And no, it wasn't our classic bun-and-spread breakfast today. Yesterday’s leftover dosa batter and rice made for a perfect breakfast 😋.

We locked the house, got into the lift, and voilà—we unknowingly began a rich tradition of mirror selfies that would soon become part of our travel culture.

Here's the first of the five mirror selfies we took on our way down 😂

Unlike the previous day, this one wasn’t rushed. It was peaceful. Unhurried. Just what we needed. So the journey was from Den Haag (sorry, 's-Gravenhage) to Amsterdam Centraal. And no, NS was perfectly functional today. No maintainance, no 's-Hertogenbosch drama, nothing!!!!!

'NS bro 🚝, eternally grateful 🥺'. 

On the way, I heard a bizarre piece of information: Haarlem — not Amsterdam — is the capital of North Holland.

Amsterdam may be the national capital and located in North Holland, but it’s Haarlem that holds the provincial crown 🧐.

The Netherlands is getting more and more fascinating to me by the day 😅.

Hi, Amsterdam

And when we finally reached Amsterdam Centraal, we got a nice Pistachio coffee from Kiosk, the variety of coffee neither of us have heard of before. We immediately wanted to try, and oh boy, lovely it was. If you ever go to the Netherlands, please do try! Or you'll be missing out. This may not be a Dutch-explicit coffee flavor, but it was lovely in Kiosk. I can guarantee you that much the very least. 

And then, I became my silly version - yes, the guy who wants to have a photo with the Amsterdam Centraal board 🤦🏻‍♂️😂. Don’t ask me why. If I knew, I’d probably be smarter — and definitely not confessing this in public.  

Here is the show-off photo with Amsterdam Centraal board 😅 with the pistachio coffee from Kiosk.

Did I just stop there? Of course not! Why will I? I went on to click another picture with an NS train that  I DIDN'T EVEN TRAVEL 💀. Why? Again, don't ask me, "I am me" is the best answer I can give you. 

I love NS 💛💙. 

Stepping out of the station, I immediately found a beautiful piece of writing that I would not miss to make a memory with, not once in a million tries. Here it is 

Of course, there must be more space for travelers 🧡.

Let me tell you, Amsterdam didn't look capital to me at all. Amsterdam feels like a big charming town. You don't find towering skylines like typical capitals. Instead, the city welcomed me with this vibe 

Canals, bridges, and old-town charm. I've seen road traffic, but water traffic? Oh Netherlands, you're something else 💥.

Even the railway station gave me a nice traditional European vibe

Amsterdam Railway station seen from afar.

When we were soaking in this vibe, our friend from Pakistan joined us. We slowly strolled through the city, seeing some weird shit (for someone from India) that is not at all weird in Amsterdam.

Yes, this one 💀.

Also, I bought myself a pair of black shades 😎 that you're gonna see for the rest of my Dutch tour 😂.

They made me look cool.

(You're in my blog, so you have to accept this — or get out 🚪😂)

I am kinda cool ;) There is no need to forcefully accept it :P

We then went to the dam square, and something magical happened there to me, and yes, political 😂. 

Pigeons 🕊️ and peace ☮️

The next thing I remember reaching dam square is that I am in between a lot of pigeons 🕊️, resembling ultimate symbol of peace - dove. 

May Peace prevail globally

Apparently, we found two very very non-controversial camps - Israel and Palestine camps, peaked opposite to each other 💀. It was quite bizarre for me to experience this. We found a nice frame that I choose to call now the frame of pseudo-paradox - Israeli and Palestinian flags, in a single frame, both wanting peace (for themselves, of course). Check out the frame for yourself 

My peak Amsterdam moment

If one has to ask me what is my peak Amsterdam moment, it would not be the places I explored, but it is one placard I encountered. I will not describe, I will show.

I could do nothing but go stop him, ask for a photograph with him. What else can I do?

He is holding one board that I wanted to scream to the world before I lose my last breath 

"We are not different from each other. Not by religion, not by countries, not by language and we are not here to fight each other. We are here to cooperate and coexist. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise please" - me

Not worth it, y'all. Not at all. 

And now imagine this: I’m standing next to a sign that says “All wars are media wars”, posing with a person from Pakistan. The emotional rollercoaster was real 💥🎭🎢. 

Baarle moment is nothing compared to this!!

I am pro-peace - I will take two extra minutes of yours for a digression. Sorry!

"Everyone is", you say? No, I challenge you. No! Not everyone is!! So many of us carry a lot of red chips in our hearts, and that includes me too - my region is more important, my country is more important, my religion is more important. But what is important? Not any of those. Every second you live - that is more important. You are here in a vast blue ball that coexists with a plethora of things that are "not you". Exploring each and everyone of them - that is more important. You are here for what? 100 years? Tops! And I assume on average you lost about a quarter of it, just for average purposes. You have very little time. Go and explore. Problems are there! Always have been. I am not going to stop them, neither can you. But do not at least subscribe to the idea. When there is no demand, there will be no cater. The next time you come across a situation where you meet someone that does not belong to 'something you, embrace it. In every damn sense!

Okay, back to Amsterdam

After this hyper-morally charged episode, we continued our journey across the streets of Amsterdam - oh boy, beautiful they were. I am sure you must have seen so many pictures from the internet, and what our mobile camera can offer. Yet, I will still flaunt some of the shots we made. You know, for some flaunting purposes 😝.

Bicyles in different colors, flavors, and sizes!

Jeez, how many bicycles? The whole town is full of people bicycles. I thought they were just exhausting when they said this town is full of bicycles. I can totally vouch for it now. 

Good luck having a random frame without a bicycle.

Seems like you don't ask people here if they have bicycles. You ask them how many!!!!

I personally loved the architecture of the city. It is majestic, to say the very least.

A random street in Amsterdam

The city has some clearcut non-capital vibes, and that is beautiful. I myself am a big fan of big city architecture, but seeing a capital this calm? I must appreciate it.

Yes, this is my cover photo!

You don't find capitals like this often. The vibe was something else.

So, how was Amsterdam?

I don't know! I missed out on a lot of Amsterdam. In fact, almost the whole city was unexplored I would say. My visit to Amsterdam was infinitesimally tiny. Mainly because of my engagements with the events and the stroll (and the photoshoot)

This is all of Amsterdam in a frame - canals, bicycles, and calm 🧡

But the city is totally worth it just and just for the vibe it can offer you. You can feel it not being an anxiety-giving high-tech city. It is a town you would die to go to. I can assure that much. I don't regret much missing out on going because I see missing out as an opportunity to do it again, as I always see that way for everything in my life ☺️. So apologies to those who did not get travel recommendations, which was not the goal of my travel blog anyways. I wanted to tell you stories, more valuable than tips. 

But, yes, as always, if I visit a place, I will have it's fridge magnet. That is a given. Here is the one for Amsterdam. 

Well, kinda cute ;)

So after a successful roaming of Amsterdam, we took a train from Amsterdam Centraal to Den Haag (sorry again, 's-Gravenhage), we roamed for an hour - got some nicely symmetric photos, which I will show you on the 's-Gravenhage appreciation post, not now! We came back home and prepared Thai green curry, watched Banda Paramasivam movie (Tamil audience, don't judge us please), and slept.

Thank you, Amsterdam, and I will talk to you from Rotterdam and Kinderdijk.

Until next time, Eet smakelijk, y’all :)