At the urging of people back in NZ, I took myself to a doctor this week. My throat had been improving, and then my voice went completely, and after that I really didn’t feel good. It is such a gamble making a doctors appointment….do you go, do you not; but according to my friend Marg ‘you can’t put a price on your health or cleaning products’, 🙂 so off I went. After checking me over, the conversation went something like this… (Me whispering as I have no voice) So will I survive the night? “Meh, maybe. It’s hard to know what you have. You could get better on your own, or maybe you won’t. I don’t know”. (Me, already wishing I hadn’t come) What does that mean? “Well, maybe you’ll feel better in 2 or 3 days, or maybe you will get worse. Maybe you’ll get better soon if you rest, but maybe you won’t, so we’ll give you some antibiotics just in case it’s bad”. (Me) So you think I should take them? “Meh, maybe, up to you, they might be good, or they might not, you decide. Do you have heart problems because they’re quite strong.” (Me) I don’t, but that doesn’t sound good. “Oh, meh, well maybe they will be ok and you will be lucky.” I couldn’t bring myself to take the pills, but did start to feel better in the next few days, which is good because I hate being sick.
I had booked an experience through Air Bnb called Humans of Amsterdam, which is like a walking tour, but includes introductions to several people whose stories represent things Amsterdam is known for. Alex is a mobile bike mechanic, Ruud and his canal boat Marleen, Sunny who is a sex worker and manages a brothel, Ludo who owns a ‘coffee shop’ (and cannabis store), and Ari the energetic entrepreneur with multiple businesses on the go. I REALLY wanted to go because I love meeting people and hearing their stories, so I was stoked to be feeling more like myself (although still with not much voice). Alexandra from Who is Amsterdam tours is our guide, and she is wonderful. An experienced story-teller, and passionate Amsterdammer, she created this experience because learning the history of a place is only one dimension, and it is the people that bring a city to life. Some of the people you will meet in person and can ask questions, others are stories you hear as you walk. I have the BEST time,which in Dutch is called having a gezellig (pronounced cheselich) time. It’s a similar concept to hygge, and as she’s explaining this to us, a man at the table next door leans over and says how cool, you’re all visitors, that’s gezellig. If you come to Amsterdam, and you have an open and non-judgemental mind, you should book this experience. It’s awesome. I loved all of the people we were introduced to, and their stories. We could ask anything and I learned new things. Especially from Sunny 🙂 who has a client that pays 1000 euro to clean her house naked while she occasionally whips him. So Marg, you can put a price on cleaning products 😉 And there was apple pie, ginger tea and local beer which is the best medicine a girl could want.
Anne Frank memorial 
Public toilet eek 
Famous ‘coffee’ shop 
Houses were taxed based on width, so they’re skinny, as are the staircases so furniture goes up through the windows 
Ari’s shop 
So much stuff! Even walking sideways is a squeeze. He supplied the TV show Mad Men with several containers of things. 
This is Ari – such a character 
He has a copy of Rembrandt’s The Night Watch painting on the ceiling (actual size) 
Café Papeneiland 
has the BEST apple pie 
Very gezellig 
Having a chat with Sunny in the red light district 
Even the bath and toilets are red here 🙂