A good couple of days

This is my first sunset in Amsterdam, as seen from the window of my hostel.

With each day that passes I fall in love with this city a little bit more. I am finally getting into a comfort zone now which is a welcomed feeling. I am walking, on average, 2-5 hours a day. I am exploring every corner and facet of this city.

Yesterday I went on one of the best walks yet. My hostel, in the museum district, is in the South West corner of Amsterdam. I walked along the Southern part of the city and into the Eastern side of the downtown area. This was mostly virgin terrain for me and I discovered neighbourhoods so full of colourful people and life.

The whole city is made up of hundreds of tiny islands. Sometimes you will cross a little canal, cross a small lane or cobbled street and then another canal — one island crossed in less than three minutes. And they act as natural dividers too, so one minute you are in an area that looks a little run down, turn a corner, cross a bridge and now you are walking along a street lined with small artist’s studios. Cross the tram tracks, which run down the main roads (in downtown a ‘main’ road has 1 lane each way with the trams in the middle) and you on a street lined with antique shops. I also found the theatre district and student’s district by the university.

The weather here is a little strange. It seems to rain 5 out of 7 days. But even when it does rain, it never seems to last more than 20 – 30 minutes at most! I am so conditioned by Vancouver where rain in the morning means there is a good chance there will be rain for the rest of the day (if not week!). And I have yet to see more than 2 or 3 rain episodes in any one day. This is rain that I can handle.

On the job front I have been receiving a lot of good feedback. The tour guide job I wanted has turned out to be a scam, but I have a feeling that will work out to my advantage. I went for an interview with a Holland-wide employment agency in Rotterdam this afternoon, and it went very well. When I got home I had two messages waiting from other employment agencies I had applied for jobs with.

I have even applied for a technical writing job. Within 10 minutes of Emailing them my resume, they Emailed me back saying they liked what they saw in my resume, and someone would contact me shortly. The next day I got a call and had a telephone interview that went very well. So she sent me a task to perform, a test of sorts, and if that goes well, I am quite confident I will get the job. I do know I am the only applicant right now. So, I have a very good feeling I will be employed within the next two weeks, which falls within my goal of finding work in April.

Two nights back I decided I wanted to be entertained, so I walked across town to a two-screen movie theatre. I saw The Darjeeling Limited, a charming movie which I highly recommend. Although it’s an American production, you would never know it. It is filmed like an independent movie and was a welcomed escape. It was a little lighter than the last movie I saw (in March with Shawn) but equally as good; In Bruges.

In order to meet as many people as possible, I have decided to move hostels every 4^th or 5^th night. The Inner Hotel (2 star hotel/hostel) that I have been in for the past 3 nights was quite nice. It was certainly better than the gloomy smoker’s paradise I stayed at for my first 2 nights in the Red Light District. However, it was time to move on this morning as my next reservation took me to the opposite corner of town: North East Amsterdam.

So, this was my day:

§ When I woke up this morning, I packed my bags and left them at the hostel.

§ I headed to Amsterdam’s Central Station for the hour-long ride to Rotterdam.

§ Had my interview, grabbed lunch and headed back to Amsterdam.

§ On the train rides (both ways) I worked on the technical writing task.

§ Back in Amsterdam, I headed to the South West corner of the city to fetch my bags.

§ Carted my bags (and myself) across town to find my new hostel.

§ Get settled in and continue working on the writing task.

This has been my busiest day yet! It has also been my most important day, and I feel it went really well.

This hostel is unbelievable. It used to be a school that dated back to the beginning of the 1900s, but has been completely refurbished and opened as a hostel in late 2007. It’s huge!

In this picture you can see the main dining room. To the left is the pub and above the pub is the lounge with the Foosball and pool table. At the end of the dining room are hanging balls followed by windows that lead to the main reception lounge. Off the reception is a computer room with space to set up laptops and a handful of PCs . In the same building (but not affiliated with the hostel) is a small movie theatre and a restaurant.

This is a picture of my room, and as you can see, there is a loft! In the loft is a double bed for couples and the grey slats close to give them some privacy. On the main floor are the two remaining bunk beds, a small table and the bathroom/shower rooms. All the beds have dovets, which I have never seen in a hostel before. This place is nicer than some of the hotels I have stayed at, it’s hard to believe this is a hostel. The renovation was done by the famous Dutch designer Edward van Vliet.

I have been walking so much in fact, I have found places by accident. I stumbled across my next hostel (the one I move to in 5 nights when I leave this place) and from the outside it looked like a dump! Right across the street was a coffee shop, so I went in and looked for some young people. I asked them if they were staying there and they were. They confirmed my doubts about that place. Great, now I know with more than enough time to meet their cancellation policy! I think I have found a real winner with this one.