First day of the training.. I woke up late (8.30), rushed in and out of the bathroom, skipped breakfast and headed to the public underground garage where I parked my car. The hotel gave me a 25% discount card but I still had to cough up 25 euros for a night (8 PM to 8.30 AM). I did recall the streetname of the venue but I didn't have the number handy so I set my GPS to 1..10. It took about 10 minutes to get the route analyzed and I drove around a bit til it did. The streets of Amsterdam are REALLY too narrow and you have to be carefull not to hit pedestrians, bikers, trams or speedbumps. There are also tons of speeding cameras so I might have a few speeding tickets waiting for me by the time I get home. My GPS kept sending me in circles and I finally arrived at 10.30 (the first training day officially started at 9.30 AM). The course was pretty interesting, altough I already knew a bit. I parked my car near one of the canals when I got back at the hotel. It appears that my hotel is more or less in the middle of the red light district (the imfamous Wallekes). I hope it's still there when I get back (my car, not the red light district). This evening I ate a t the restaurant next to the hotel. The food was good, although it had some funny tasts. The waitresses were friendly but the Maitre D' seemed like a dick :) I didn't try ordering a steak again, like I did yesterday (asking a dutch person or a steak bien cuit is not a good idea). I spent a few hours in the bar, sipping some Baileys and reading a book while a bunch of Americans where flirting with the bartender (who happens to be quite cute).
Link of the day: On Radio 538, there was an (apparently well known) dutch hiphop song.. Het land van... I never heard of it before.
Anyway, you're much better off taking the subway/tram to HP. If your hotel is near the wallen, the closest subway station is either at the main railway station (Centraal Station), or the Nieuwmarkt (the front desk of your hotel will know). Take line 51 to stop "Poortwachter" (a 35 minute ride). From there it's a five minute walk.
Re:Take the subway/tram
Beatnik on 2006-01-31T18:21:55
I left my car on the HP parking lot and took the 51 back to the hotel. I got on at stop Marne, which is also a 5 minute walk:) Some fellow studentes adviced me not to leave my car (with belgian licence plates) on a public parking lot.
