Back in October, before the frost giants came to Earth and all of the world turned to ice, I had the chance to visit the lovely city of Amsterdam.
Now, before I get into telling you about my time in Amsterdam, I have to inform you that this was not my first trip to the Dutch capital. I had actually been there once before, 11 years ago, not long after my 21st birthday.
Given the reputation that Amsterdam has, you probably don't have to guess that there were a few small differences between going there at 21 and going there as an adult. So I've decided to forgo simply telling you about my trip, which would be boring as hell anyways. Instead I'll compare going to Amsterdam at 21 with going there at 32, which will also be boring, but in an entirely different fashion.
Reason for going (21): Booze! Weed! Hookers! Red Light District! Waffles and Blowjobs! Wooden Shoes! Wooden Shoes?
Reason for going (32): Running a half marathon. Enjoying the charm and beauty of the city in autumn. Dutch cheese. Museums. Heineken. Interesting restaurants. Seriously.
Travel Companions (21): I went there as part of a tour group with other American college students, many of whom were younger than 21 and had never been to a bar before. Oh, and Amsterdam was the first place we went to on the trip. I guess they wanted to get the projectile vomiting out of the way early.
Travel Companions (32): I went there with my girlfriend, along with another couple we're friends with. We planned the trip four months ahead of time. We packed sunblock. In October.
Accommodation (21): Some sort of hotel/hostel that was booked for us. There were four people to a room, it took us 45 minutes to get into the center of the city, and I spent something like 7 hours in the hotel the whole two days we were there.
Accommodation (32): A business hotel in the commercial district that I got a deal on because of my membership in a hotel loyalty program. It was a quick 15-minute bus ride to the city center, but what was vastly more important was that I racked up a bunch of loyalty points for staying there. Because after napping, there is nothing more important for a man in his 30s than the chance to use his points to save $30 on a hotel room in 2023.
Cultural Sights (21): Since it was an organized trip, we were forced to spend some time at museums. Basically these visits served as photo opportunities in order to prove to our parents that their money was being used constructively. At the Rijksmuseum I spent 45 minutes staring at paintings that I hated by people with preposterous names like Holland van der Dutch. At the Van Gogh museum I fell asleep and was asked to leave by a very tall, yet very polite Dutch security guard.
Cultural Sights (32): I had already done all that cultural shit the first time. This trip focused much more on running, napping, and the consumption of cheese.
Food (21): Everything I ate either had marijuana baked into it or was McDonald's. EVERYTHING.
Food (32): First meal was buffet breakfast at the hotel the day before the race to fuel up. The night after the race I had a lovely plate of pasta, but couldn't finish it because I got too tired and started to nap at the table. At 8:15pm. The final night I tried Indonesian food, which Amsterdam is known for, at a place called Kantjil & de Tijger. It was fascinating and delicious, like eating meat made of peanuts and imperial goodwill. Also Dutch cheese was consumed at every possible opportunity.
Entertainment (21): Booze! Hookers! Brick Houses! Sex Shows! Pool Tables! Running from the Police! Weed! Canals!
Entertainment (32): Spending 2 hours and 19 minutes running 21.1 kilometers around the city. Watching Harry Potter movies on TV. Canals. Cheese.
Reaction to the Red Light District (21): The evening in the red light district may or may not have involved attending a live sex show, getting blind drunk on something that they said was absinthe but might have just been Listerine with vodka in it, and buying a porno (on VHS!) and throwing it into one of the canals to see if it could swim. Interestingly enough, it could.
Reaction to the Red Light District (32): Asking aloud at 11am: 'Where on Earth do you buy one of those outfits?'
You make the call over which one was the better trip. Both were amazing, but for some reason I remember the more recent one a lot better. Maybe because I was actually sober for it.
How have your travel priorities changed as you've gotten older?
Now, before I get into telling you about my time in Amsterdam, I have to inform you that this was not my first trip to the Dutch capital. I had actually been there once before, 11 years ago, not long after my 21st birthday.
Given the reputation that Amsterdam has, you probably don't have to guess that there were a few small differences between going there at 21 and going there as an adult. So I've decided to forgo simply telling you about my trip, which would be boring as hell anyways. Instead I'll compare going to Amsterdam at 21 with going there at 32, which will also be boring, but in an entirely different fashion.
Reason for going (21): Booze! Weed! Hookers! Red Light District! Waffles and Blowjobs! Wooden Shoes! Wooden Shoes?
Reason for going (32): Running a half marathon. Enjoying the charm and beauty of the city in autumn. Dutch cheese. Museums. Heineken. Interesting restaurants. Seriously.
Travel Companions (21): I went there as part of a tour group with other American college students, many of whom were younger than 21 and had never been to a bar before. Oh, and Amsterdam was the first place we went to on the trip. I guess they wanted to get the projectile vomiting out of the way early.
Travel Companions (32): I went there with my girlfriend, along with another couple we're friends with. We planned the trip four months ahead of time. We packed sunblock. In October.
Accommodation (21): Some sort of hotel/hostel that was booked for us. There were four people to a room, it took us 45 minutes to get into the center of the city, and I spent something like 7 hours in the hotel the whole two days we were there.
Accommodation (32): A business hotel in the commercial district that I got a deal on because of my membership in a hotel loyalty program. It was a quick 15-minute bus ride to the city center, but what was vastly more important was that I racked up a bunch of loyalty points for staying there. Because after napping, there is nothing more important for a man in his 30s than the chance to use his points to save $30 on a hotel room in 2023.
Cultural Sights (21): Since it was an organized trip, we were forced to spend some time at museums. Basically these visits served as photo opportunities in order to prove to our parents that their money was being used constructively. At the Rijksmuseum I spent 45 minutes staring at paintings that I hated by people with preposterous names like Holland van der Dutch. At the Van Gogh museum I fell asleep and was asked to leave by a very tall, yet very polite Dutch security guard.
Cultural Sights (32): I had already done all that cultural shit the first time. This trip focused much more on running, napping, and the consumption of cheese.
Food (21): Everything I ate either had marijuana baked into it or was McDonald's. EVERYTHING.
Food (32): First meal was buffet breakfast at the hotel the day before the race to fuel up. The night after the race I had a lovely plate of pasta, but couldn't finish it because I got too tired and started to nap at the table. At 8:15pm. The final night I tried Indonesian food, which Amsterdam is known for, at a place called Kantjil & de Tijger. It was fascinating and delicious, like eating meat made of peanuts and imperial goodwill. Also Dutch cheese was consumed at every possible opportunity.
Entertainment (21): Booze! Hookers! Brick Houses! Sex Shows! Pool Tables! Running from the Police! Weed! Canals!
Entertainment (32): Spending 2 hours and 19 minutes running 21.1 kilometers around the city. Watching Harry Potter movies on TV. Canals. Cheese.
Reaction to the Red Light District (21): The evening in the red light district may or may not have involved attending a live sex show, getting blind drunk on something that they said was absinthe but might have just been Listerine with vodka in it, and buying a porno (on VHS!) and throwing it into one of the canals to see if it could swim. Interestingly enough, it could.
Reaction to the Red Light District (32): Asking aloud at 11am: 'Where on Earth do you buy one of those outfits?'
You make the call over which one was the better trip. Both were amazing, but for some reason I remember the more recent one a lot better. Maybe because I was actually sober for it.
How have your travel priorities changed as you've gotten older?