More than just a trip: What to see in Amsterdam.

Despite having the unfair reputation as just being a place to take drugs and see prostitutes, Amsterdam has a diverse range of attractions and activities to entertain, inform, and inspire. Here's my list on what you must see and what you could probably miss in the city of windmills, tulips, and canals:

1) The Electric Ladyland Museum - Tweede Leliedwarsstraat 5

I'm not going to go too in depth into this museum, and encourage you not to read about it too much, because it doesn't sound like you'd be missing much by not going. But one thing's for sure: you must visit. What initially seems like a relatively 'nothing special' bunch of glow-in-the-dark rocks [if some online descriptions are anything to go by], is turned into an absolute pleasure by the passion, knowledge, and skill of the museum owner / guide, who is clearly well-versed in the ways of the paintbrush, the UV light, and the blacklight.

2) The Amsterdam Museum - Kalverstraat 92

With free entry to anyone with an iAmsterdam tourist card, and with a variety of permanent and temporary exhibitions, the Amsterdam Museum is an irresistable proposition, and I would recommend placing it towards the start of your trip. The museum not only recounts The Netherlands' history as a naval powerhouse, the status of religion and tolerance in the country, and more 'populist' historial events, but also has an intriguing exhibition on graffiti [which conveys the links between graffiti from Amsterdam and New York, and sparks an interesting debate on what point something stops being 'graffiti' and starts being 'street art'.

3) Noomi Van Gelder's Boutique - Prinsengracht 16

Thinking of buying some souvenirs for a loved one? Don't buy anything orange - it's not really present until Koningsdag [King's Day] or an international football match. Avoid items that say Amsterdam on them, too, unless you want everyone to be silently judging you. Instead, I recommend buying a trinket or two from this lovely little boutique on Prinsengracht. The pieces are all made by the person who owns / runs the shop, each one unique in their own way. Luckily, the prices don't break the bank, and the owner is a delight to speak to while browsing.

4) Stedelijk Museum - Museumplein 10

I hate modern art, but love modern design. Thankfully, this museum serves as Amsterdam's home to both of these, and charts the rise of the modernist movement, and also shows that some pieces of modern design aren't as modern as you think!

5) A Boat Tour [most depart from just outside Centraal Station]

Okay, if I'm honest, you'll probably be able to see most of the city's sights by walking. One of my

biggest gripes with myself on my trip was that I'd end up taking a tram from Centraal Station, but would always somehow end up walking back to Centraal Station again in the course of my travels. However, the city's canals are a great way to see Amsterdam from another view point, and the tour guides always provide some helpful background information on the area and its architecture. You get one free tour with the iAmsterdam card, so why not? 

6) The Amsterdam Tulip Museum - Prinsengracht 116

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't exactly 'feel like' a museum, given its slightly small proportions. However, 

7) Los Pilones - Kerkstraat 63

Forget the watered-down, United States-influenced 'Mexican' food you see at food chains near you. Los Pilones, a local business that is now flourishing across the city, serves authentic Mexican cuisine in a bustling atmosphere right near the centre of town. Yes, that's right. I told you to go to The Netherlands to get Mexican food.

8) Museum Vrolik - Amstel III en Bullewijk, Amsterdam Zuid-Oost

This isn't exactly in a central location, but absolutely perfect if you want to get out of the hustle and bustle for a short period, or great if you're staying in the south east! The Vroliks' Museum is dedicated to biology, and, more accurately, anatomical anomalies. The museum isn't for the faint of heart, and even those with a strong constitution will be amazed and touched by some of the artefacts on display. But it is definitely worth a visit to remind you about the fragility and variability that exists in the human body!

What to Avoid

1) The Amsterdam Cheese Museum

It's not a museum. Just a cheese shop with an entire basement for PR and Marketing. Cheesy in more than one sense. Don't even bother going here just because the queue for the Anne Frank Huis is too long and you think this will keep you entertained.

2) The Heineken Brewery Experience

Again, it's more advertorial than eye opening, and don't be conned in to going because of the free bottle of beer. While I did not get to see Brouwerij 't Ij [they only run tours on a Friday], I hear it's a much better experience from a much better brewery!

3) Vondelpark and the Begijinhof gardens (unless it's summer)

Honestly, they're just parks or gardens. That's it. If you've got a park near you, it's pretty much the same thing. Though I am assured that they do become more of a spectacle in the summer months.

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TechTalk: Barnes and Noble Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight - Part One - Unboxing

Recently, I've taken up a new job in the city of London. As I live in the outskirts of London [so far north west, in fact, that they forgot to give my town a north-west postcode], this means that every day involves a 40-60 minute commute on the tube. As a result of the official rules of the Underground, whereby I can't look anyone in the eye, say anything out loud, or make any discernible or communicative facial expression whatsoever, this means that my brain pretty much switches off for around an hour every day - not so useful when you're in a job that expects you [to at least attempt] to be 'on it' from the word go.

Up until now, I've been reading books on my tablet, a three year old Asus Transformer TF101. Admittedly, it's been fantastic - it handles PDF files [such as magazines and journal articles] perfectly, and hasn't been too shabby at letting me read ePub books, either, having been my reader of choice for books such as One Day, and The Mechanic's Tale. Sadly, the tablet's starting to get a bit slow, and it's not exactly perfect for reading with on a tube packed with morning or evening commuters - turning the 'page' requires two hands [so you can't turn the page and hold onto the train at the same time if you're standing] or one hand and a nose [but I don't want to look that insane], and the tablet's a bit heavy to continuously hold for 30-40 minutes non-stop.  At the same time, reading for long periods of time can be a bit of an eyesore with a tablet.

As a result, I've now decided to become one of "them". That's right, I'm now one of those seasoned, hard-core commuters who know exactly where their oyster cards are at every moment of the day, know exactly which carriage to be on to get off as quickly as possible at their departure station, and carry an e-reader. My e-reader of choice is the Barnes and Noble Simple Touch, given that I was able to purchase one on eBay for around £40. I opted for a model with the GlowLight, so I could read in the dark without spending even more money on clip-on lights and other accessories.

Unboxing

The Nook Simple Touch is packaged stylishly in a two-part box, which slides out of a branded cardboard piece, fully loaded with information about the device, and reviews of the device - much like real books. 

The box contains the actual e-reader in one section, and the micro-USB cable, charging brick, and other gubbins in the bottom section. The device itself was packed up well in soft, foamy material, but the charging pieces were only protected with cardboard.

Getting started was pretty easy, and was achieved by pressing the power button on the back of the unit for a couple of seconds.

The front of the device features a 6 inch touch screen [that actually feels a bit like textured paper when you rub your finger over it], with an almost rubberized bezel that allows you to grip the unit well. The Simple Touch with GlowLight has a silver trim, making it look slightly different from the 'bog standard' [yes, that is a technical term] Simple Touch, which has a black trim. There are 'page turn' buttons on both sides of the screen - this means that it's easy to operate the device with just one hand, but these buttons are a little bit fiddly. The 'n' logo on the front pretty much does what you'd expect it to - wake the device up, enter menus, activate the glowlight, etc.

The bottom of the device features a Micro-USB port, allowing you to charge the device and connect it to your computer.

The back of the device has a power button that also doubles as a lock and 'wake' button, and an imprinted Nook logo.

Start-up and Setup

The setup of the device is quick and easy. Being a simple e-reader, it's not the most customisable set-up there is - but you wouldn't expect it to be. When you first boot up the device, you can select the language you'd like menus to be presented in, set up the WiFi [which will allow you to access the Barnes and Noble store to download new books - if you don't want to sideload PDFs or ePubs, that is], and test out the GlowLight. 

In general, booting up the device does tend to take a while,  but as e-readers only tend to use battery power when the WiFi is on, reading light is on, or page is refreshing, most people are content with leaving their e-readers with the screensaver on, rather than completely powering down the device.

Conclusions

My first impressions of this device are quite positive - it looks good, and it appears to function well. The GlowLight is incredibly easy to use, and the text looks quite sharp. But will it stand the test of time? Keep an eye out for my full review for details!

Gallery

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Afore Ye Go...- My Travels in Scotland- Part 1.

For years, I, like many, have heard that Scotland is a dreadful place. Wet, grey and cold, it seemed to have struck fear



into the hearts of many, and it was quite sad that I was slowly starting to believe these myths without actually visiting our Northern neighbours- so I was honoured when I finally got the chance to visit.

Departing from my cosy-warm bedroom at roughly 4.50 in the morning, I felt a tingle of excitement and a tinge of nerves- we [we being my girlfriend and I] would be flying to Scotland, and the fact that I hadn’t flown in quite a few years had rendered me slightly apprehensive, with my girlfriend not being the biggest fan of air travel either. After leaving ten minutes late, worrying that our cab driver had given up waiting and gone home [in reality, he just wasn’t able to get to my house without getting lost], and seeing that the owner of the Subway in Finchley Road would have a bit of a shock when he turned up for work [His shop door was smashed to pieces and the shop itself raided, before being boarded up with giant chunks of wood by the Met Police who left a helpful note to the effect of: “Hey, you’ve been broken into, but we’ve boarded your shop up. Call us!”], we boarded a coach to London Stansted.

Now, I try to not to be annoying- especially on journeys that require sharing several legs with another person. But I couldn’t resist, upon arrival at Stansted, trying to find locations where Matt Lucas and David Walliams filmed parts of their hit show “Come Fly With Me”, whilst doing impressions of ‘Peter and Judith’ and an attempted [and I use that word loosely] impression of ‘Precious Little’ [“Weh gat cah-fee, weh gat scallllldin’ hat wah-tah, but weh gat no coos-too-mas! So, I gaht no ahp-shan, boot to claws da shaap ear-leh! CLAWSED!” seemed to be a phrase that my girlfriend and several other passengers had to put up with for quite a while.]

After wandering around departures, going through security [where the security officer made me take off my hoodie and shoes as well as my jacket, and didn’t even give me a courtesy smile when I remarked: “Blimey, I’m gonna be freezing!”], and waiting at our gate, the time came. All the travellers stood, elbows sharpened, adrenaline levels rising. You could hear the pulses race as people rose from their seats. The appearance of a staff member at the doors of the departure gate was pretty much a metaphor for a race-starter, firing the pistol to start the 20m airport hurdles. Yes, you guessed it. We were flying with easyJet. I said earlier that I haven’t flown in years. But when I did fly frequently it was with this very airline, and the memories were suddenly flowing back to me. Aaah, yes- the “Jesus Christ, were you Tango’d, or did you just rub up too hard against Dale Winton?” orange-clad flight attendants; the rush to board quickly so you could get fresh air; the distinct smell of cheap-and-cheerful.

But something didn’t feel right. Although my girlfriend and I proved that we weren’t cut out for low-cost flying [we ended up pretty much at the back of the queue, and ended up with seats at the back], easyJet doesn’t seem to be the laughing-stock anymore. Before, you’d be thousands of feet up in the air, looking at other passengers with a look that said “Yup… I’m in the same boat as you”, and flicking through the inflight magazine and catalogue, where it became apparent that you could buy a shortbread biscuit on-board for roughly 300 pounds. Now, although the price of the on-board items is still extortionate, everything seems quite reasonable, and no-one’s laughing at easyJet like they used to. And that’s probably because of a certain Michael O’Leary, and his little ragtag team of aviation chums, also known as Ryanair; whose flights were also taking off from Stansted that morning, and were still painfully abysmal, I judged by the looks on the faces of passengers through the tiny windows on the side of their plane. Poor buggers.

After what was an incredibly fast flight [all in all, it took us around 50 minutes, which seemed to be just enough time to panic, but not enough time to get completely pteromechanophobic], we landed in a cloudy, yet still quite warm, Edinburgh.

Our first leg of the journey from the airport was by bus- the Caledonian Buses Airlink 100, which although very clean and swanky, seemed to have gone for a cheap and cheerful voiceover to announce its calling points, resulting in the words “Mariott Hotel” being chewed up and spat out as “Maria… Toh-tell”. Whilst the audio wasn’t great, the visuals were simply spectacular- both my and my girlfriend’s heads kept swivelling and tilting to look out of every window possible to examine the capital city of Scotland, which seemed to have a perfect blend of modern design and vibrancy, whilst also displaying several monuments of a very eventful history; buildings that had been erected centuries ago, nestled right in with something that could have been finished as soon as last week, with a great buzz and energy created by the people who gathered outside. Edinburgh, I decided at that moment, was a place that I would love to be in for long periods of time. Not only was it incredibly similar to London, but it seemed to be so charming. This slight
obsession [something that made my girlfriend laugh at me several times over the course of this trip] developed more and more, to the point where I now [at time of writing] am looking at transferring my University course to Edinburgh [though this looks unfeasible- it’s pretty damn expensive there]. After slowing to a halt on Waverley Bridge, a place that was overlooked by the magnificent and awe-inspiring Scott Monument, as well as the Jenners Department Store building, we entered Edinburgh Waverley Station, which, I believe, is the second largest train-station in terms of square feet in the United Kingdom [with the first being London Waterloo]. Scotland so far, it seemed, not only had a good eye for inventions [John Logie Baird invented the television], but for incredible and remarkable engineering [something that I’d also discover on the way to Dundee].



My girlfriend and I would have loved to go on one of those sightseeing tours around Edinburgh, where you sit on the top of a bus, plug headphones into your seat and get told almost every detail about a monument that you could ever want to know, but unfortunately we didn’t have time. However- I did manage to grab a free sandwich from Upper Crust [no, I didn’t steal it- but they didn’t give me a receipt with my change, which, as I found out 10 seconds before ordering, allowed me to get a refund on my sandwich], which brightened up my day to no end. Ravi’s stomach-1, Cultural awareness- 0.

After this, we walked for [what seemed like] an eternity in order to find a train that we had booked, to get to Dundee; a place that Eddie Izzard once likened to jail. Would this put me off Scotland? Would I finally find truth in those harsh stereotypes that I had once heard? Only time would tell…

My DeviantArt store, with several pictures from Scotland: http://www.deviantart.com/print/18341079/?

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