The trip started on Friday, making my way to City Airport again. Seeing that any route involving a bus would take over an hour, I opted for the fastest: Central Line to Bank, DLR from there. It was supposed to take about 40 minutes. And with the lack of food in the office over summer (they've cut down on deliveries because so many are away), I didn't have much to detain me, and set off in good time - already checked in online, but they were making me print my boarding pass at the airport.
This flight was about an hour and a half earlier than the last I took from City - and what a difference that makes! The streets were crammed, predictably; the Tube was crammed, and airless. With relief, I got off at Bank - only to discover signs all over the place, directing people to take a roundabout route to the DLR. So much for my nice, quick journey - by the time we'd wended our way all over Bank Station, I must have added 20 minutes to my journey. (Congestion was the cause.) At least I got some air on the DLR, if not a seat - I was pretty woozy by the time I got off at the airport, considering I hadn't eaten either. Hey, I do believe it worked out cheaper overall than the Tube and bus option, though..
I was entering from the opposite side to last time; hey, they have checkin machines all along the corridor! Bit of a palaver to print my boarding pass - as well as the booking reference number, they required a scan of my passport. That done, I made my way to Departures - Oh Lordy, what chaos! A small airport with a big crowd in it - security was a nightmare, and small as it is, it took another 20 minutes to get through, with only one metal detector. And having to have the laptop scanned separately was no fun. They were a bit snappy, too. No, I'm not flying out of here again at busy times.
Barely time to get to my gate, never mind eat - and we would be right at the end of the corridor. Heaving the laptop around was killing my shoulder. At least I didn't have long to wait until they boarded us (had to ask twice whether I boarded front or rear, after the incomprehensible public announcement from one of the staff) - and funnily enough, another flight to Amsterdam, with KLM, was leaving from the adjacent gate, ten minutes before ours. I was sat slightly to the rear - unfortunately, given that our takeoff and landing were a bit bumpy: but the free wine and shortbread biscuits were very welcome. That, and a packet of crisps left in my bag from a previous trip, constituted dinner.
At Schipol, we had the conventional five-mile-hike to Arrivals, then I headed to the train station. Long queues at the ticket machines - oh, and be warned; I'd forgotten, but was soon reminded that ticket machines in Amsterdam only take coins, or special Dutch travel cards - no notes, no credit or debit cards. People all around were looking for change - at least I had plenty of that, and it's proved a great way of getting rid of my change since I arrived. (If you don't have it, head for the ticket desks that have people behind them.)
A nice, easy, nonstop ride then, to Amsterdam Centraal. Only 15 minutes - what a luxury! Light rain greeted me - and I decided to walk to the hotel; most of the city centre is walkable. I'd forgotten what a pretty city it is, actually!
More photos here. And the Zeedijk, which I walked down on my way, and is packed with restaurants and tourists, on cobbled streets between pretty buildings, would put the West End to shame!
I was half dead by the time I got the laptop to ITC Hotel - I'd decided to go for something a bit further along the Metro line, you see, since my sightseeing in Amsterdam was pretty much done, and I fancied being a bit closer to the Amsterdam ArenA, where this weekend's concerts are being held. Steep steps, typical of Amsterdam, lead to reception - where I immediately saw a sign saying that the advertised free WiFi is only available in reception. Just as well Three increased my EU data allowance! I checked in, paid the city tax that's always payable on arrival, and got my key card.. for a building across the road! Apparently, they run across three buildings altogether.
Immediately on entering, I saw the stairs. No lift, of course. Hell. Ah well, up I went. Phew! Checked the rooms on the first floor.. oh no, mine wasn't there.. and the next set of stairs..! Seriously, upon climbing that, I felt like I needed a ladder. Or a grappling hook. I had to take the bags up one at a time, and throw them onto the upper landing (hence the name, I guess) from a few steps down. Murderous. If you've ever been in the Anne Frank House, you'll know what I mean - they're famous for their extremely steep stairs. They never mentioned this in the hotel description - and you'd never manage it with heavy luggage!
Massive shout-out to the cleaners, who brave these steps every day with a vacuum cleaner! Also, beware of the raised lips at the base of the doorframes - could cause a nasty fall. As for my room, teeny isn't in it - it is fascinating though, to see how much they squeeze into a small space. The tv, hairdryer, and soap and tissue dispensers are all fastened to the wall, and interesting, slatted doors hide the shower and toilet. All I'd want, really, and the bed is comfy. I don't feel the lack of the phone, which they advertise on the website, but which isn't present. Expedia, with whom I booked the trip, asked me how my check-in went, and what I thought of the place - well, I marked it well enough, although I did add a warning about the stairs, for potential travellers. I wouldn't stay here again - it's too much like mountaineering.
By the time I'd rung my mother, it was after 11 - remember, they're an hour ahead of London - and too late to be hunting for food. So I headed to bed - watching the crackly tv for a while. Yesterday morning - well, there was no way I was paying for the hotel breakfast. Indeed, the receptionist had anticipated as much when he told me about it - maybe it was the U2 t-shirt that formed his opinion. Anyhoo, I didn't have to go far to find an alternative; Café Onder de Ooievaar, right across the bridge, fed me a (round!) toasted sandwich (choice of fillings), a croissant, and an apple juice, for less than I'd have paid at the hotel. Actually, the hotel breakfast is a buffet, but I'm not one of those that can eat twice the value of what they pay.
It was a gorgeous, hot, sunny day, so I meandered into town - found a street market on the way, and nearly bought there: but didn't, thankfully, since I'd just have had to carry it afterwards. A few U2 t-shirts were wandering about. I wasn't hungry yet, so mooched around for a while.. and where did I end up but the conveniently placed Sex Museum. (Ah well, when in Rome..) The price is a reasonable €5 (not the €4 advertised on the above website). I did take photos, and had them on Facebook.. but got rather sick of Facebook removing them, so I've now deleted the whole thing. Anyhoo, I spent a very amusing time here (apart from more steep stairs, which are killing me now!). Paintings and photographs - old and (fairly) new - feature heavily, and rooms have themes, such as the Red Light District, or the "Marquis de Sade" room - for S&M. It's an odd experience, going around, slightly embarrassed to be seen taking too much of an interest in anything - but it is full of interesting stuff. And the animatronic models on the ground floor, which come to life as you pass (a few of which are included at the above link) are just hilarious! Recommended, for the broad-minded.
I meandered back to the hotel after that - my phone needed charging. And after a much-needed rest, when both my phone and I were recharged, I went out in search of food before the concert. Google Maps recommended a place called Bar Moustache, just down from the hotel - but do you know, when I went there, I just thought it smacked a little of.. pretension. Just a few doors up, I'd passed a friendlier-looking Italian place called Il Boccalino, which, it turned out, had just opened for the evening. I was their first customer of the day - and was fed heartily, and without fuss, for a reasonable price. The bread I had as a starter was piping hot, the veal in cream and mushroom sauce was yummy, and as a side I chose pasta, and got a small spaghetti Bolognese! The white wine was nice, and the tartufo (home-made?) was the best I've ever had! Friendly service too.. although I had to go and chase my bill; he'd completely forgotten he had a customer (I guess it was a bit early) and was having his dinner, in the kitchen.
A short walk took me to Weesperplein, the nearest stop to me on the Metro to the ArenA. Where the trains heading in that direction were all delayed (doubtless owing to the volume of passengers). And the first to arrive, finally, was so packed that most of us couldn't squeeze on! Happily, we got on the next one, and in due course arrived at the venue. In pouring rain. There are two stops for the stadium - Strandvliet and Bijlmer ArenA; I took the latter, which handily is around the side where I was seated. Just as well, with the deluge that we had to walk through, then stand in - people around me in the several queues had sourced plastic sheeting, which they were sharing with crowds of people around them. These were abandoned at the entrance - along with several umbrellas: but then, rock concerts don't generally allow you to bring in umbrellas.
Finally I was through the turnstile, and my Viagogo ticket scanned successfully - lovely. These Amsterdam tickets were the only ones I couldn't get officially - they sold out phenomenally fast. And yes, I paid over the odds - but it's worth it, to come to Amsterdam. A unisex body pat-down (ah yes, we're in Amsterdam) and we were in. And gee, a huge flight of stairs! Ahem. It's been a while since I was here, and I obviously blanked that out. When I finally wheezed my way to the top, passing the bars (full, thanks) and merchandising stalls (got enough, thanks), was I ever delighted to see handrails! Ah, I'd forgotten that too, and what a difference it makes, when you're afraid of steps. And another lovely surprise - they'd closed the roof, because of the rain! (I'd forgotten they can, here.) It's always better with a closed roof. And, despite my seat at the opposite end, I had a good view, I think - and it's a smaller stadium than many:
The crowd was alive - a full nine times a Mexican Wave went around, even carrying onto the pitch, despite the strangely immobile couple of sections in the lower stands to my left. Until the crew decided we were peaking too early, and played Dirty Old Town a bit loud to quiet us. It was just after nine when U2 came on.
Setlist:
Sunday Bloody Sunday
New Year's Day
Bad
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With Or Without You
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers of the Disappeared
New Year's Day
Bad
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With Or Without You
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers of the Disappeared
ENCORE
The crowd were loud enough for Bono to abdicate some of his singing duties again. And it was quite special to have a closed-roof concert - more intimate, and the lighting works better. For me, that made it the concert of the tour - very glad I paid the extra.
For the first time I've seen it, the flag for Miss Sarajevo came out to left of stage - and aww, the staff didn't let it go all the way around this time! I guess they didn't want it stretching on into the next song, which it would've - still, I think it spoiled the atmosphere a little. I would've been in line to pass it on, this time, boo hiss! A better decision in the next song, Beautiful Day, when they released balloons for the crowd on the pitch to play with. Lovely! And I was delighted to see Mysterious Ways on the setlist - I think it always works well. The hyperactive dancer he pulled from the crowd, as someone remarked on the way back afterwards, really didn't want to leave - well, who would? "One" looked spectacular, as they turned off the lights, even the screen, and the crowd glittered with the glow of mobile phones. But aww, no play last night for that song from their new album, bummer.
Outside, it was pouring even worse than before - and organisation wasn't as good as I'd remembered, with a terrible queue to get into the station, priority being given to mainline rail passengers. When they finally let us in, I made my way to the human-staffed ticket desk, where the queue was shorter than for the machines. Tickets issued there are paper, but still seem to be chip-enabled, and work as well on the automatic barriers. Another wait for a train we could squeeze onto - and a bad slip for me, when I completely lost traction on the wet carriage floor! I was lucky to grab a rail, and be able to swing myself into a seat before I ended up on said floor. And despite the departure board saying it was nonstop, fortunately it wasn't, so I could disembark at that station near the hotel. Sadly, by this time it was past midnight, and all but the bars were closed - I could have done with bringing a cold drink back to the hotel with me. Never mind, I'm getting used to the stairs now. A bit.
Last night, I uploaded the photos, but blogging would've taken so long.. and I was so tired.. besides, I wanted to be up in time today to get dressed, lest housekeeping swing by (which they did, a while ago). So, I'm now looking at brunch rather than breakfast - I'll swing up to Rembrandtplein for that; it's just up the road, and has a great selection. And then out to the concert venue - maybe a bit early, if my time works right: avoid the worst of the crowds, and ensconce myself in a nearby bar. I do hope they close the roof again tonight - although the rain is supposed to clear by then. I plan to buy a 1-day ticket this time - it's valid for 24 hours, which means I can use it to travel to town tomorrow for the airport, which will be a consideration, with a morning flight. Which will make it worth my while. I could check in for my flight again, but saw they wanted to put me in an exit seat, which I don't fancy - and it would cost to change it, so I'll check in at the airport instead.
And I'll be glad to get home and change out of these concert clothes, which are getting a bit.. ripe. I saw an interesting Funzing talk advertised for that night - "Are We Living in the Matrix?" Well, I'm well overdue a free talk, with all of them that I've booked (every fourth free), so I contacted them to get a code to get this for free. Still waiting..! Despairing of them, I finally booked it on one of their limited 50% deals. It had been advertised with London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @Night - funnily enough, they both cancelled, then re-advertised. It still seems to be running, although at a different location. No loyalty points for this one, I guess!
On Tuesday, another Funzing talk - I finally get to see Jennifer Rees again, when she's giving a talk on The Psychology of Criminals. With dim sum, great! (Had to stick with a 10% discount for this one - Fun_Day10 or Fun_Week10 are the ones you want for that.) And it's walking distance from me for once, in Covent Garden. She's a fantastic and engaging speaker. Excellent.. and Helen has sensibly decided to come too. On which occasion she'll deliver all the stuff I couldn't fit in my bag, coming back from Twickenham!
I was just looking up what to do on Wednesday - and wouldn't you know it, at that moment the Pop-Up Opera sent me a mail with upcoming events. Une Éducation Manquée is a short, French comic opera, whose run finishes that day. All right then!
On Thursday, my first Meetup with Up in the Cheap Seats, one of several new groups I've joined to fill the great void left by the sad departure of the Man with the Hat. We're off to see The Tempest, with Simon Russell Beale, at the Barbican - who, unusually, posted my ticket to me. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 7th, back with Let's Do This for a vintage swing jazz evening at Wilton's.
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