CutiCuti: Amsterdam Day 2 - I Amsterdam & Zaanse Schans, Zaandam

Assalamualaikum. Annyeong. 

Sila gagahkan lah diri meratap menatap gambar² di entri ni. Sedang berusaha sedayanya to update & upload everything from the trip. 3 more entries to complete. Aja² hwaiting Bie! Grunge stressed me up with her psycho question last night. Yeah, question related to my promise about the trip of course. I can't use the same excuse anymore, arayeo.

On my 2^nd day in Amsterdam...haruslah kan bangun awal. Although I slept a bit late the night before I managed to woke up as early as 6a. Thanks to the black curtains in my room, ndak sedar pun sunrise 4a itu. After staying a week in the UK, I got used with the local time. I was jet lag no more sebab tu boleh tidur selena alam. 

Breakfast ala ringkas at the hostel's cafe. Memang basic habis...unlike di Malaysia, breakfast paling kurang dihidang mee goreng kan. 

This museum located just opposite the road from the hostel I stayed at. And behind this building is a spacious field...tempat riadah. Yang memang dalam list untuk diterjah.

At far right of Van Gogh Museum...is another museum. Memang Amsterdam kaya dengan muzium ya.

At the left haruslah another museum; Rjiks Museum. And few blocks of apartments. Ada orang jogging di track tu, ada yang cycling, ada yang bawa anjing ambil udara segar. Kumpulan orang ber-taichi jak aku ndak nampak. Erk!

Ehem...main purpose untuk terjah area belakang VGM adalah untuk abdikan kenangan di sign merah-putih itu! Siapa datang Amsterdam mesti ndak mau lepas peluang bergambar sini. Masa mula² booked hostel, I seriously have no idea that this sign could be that near. Memang pilihan super bijak! Tapi pemandangan belakang sign tu agak cacat sebab maintenance work sedang berjalan di RM. 

I found me in between the wordings. Name I kinda despise dislike but eventually have came to slowly accept it these days. Terpaksarela!

After selesai sesi bergambar syok sendiri, I made my way to the nearest tram station. Just opposite the road where the sign is situated. And found another museum. Yang ni kalau dapat pecah masuk, harus untung besaq punya!

While on the tram I saw a very familiar name at one of the cafe along the road. Biarlah gegar, biarlah goncang. Janji nampak, boleh baca huruf double B tu dengan jayanya.

Ni public washroom untuk para wanita. But it's no longer used nowadays. Ramai sangat yang main peek-a-boo(?!?) kot.

Cab sana sangat vavavum. Malaysia jak aku rasa negara membangun dengan teksi yang sangat menyedihkan. Macam mana sayang negara ni pun, yang ndak ngam ndak kan aku puji juga kan. 

Rows of bicycles could be seen parked near Centraal Station. Kenderaan paling bersih & menyihatkan! Banyak benefit to it's user & also the community. Beratus biji basikal kau boleh jumpa dalam canal tu sebab dulu kala orang jarang lock. That was told to me by one of the local I met during lunch that day. 

Plan dalam itinerary memang to Zaanse Schans. So upon arriving at the Centraal Station, off I headed to the ticket counter to purchase my return ticket to & fro Koog-Zaandijk. The lady at the counter asked my next destination after returning from Koog & I told her I'll be going back to London via flight. I was planning to purchase another ticket from Centraal to Schiphol but she told me to just buy the Centraal-Koog-Schiphol ticket instead. Jimat duit aku! Makaseh lady counter yang sangat friendly & helpful. 

From Centraal it took less than 20 minutes to reach Koog. It's the fourth station from Centraal. Out from the train, I just followed the exit sign. And voila. Outside the station, this map terpampang teguh depan mata. Indeed, Zaanse Schans is a popular tourist attraction in the neighbourhood of Zaandam. 900, 000 visitors came here every year. Haruslah details about the place dicanang sebegitu rupa. 

Walked myself until the end of the road...and took the left fork. Jumpa kincir angin tu, kau ndak kan sesat sudah. Kira landmark paling kentara sudah tu. Kalau sesat juga memang ndak dapat cakap apalah lagi. L.O to the Ser la kan. Map pun sudah digambar, agak silap jalan perlu kot rajin buka camera & refer direction. 

Half of the bridge akan terangkat kalau ada kapal besar mau limpas di bawah tu. Traffic akan stop for about 10 minutes. Tengok gambar di atas, comel jak kan laluan untuk cyclists. 2 lanes ko! Yang paling kiri tu of course untuk pedestrian seperti gue!

Dari jauh sayup² windmills tu memanggil aku. "Cepatlah sampai BibiErr oii...lama sudah kita berjanji setia untuk bertentang mata kan". Names of the mills that I photographed from left to right: Paint Mill De Cat, De Gekroonde Poelenburg & De Huisman. *source: Wikipedia*

Finally! Nampak jak building with this sign terus rasa macam mau nangis ah. Another dream came true! Syukran Allah! 

Map of the open museum. Super luas, bertambah parah blister aku balik dari tempat ni. The entrance is free of charge. Kau boleh berguling suka suki atas rumput...boleh trip tourist berabis try terompah/woodenshoe...boleh kembungkan perut test segala jenis cheese. Semua adalah percuma. Souvenir jak lah kena keluar modal sendiri ya. 

Before ni mampu cuci mata tengok website dia jak (here)...sekali bila tengok rumah ni depan mata, memang jantung degup extra fast.

A tourist from China helped me snapped this. Sangat ketidak maluan di situ. Kalau mau self-captured memang lah ndak kan nampak terompah besar ni. Please know, that black backpack that I carried around weighed 7kg!! No wonder sampai hostel di London aku rasa macam mau patah pinggang. Exhausted to the max!

Clogs for children adalah super adorable.

How clogs are made. Dari bongkah kayu. Gila rumit! 

Creativity produced special clogs begini. Ngam jadi perhiasan rumah tapi berat adalah sangat buat aku berfikir berkali² untuk beli. Ada nanti patah bahu aku mengangkat.

Serius ah...serius!!! Mamat yang demo "How Clogs Are Made" ni adalah super handsome! Tinggi, muka bersih, suara tip top, senyuman menggoda etc etc. Memang perfect package! Selalu part demo begini aku memang jarang pay attention...but NOT THIS TIME. Harus mata aku ndak lari menatap wajah kacak itu kan. Ugh!

Hello De Huisman a.k.a The Houseman! At last, kita bertentang mata ya!

Ndak tau apa ni tapi since it looks too unique I can't help but to photograph it.

My fav shop! 

Kenyang perut test segala macam jenis cheese di sini. Exclude the goat milk cheese lah. Sikit termuntah aku sebab lain betul taste dia. Although lamb adalah fav, still cheese tu ndak dapat diterima sistem. 

Super cute shop. Semua barang dalam ni memang comel! 

Bungkus & buang niat untuk tapau handmade handbag ni. Harga dia terlampau comel. 189...in EURO ah!!

Alangkah seronok kalau ada rumah begini...backyard siap ada tempat memadu kasih bersenda gurau di kala petang. 

After nearly 3 hours at the museum, I walked back to the train station. Stopped at Centraal. Mula tu plan mau join river cruise for an hour tapi sebab perut sudah start menyanyi, jadi aku dulukan permintaan badan. I have few more hours before my flight to London with EasyJet that evening. Jadi aku ronda lagi area di Centraal Station & Dam before bidding farewell. Mau juga cuci mata tengok pemandangan time siang as I arrived a bit late the day before. 

My lunch. Super lemaks di situ. Daaaaaging jak lah yang masuk sistem aku di sana. Yang ni aku request for additional cheese since cheese murah kan sana. And aku memang hantu cheese. Trip macam local, menikmati lunch nan sedap mengadap pedestrian walk & that building. Kunun lah sambil makan cuci mata tengok orang limpas. Betul bah P to the Yo.

Kalau aku borong something from this shop as souvenir...gerenti baru touch down Gatwick Airport, beg aku sudah kena selongkar kan. 

Swarm of people at the platform. Departure time to London was at 1645, I have to be there 45 minutes before departure. Since aku ndak pernah jejak Schipol Airport so I decided to depart early from Centraal.  Plus minus sesat, train journey lagi. Lucky enough I have checked-in online ever since I arrived London from Ernie's. 

Ada prayer room...ada museum. Memang wow!

Free seating flight. I chose the farthest seat at the back. Paling penting tepi aisle supaya senang keluar masuk lavatory. Masa aku snap ni keadaan masih tenang aman damai. Aku jadi peramah juga chit chat sama husband+wife yang duduk sebelah.

An announcement was made. Due to strong wind...flight was delayed for an hour. Mula tu semua orang yang ada urusan penting in London memang mengamuk. Ndak kurang yang komplen itu ini. Sekali sudah boarding, tengah cabin crews hidang drink...seat belt sign suddenly appeared. Kapal bergoncang, turun naik tiada ampun. Rasa masa tu memang jantung mau tercabut ada. Everytime the plane turun mendadak, aku ndak missed berteriak. Malu? Ndak da kot since mostly all the women in the flight pun berteriak panik. Trolley limpas super laju betul² sebelah aku. And hit the cabinet at the back of the plane. I couldn't cry because I was too panic. The husband comforted his wife...and moi! Ndak pasal double tugas dia hari tu. I covered my face with my jacket & started praying. Ntah apa jak lah doa aku time tu I totally couldn't recall at all. In that one hour twenty minutes journey, we only had barely 20minutes smooth flight.

Upon landed, I thanked the man next to me for his help. Also the cabin crews for their great job, tenang dalam gemuruh I bet. Diorang tetap ndak tunjuk sikit panik pun depan kami. I even heard the stewardess said "To date, this isn't the worst flight. I experience one; twice this turbulence before". Ok, saat tu juga aku rasa mau cepat turun kapal & pijak tanah! 

Berabisan lagi tu regret kenapa lah ndak naik train jak dari Amsterdam. Tapi bila fikir balik, banyak bah tu boleh save cost. Around £60 difference; pasal tu aku pilih flight instead of train. Budget punya pasal...I successfully gained one super helluva experience. The longest one hour in my life; as I told the steward before hopping off!!! Antara hidup & mati ok tu perasaan di atas sana. 

Nevertheless I truly enjoyed myself there. If one shall ask between Paris & Amsterdam, with wide smile I will answer...

"I pick the latter (Amsterdam). Because I just love the tranquillity & calmness the city brought me". 

Insya Allah, dipanjangkan umur aku mau ke Holland lagi. Keukonhoff, the spring garden of Europe is currently in the list. Bila akan sampai lagi? One day...one day, amin! Mahu trip filem Hindustan guling² atas padang bunga gitu!

Ala postcard picture taken by yours truly. Mau developed & framed. 

What a journey...lost in Paris, turbulence in Amsterdam. Alhamdulillah masih bernafas up to this moment. 

p/s Dana, ni lah scary flight aku cakap tu ari. Hahaha.

eryantierdabdulkarim