Love in Amsterdam

10 years ago we went in Amsterdam for the first time, it was part of a visit to my husband's aunt who lives in Germany. I remember even now her sharp voice telling us: "You don't need any reservations! Everywhere in Amsterdam you can see Zimmer Frei! Zimmer Frei everywhere! Trust me!" We took the train, and here we were! Amsterdam! What a beautiful city! Somehow a little bit like Venice, with perfume and style, no curtains at the windows and many books through those windows.

But... surprise! The first hotel we tried to check in, near the railway station, didn't have any vacancy. The next one, the same. All the hotels in our way to the city center were fully booked. It was late in the evening, and one of the receptionists, seeing our disappointed faces, felt probably pity for us, so she ran after us with a simple question: "You didn't know is the Gay Parade tomorrow?". Noooo, we didn't know, to her huge and undisguised surprise, so she guided us to the nearest Thomas Cook office, so maybe we can discover a room in the city. But she warned us: "Don't be too optimistic, everywhere is really full!"

To make the long story short, we entered the office 5 minutes before closing time and they found us a room somewhere far, far away, we took a tram and traveled about 45 minutes before reaching the location. It was a Chinese operated "hotel", to reach the bathroom we needed to jump over the bed, the windows didn't open and it was like a ghetto. But we had a bed to sleep at night and THAT was really important.

The next two days we had seats in the front row at the Gay Parade, we visited the museums and drank a lot of bier. Even today, I found the first part as one of the most savory from our trips. 

It was funny and unexpected, have a look for yourself!