Lisbon Or Amsterdam?: The Battle For The Top Spot, Pt.2
In the first chapter of this little getaway we spent six days in Portugal, the first three in Lisbon, followed by two in Coimbra, before a final night back in Lisbon. Now it was time to move on to what has been my favourite city in the world since my first ever visit there, Amsterdam. We absolutely loved Lisbon though, so would the Dutch capital maintain its standing? Was it as awesome as I remembered or was I just romanticising the past? I’d have my answer soon.
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
It was rather late in the afternoon by the time we were out of the airport and had checked in to our hotel so we went out and had a look around the shops and almost immediately I remembered something about Amsterdam that can be a little bit stressful at times; not only are there millions of bikes in the city, but the cyclists are psychopaths! Around the city there are bicycle lanes between the footpath and the road and often it can take quite a while to cross the bike lanes due to the sheer number of people riding, many of them reaching speeds you wouldn’t ordinarily think possible outside of a competitive environment. Sure, some of them are e-bikes which probably helps, but the people riding traditional cycles faster than the cars in the city must have quadriceps of steel and perpetual saddle sores.
We strolled around several streets of an extremely crowded shopping area in the Centre region to make the most of being somewhere where I can easily find clothes and shoes that fit me while encountering possibly one of the shortest and essentially pointless escalators I have ever seen in T.K. Maxx, and before long it was time to start looking for somewhere to eat. Anna knows that I like to eat everything, she’s now a lot more adventurous too, and fortunately Kaagman en Kortekaas was nearby, a place that markets itself as being “Courageous cuisine”, but is essentially nose-to-tail dining. We were seated next to an older American couple, having conversations with them that got increasingly funnier as they got more drunk. The food was fantastic and it wasn’t revealed to us until after we had completed the meal, but I had to be careful while eating, because what turned out to be pheasant was so fresh it still had small pieces of lead shot in it and I definitely didn’t want to ruin our time here by breaking a tooth on our first night in town. Also, the dumplings we were served turned out to contain lamb testicles and younger me would never have thought I would say this, but it wasn’t the first time I had eaten them, having ordered a bowl of stewed goat knackers last year while we were in Jordan.
The escalator, the lamb balls among other dishes (most of which I can’t recall), and some sights from our walk back to the hotel:
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
Anna wasn’t required to attend her conference that day so we just spent the afternoon walking around. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and despite the danger imposed by the mad cyclists, it’s a great place to explore on foot, made a little easier due to the fact that the days were in the low to mid 20°s (68-77°F), as opposed to trying to climb hills in heat pushing 40°C (104°F). Don’t get me wrong, I prefer a hot day over a cold one any day, but this mild weather made it more pleasant for wandering around the entire afternoon. Naturally we began by finding a place for coffee, but before we could we encountered several interesting shops as we always do, especially a bookshop where quite a lot of what they had was there solely to mock world leaders, particularly Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin. Eventually we got our caffeine fix and then wound our way around the canals, Anna trying to convince me that we had once stayed in one of the boats moored along the way. I have no recollection of that ever happening, which is really no surprise, but those canal boats look like something I would struggle to fit in so I may have some vague memory of perpetual lower back pain on a previous time here.
Around mid-afternoon we were beginning to get a bit peckish so Anna decided she wanted Dutch pancakes, one of her favourite desserts, so we settled into a place for some before making our way back to the hotel so Anna could change into something a little warmer for the evening.
I didn’t take a whole lot of photos of the city, because there are plenty to be seen in my other posts on our Amsterdam trips, but here are some shots from the day thus far:
Our friends, Sredej and Noelle, have lived in Amsterdam for the past few years and had booked a place for dinner, but first we’d need to kill time while we waited for them to knock off work, however, that’s not difficult in this town so we were soon back out on the street. We had a look around more shops, me finding the original soundtrack to a bizarre, French, animated film that I love, La Planète Sauvage, and I would’ve bought it for what I thought was only €25.00 (US$26.90), however, I had mistaken the faint number four at the beginning of that price for the euro symbol! Hard pass. We continued onward past the Cannabis Museum, once more walking along the canals, before stopping off for a beer or two at Bier Fabriek, a strange, chicken-themed microbrewery that was actually really good.
Before long we received the call to meet Sredej and Noelle in their neighbourhood of Rapenburg so we walked down and had some pre-dinner libations and a fun catch up session at a favourite cocktail bar of theirs, Hiding in Plain Sight, before going for another great dinner, this time at Gebr. Hartering. We continued to drink and chat while chomping down on local fish, bone marrow, and other treats, but all too soon it was time for the pair to go home, however, it wouldn’t be the last time we’d see them. Anna and I are late sleepers and it was a little too early for us to hit the hay so we continued on to pub full of students close to our place and near the Red Light District, Bar Jones, for several nightcaps, all the while playing some peculiar card games and me receiving a Prince biography as a gift from the barman, before Anna once again made me snap a picture of their wallpaper on the way out.
Later Wednesday afternoon and evening:
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Anna would be at the conference all day which meant that I was left to my own devices and I thought it would be cool to check out some other areas so I had a look at the map and found some stores to visit. As usual these were mostly secondhand stores and I found some great stuff, but most of it was either too expensive or if it was clothing, too small and that included a couple of really cool retro wrestling t-shirts. Well, at least I got that Randy Savage shirt in Lisbon.
As I progressed further out of the centre of the city I began to notice something weird, something I don’t think I ever realised here before; there were a significant number of really small and narrow cars parked around the place. It reminded of an episode of Silicon Valley where Peter Gregory drives off in a skinny car (right) and I remember thinking that was hilarious when I watched it, but little did I know that they actually really exist and, unlike in the show, you don’t have to be a billionaire to own one, because there were more than a few around. There was even one that looked like it could drive in the bike lane, but it would probably be slower than the cyclists. One thing’s for certain though, I’d be fine driving one of these around a city if I could fit, but I’m not sure about opening it up properly on a freeway!
After passing an enormous queue of people trying to get into the Heineken brewery and doing a bit more shopping I had seen what I came to see and was now heading back to the Centre area of Amsterdam, but soon i received a message from Anna saying that her and some of her colleagues including our friend from Florida, Jesse, were having a drink back from where I had just come so I did a u-turn and joined them before having some dinner and a few more quiet drinks.
Some great secondhand stuff that I couldn’t buy, skinny cars, and the ophthalmology crew:
Friday, October 6, 2023
There was nothing for Anna to do at the conference during the day, however, the conference ball was that night so we just spent the day roaming around different areas of the city, looking at canals and statues until it was time to get ready and hit the road. The location was inside the National Maritime Museum and although the museum wasn’t difficult to locate, navigating the building itself was quite hard, but we eventually found the ballroom, although the toilets took a little more effort due to being on a different floor.
These balls are 90% mingling among doctors, but there is a little bit of smalltalk I can get involved in, especially now that I know more people at them and I really hit it off with some at a conference in Sydney in August so it was great chatting with them again. The rest of the time I can find ways to occupy myself, plus the food is always good and the drinks are free so I don’t mind going, even if I don’t have a clue what’s going on most of the time.
The ball ended earlier than expected so some of us younger attendees went to an afterparty of sorts at a nearby bar, but one of Anna’s colleagues kept trying to convince us to take the bus there. The building was close but he continued attempting to get us to board a bus, eventually giving his reasoning using the most Singaporean logic possible — He had bought a bus pass for the trip, but didn’t feel he was getting value for money. He could’ve just caught a bus there himself, but he decided to use common sense, conceded defeat, and walked with the rest of us, which was far faster than waiting for a bus and it winding its way to the building anyway. This city is beautiful at night so when we arrived we caught an elevator to a high floor and closed out the evening with some drinks, conversation, and a beautiful view.
Some city scenes, the ball, and the afterparty:
Saturday, October 7, 2023
The last full day of our European getaway was upon us And Anna would be attending the conference all day so I did what I had been doing the previous days before Sredej messaged me to meet up with him and Noelle for a drink, this time at the Brouwerij ‘t IJ brewery, a name I will never be able to pronounce correctly, later that day. The Brewery is housed in an old windmill in an area near the Maritime Museum and it was a long walk, but a good way to spend the afternoon so I began to make my way down there, passing a building that we couldn’t figure out the previous night, but turned out to contain a massive, slanted outdoor area. About 45 minutes later I arrived at the brewery and it was packed! Fortunately Noelle already had an outdoor seat there and soon Sredej arrived too so we spent a couple of hours just chatting and drinking, but for some strange reason they were doing an Oktoberfest special so not all of their beers were available, just mainly lagers, but not a big deal. At one point a classic car pulled up out the front of the bar and an old rock band just busted out and started playing on top and they were actually pretty good too!
Before long we had to part ways as I went to meet Anna and Jesse for a post-conference dinner and drinks, but here’s what that afternoon looked like, including more wallpaper from a bar from later in the night:
Sunday, October 7, 2023
We would be flying out that night, but there was still time to have a final look around, partly so I could take advantage of being able to buy shoes that fit me and I definitely needed a new pair of sneakers so I backtracked to several of the sporting goods and sneaker shops and opted for this pair of low-cut Jordan IIs, and it goes without saying that I’m pretty happy with them.
By this point there was really only time to have a final lunch with another one of Anna’s old high school pals who now lives in Amsterdam, Mali James (left), before it was time to check out of the hotel and slowly head off to the airport for the journey home, again with a layover in Istanbul.
That was the conclusion of our trip to both Lisbon an Amsterdam, one that had us considering purchasing property in the former and attending a conference in the latter, but there was an alternative motive for these two recent entries in my blog. As I have mentioned many times, Amsterdam has been my favourite city in the world from the first time I ever set foot there back in 2015, but how does Lisbon stack up in comparison? Well, let’s have a look at some key factors:
|
Factor |
City |
Reason |
| Weather | Lisbon | I’m not a fan of the cold and the days were rather warm in Lisbon, the nights were perfect, whereas at the same time of year we had to actually think about what to wear with our pants in Amsterdam and also bring something extra along for cool nights. Then there are the chilly winters. |
| Safety | Amsterdam | The margin on this one was narrow and Lisbon has been voted one of the safest cities in Europe, however, we never got approached by people selling drugs in Amsterdam, plus we made the rookie error of walking through the city square at night in Lisbon. On the flip side, the cyclists are CRAZY and dangerous if you aren’t watching when you’re in the Netherlands’ capital, but at least it’s not as prone to earthquakes. |
| Food | Lisbon | Portugal borders Spain, plus sardines are everywhere and there’s a national stew consisting of meat, beer and pickles. Enough said. |
| Nightlife | Tie | We found great bars and pubs in both cities, something we have a knack for wherever we go. |
| Sights | Lisbon | The beautiful tiled buildings, the forts, castles, and the incredible street art make Lisbon the winner, but that takes nothing away from Amsterdam’s charm as well. |
| Culture | Lisbon | With the sights above, plus people just randomly busting out dancing, this one is an easy win. |
| Ease of Getting Around | Amsterdam | The bulk of European cities are made for walking and most of Amsterdam consists of concentric circles on flat ground, while Lisbon has narrow, winding streets over seven large hills, however, there is an extensive tram network there. |
Conclusion:
I love Amsterdam, it’s a fantastic city and I will happily visit every opportunity I get, but if we’re going to purchase a place, not only is the process easier in Lisbon due to the Golden Visa, but the food, weather, and overall affordability are so much better, plus walking up all of those hills will keep us fit and healthy. Of course we would still have multiple weekend getaways to the Netherlands when we’re there.
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