That Ameland Feeling

Matt and I just got back from spending our extended weekend (6 days of PTO! - Queen's Day, Labor Day, a weekend, and Liberation Day) on the island of Ameland in the northern Netherlands. The island was a perfect oasis to get away from it all and enjoy some time outside.


We stayed at a hostel just outside of Hollum, in the shadow of the lighthouse. The hostel offered an all-inclusive deal that included breakfast, packed lunches, dinner, bicycles, and a few tourist attractions. I was excited I didn't have to grocery shop or cook for a few days and Matt enjoyed eating three plates of dinner and getting to skip washing the dishes.

We made good use of the bicycles and the over 90 kilometers of bike paths on the island. The bike paths go over the entire island, through the dunes, along the dike, through pine forests, and connect the four island towns. Our 4 day riding total was over 160 kilometers, and that doesn't include the walking!

Botel

Boat + Hotel = Botel

This weekend we stayed on Botel Christina in Amsterdam Inner Harbor. While not an experience for the light sleeper, it was definitely a place I'd go back again. The rooms were small and the beds short, but the atmosphere and breakfast made up for it.

And for all you wondering, the showers were vastly superior to the one in our apartment. Some genius sloped the floor so the water flows to the drain and does not flood the entire bathroom floor. The knobs also had temperature markings so you could precisely choose your water temperature, as opposed to continually tweaking the knobs the entire shower to avoid cold bursts and scalding moments. The pipes were also set up in way that allows someone to use the shower, someone to use the toilet, and someone to use the sink - and no one gets burned, frozen, or is lacking water. Maybe the genius could come redo our bathroom.

Snuffel Backpacker Hostel

We stayed in four-bed, mixed room at the Snuffel Backer Hostel - who's tag line is "the cheapest beer in town". And it truly did have the cheapest beer we saw in town - and not just the cheap stuff! The hostel was a great place to stay and we would definitely stay there again, however, it had it own quirks.

When we arrived we were assigned room 25 and told to "go through room 23 to get there". Simple enough. We climbed up the spiral staircase and opened room 23 with our key card. However, there was only a window in the room - no other door. So we thought we would try room 24 (which our key card also opened). There was another door in the room, so we thought we might have heard wrong. So we go to go out the other door and realize it is a fire escape that leads to the roof of the lower building. But hey, it's hostel and it's cheap - so Matt climbs down the staircase, across the roof, and looks at any imaginable way to get to "Room 25". Nothing. So we walk back down the spiral staircase to the bar and ask for directions once again. "Second floor - go through room 23". Okay...

Climbed back up the spiral staircase, opened up room 23, and still only a window. We looked in the shower, under the beds, out the window, at the ceiling...No room 25. So back down the spiral staircase, back to the bar, and asked once again. Response - "You are in room 24". What???

I would have thought we had made this up, misheard the nonexistent room 25, or chalked it up to a translation problem, but we heard the same story from an Australian the next night.

So, does room 25 exist? Where are you going when you go through room 23?

Also, travelers should be aware that the showers are in the next building over, you have to go through the bar to get to them, they don't open until 7:30 am, and you have to pull constantly on a cord to make the water come out. However, they have the most amazing water pressure ever and are exactly the perfect degree of hotness. Give me Snuffel's showers over ours anyday!