The last of Amsterdam

On my last day in Amsterdam, we cycled to Eastern Amsterdam, down Dapperstraat, to visit the local market- Dappermarkt. It is also commonly referred to the "Turkish market", the head-dresses of the women and a wide variety of Turkish food along the streets are good indication of the origins of the name. The sellers are by and large, immigrants from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Surinam and Turkey. The atmosphere in the market is friendly- and so are the prices. Needless to say, I was over the moon to discover that fact. I bought a Magenta coloured silk scarf with Turkish/Tunisia imprints on it for 3 Euros, it would have cost 9 Euros or more in town.

Cycling to the eastern side, en route to the market, is an eye-opener. At least in my opinion, it feeds my eye. We passed by the zoo, the University of Amsterdam, the hospital, the park which was beautifully framed by almost naked light green trees, more bridges and canals; the beauty of the short but fruitful sightseeing trip culminated when I caught sight of the gorgeous windmill, a trademark of Holland as we all know. To see it turning in slow wide spins right before your very eyes offers a whole different experience altogether.
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:: Me (left) & Carrie, on our way bk fr Dappermarkt::
Later that day, a few friends and I headed out to the Flowermarket. It is pretty near the main city too. It came to me as a surprise that there were flowers even in winter and then I realised that most of them were flower bulbs for people to home-grow them. Kinda D.I.Y, in layman's terms.

:: Check out these black tulips, rather unique I reckon ::

It was freezing that day, the harsh weather was quite a torment to my toes and fingers.
It was in fact, painful. My brain remembered this sensation distinctly. Gee, and the weather ain't getting any warmer by the days. I kept shuffling into random shops, taking advantage of their heaters :) And it was there that I chanced upon a Mushroom gallery ! ( 'Magic mushrooms' of course, the ones that give people a hallucinogenic effect). The owner is of Dutch and Indonesian descent and he sells really cool stuff like Weed Lollipops and Weed tea.

I'm off to Hamburg, Germany. Catching the 6:30 am train. Peace out.