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Wheeling Amsterdam
- material girls live to tell...
One of my childhood dreams was
to see Madonna live in concert. Unfortunately, the
diva has never been to keen on visiting Norway, so
I had more or less given up on the idea. But a few years ago I realized that
it is possible to enjoy travelling, even
when you are in a wheelchair. And when Madonna announced her
Confessions Tour 2006, my
friends and I decided to take a shot at getting
tickets in Denmark or in the Netherlands. And thanks to Ingrid's
talent for getting good tickets, we were suddenly
the owners of 4 tickets in the disabled section in
the Amsterdam Arena. September 3rd 2006 we
were heading for confessions on the dancefloor, and I was feeling like a
lucky star!
Since we were 3 girls in
wheelchairs who were travelling together, it was important that we found a
place to stay that was both accessible and central. Rebecca’s boyfriend were
with us as well. But even if he's the
most helpful guy on earth - he couldn’t possibly help us
all at the same time. So I started to search the net for
information as usual, only to find that it was really
hard to find access information about Amsterdam. I found a few travel reports,
but they were mostly about expensive 4 or 5 star hotels or
mysterious
coffee shops. Some of the reports claimed that Amsterdam was very easy to
move around in, and some described the city as
rather hopeless. And when I spoke to friends who had been there, I also got
the same mixed signals: “Amsterdam is flat and easy to roll around in..."
or “Amsterdam has a lot of cobble stones and inaccessible bridges and
canals”. What they all agreed on however (even my Eyewitness travel guide
said so), was that Amsterdam hardly had any
accessible toilets. I was totally confused and didn’t know what to believe.
But I decided to trust the city’s own tourist pages, and booked
2 rooms at the
Best Western Eden Hotel. The hotel only had one disabled friendly room,
but I reckoned that we would manage in a regular room as well. The best
thing was that the hotel according to the
map, was situated in the middle of the city centre.
September 1st 2006 - Easy Ride
It was with great expectations the 3 of us checked in at
Oslo Airport on Friday afternoon. Ingrid was
joining us in Amsterdam the next morning. Everything went smoothly. No queue
at the Sterling-counter. No fuzz about assistance or leaving our own
wheelchairs at the check-in. And we even managed to switch seats at the
gate, so we were able to sit together in the front of the plane.
People say it's exhausting to travel? What’s all the fuzz
about?
When we arrived in Amsterdam,
we got our own wheelchairs (still in one piece) at the plane door – and
since Schiphol is one of my favourite airports (looong distances though)
things went smoothly there as well. We managed to stuff our bags and
2 manual wheelchairs into a regular taxi (station
wagon), and off we went to the Eden Hotel.
The ride cost about 35€. The
3-star hotel is situated by the Amstel river, opposite the "Stopera" (city
hall & opera house). 200 meters in the other direction, you find the
Rembrandtplein
(Rembrandt Square) – a square with lots
of cafes, restaurants and gay bars. We were going to be quite well
acquainted with this square, since we had to cross it to get to the rest of
the city centre. We also had breakfast at different outdoor cafes here every
morning, since the hotel breakfast cost as much as 15€ per person!
The taxi dropped us off in
front of the hotel, and we went into the reception to get our rooms. “No,
I’m sorry you don’t have rooms here" the
recep-tionist told us. “Your reservation is probably for the 4-star Eden
Rem-brandt Square Hotel, through this door”, she added.
Weird! I was pretty sure that I had booked rooms
at the Eden…? The woman opened a huge door and led us into another
reception, where I showed my e-mail reservation again. “No, I’m sorry…. this
is a mistake” the guy in the other reception
said”, and now I was really getting nervous. Maybe
there had been a mix-up and we didn’t have rooms at all? Was it possible to get
alternative accessible accomodation on a Friday night? Scary
thoughts were running through my mind...
To make the
story extra exciting, I could continue
telling you that the receptionist
followed us into the third hotel in the building (The Flo Amsterdam)
and that the same thing happened there – but that
would be a lie. To comfort me, the guy said “Take it easy, I will follow you
back to the Eden-reception and clear this out.” So he did. The mix-up
finally got sorted, and we got the keys to our room. I
was staying in the regular double room, which was quite small with a twin
bed. I wasn’t able to get to the desk or the window with my wheelchair,
but after some hassle I was able to push the bed
further into the room – to make more space
for my wheelchair. After all, we were two wheelies who were camping here
from Saturday until Monday.
The bathroom was small, but it was no problem
to get into it with the wheelchair.
There was a bathtub, a regular toilet and it was no problem getting under
the sink with the wheelchair. There was no threshold to get in. On the other
side of the hall, my friends in the disabled friendly room had more than
enough space. The room and the bathroom that had a roll-in
shower and grab bars were both spacious. Their problem however,
was the lack of oxygen. The room stunk
horribly from smoke or filth, we weren’t exactly sure. Oh
well, the Eden was evidently no luxury hotel, but
we were not planning to stay in all week-end
either. So we decided to leave our lack of space and
oxygen with open windows and go for a drink and sight-seeing at the
Rembrandtplein if we could find it.
When you leave the reception
at the Eden hotel, you face the Amstel river with
Blauwbrug bridge on your left hand. And along the
Amstel you might find very narrow, cobbled
sidewalks with curbs. We soon figured out that if we turned right
at the entrance, the sidewalk
was going to be too narrow even with our small
wheelchairs. It was time to face traffic (with
help) to get to the bridge and
the right corner of the building, and I had to
admit that my thought at the time was “If all the
sidewalks are like this...this is
going to be one
exhausting trip”.
From the right
corner of the Eden, it was no problem to wheel the few hundred meters through the Amstelstraat. After a
glass of wine at the Rembrandtplein, watching the street life passing by, we
grabbed some food at a local kebab joint, and decided to head back to the
hotel. It had been a long day, and tomorrow we were going sight-seeing. And
fortunately we found, that if we turned left in the small cobbled
alley Paardenstraat, we were facing
the Amstel left of the Eden hotel. From that corner of the building
the sidewalks was just broad enough, and there
were no need for facing the Amsterdam traffic to get inside the hotel
again. Another option
if your chair is too big for the narrow sidewalks along the Amstel,
is to walk through the reception of the Rembrandt Square
hotel. But you would need help
from the receptionist to get through to the Eden reception though.
September 2nd
2006 - Holiday
After a night lying awake
all night listening to a major party at the gay
bar in the alley a few floors down, I was feeling
slightly woozy when Ingrid arrived the next
morning. But no time for complaining. After a solid English breakfast
with extra coffee, I was ready to go
sight-seeing. From the Rembrandtplein we strolled the Reguliersbree
Straat to
Muntplein and
the
floating flower market. From the guide
book, I expected an
inaccessible scenario with Dutchmen selling tulips and wooden shoes from
their small boats. But the flower market at Muntplein consists of permanent
(but floating) booths with lots of flower- and souvenir
shops. Many of them are easy to roll into. The
market ends at the Koenigsplein where we turned left and headed towards the
Museumplein.
After getting my first pair
of Prada shoes on sale, I was definitely on top of the world again.
You wonder why? Watch an episode of Sex in the City...you'll understand.
Amsterdam streets until now had been flat and easy to
move around in. So far we had not faced any difficult bridges or
cobble stones. There were nice curb cuts
everywhere, since the streets were adjusted to the many bicycles. Bikes are something you should always watch out for when
wheeling in Amsterdam. If you are in their path - they will be merciless.
After having coffee,
ice-cream and a toilet break at
Hard Rock Café (one big step to get inside but, ok toilet)
we were getting closer to today’s main destination – the
Van Gogh Museum.
But when we crossed the bridge to Stadhouderskade, I caught a glimpse of
some blue sightseeing boats that I had seen on the
Internet. And if I didn’t remember incorrectly,
some of these blue boats were accessible for wheelies. Ingrid went over to
check - and correctamundo! Four of the boats of the
Blue Boat Company are fitted with a
wheelchair lift. There was also a
small ramp
to get onto the dock. We were told which boat to choose, and decided to go on a
canal tour after we had seen the museum. After passing the impressive
Rijksmuseum, we found the Van Gogh building. It
turned out that the main entrance had quite a lot of stairs, but
fortunately there was a wheelchair lift with its own guard
present. After taking turns in the lift, all
4 of us went inside to
explore the life and paintings of the slightly disturbed painter. After a
few hours of nice art, a visit to the accessible toilet and the museum shop we returned
to life outside the museum walls, still with both ears intact.
It was time for our canal
trip. The blue boats leave from Stadhouderskade
30, and sail a 75 minute trip through the central
canal ring, passes the central railwaystation, the harbour and
Scheepvaarthuis and also sights like Anne Frank Huis. On
the way back
we even passed our hotel! Unfortunately it started to
rain just after the trip started, so the views wasn’t as good as they could
have been. But at least we were inside and happy. And what I was most happy
about, was the fact that we had been able to go on
a canal trip without pre-planning, pre-booking or making any fuzz
whatsoever, even if we came with 3 wheelchairs. That’s the good thing about
the Dutch – they don’t make a lot of fuzz if they don’t have to. None of us
had power chairs, but I think it would have been
possible to get onboard with a power chair as well,
at least a small one.
When we we got off the boat, we were hungry as
wolves, and
decided to check out a thai restaurant called
Kung next to the Hard Rock Café.
Turned out to be a good choice since they had excellent food and wine, good
service and a cool interior. Unfortunately there were stairs to reach the
toilet, and a small step to get in. Back at the hotel we had a drink in the
bar before we went to bed to get our beauty sleep. After all we had a date
with Madonna the next day.
September 3rd 2006 - Like it or not
We decided to take it easy on Sunday morning,
since we were going to the concert later on. The first project of the day was to figure out how we were
going to get to the Amsterdam Arena. We decided to check out the subway
station at the Waterlooplein before lunch. In case there was a problem, it was still time to order a taxi. And sometimes it pays off to be paranoid. We
were approached by a guard at the subway who told us that the lift at the Arena subway
station was out of order. He made some phonecalls, and with the translation
of the concierge at the Eden hotel (who was on his way to work) we were
informed that we could take the subway to the closest station, and then
there might be a car to pick us up and drive to the Arena if we called in advance. The whole scheme
sounded kind of risky. What if we were stuck in a subway station far from
everthing and missed the beginning of the concert? We did not want that to
happen. Our concierge claimed to know a taxi driver who could take us, and
told us to contact him when we came back from lunch.
After withdrawing some cash from an ATM in Waterlooplein we decided to have lunch at a chinese restaurant called Nam
Tin in Jodenbreestraat. Even if the restaurant was
spacious, with no steps to get in, it turned out to be a poor choice. The
menu contained scary stuff as bird claws, snails,
intestines and other not-too-appetizing stuff. Unfortunately we were too
polite to leave the place, so we decided to go with some chicken dishes that
didn't look too scary. The portions were huge (real countryside meals) - but
the taste was not too impressive. Maybe we were dumb to enter - but dim sum
was definitely not for us. We felt releaved to leave the place, and even
forgot to check if they had accessible toilets. According to some internet
guide, they are supposed to.
Even though lunch had been less successful, the
thought of Madonna cheared us up again. Back at the hotel it turned out to
be a huge project to find a taxi that was willing to take us to the
Amsterdam arena. I don't know whether this was because of the number of
wheelchairs, or because the consierge was trying to get a "good deal" for us
or himself. But eventually he succeded and we got a reservation
number. The taxi came, and we set a new record in wheelchair folding. The
taxi driver obviously didn't think the wheelchair bunch was too cool.
Because when we asked him if he wanted to pick us up after the concert, he
mumbled an answer about not being able to come close enough. That might have
been true, but we interpreted it as a No.
We went to search for entrance "Zuid H" (south
H) - because according to our tickets this was the disabled entrance. And
even if we thought we were early, there was a bunch of wheelies who had
found it before us. And Madonna was still doing her soundchecks, so we had
to stand in line and wait in the parking house level. Finally we were let
in, and two different huge elevators took us to the stadium level. We
spotted disabled festival toilets (nice to know) and entered the arena floor
via a hill that was not steaper than we managed to wheel ourselves. The
disabled section was a platform over two levels in the back of the stadium
floor (thank God for my new glasses), but there were people sitting behind
us as well (on the regular stadium seats) so we were not going to feel
incredibly isolated as in some Norwegian stadium shows. There was a not too
steap ramp to enter the platforms and the booths on the stadium floor were
accessible. They sold drinks, snacks and incredibly expensive t-shirts in a
poor quality. Of course we had to buy one each....;-).
The crowd was warmed up by the DJ Paul
Oakenfield. And in the one hour break between his act and Madonna, the dutch
audience made sure to keep the heat by cheering, clapping and doing "the
stadium wave". We on the other hand were building up our already high expectations with a
glass of wine or two. And finally the moment came. Madonna came on stage and
told us her secret. I will not bore you with a detailed description of the
show (you can buy it on dvd), I'll just tell you that the whole thing was
great - the songs, the show, the dancing. And we had finally seen Madonna
live. What it feels like for a girl? Amazing....
After the show we spent hours and hours in a
neverending taxi line, but I'll won't torture you with the details of that
either. Eventually
the guards waved us out of the line and got us a maxi taxi that took us
safely back to the hotel. It was time for Bedtime Stories...
September 4th 2006 - Erotica
What would be more suitable after a concert with
the free spirited Madonna, than to go sight-seeing in the Red Light District?
Some of us felt slightly disgusted at doing sight-seeing in what could be
called people's misery,
but after all this is one of Amsterdam's major attractions. We couldn't miss
it.
After breakfast we crossed the Rembrandtplein
and at
the Muntplein, we turned right into the
shopping area in
Kalverstraat (one of the main shopping streets). After buying work outfits
at Esprit and tourist t-shirts we decided to have a coffee break with
delicious sweet pancakes at a street café. It is true that many of the buildings in Amsterdam have steps to get in and no
accessible toilets. But if you look carefully, there are accessible options
as well. One good tip when you are travelling in foreign countries and in
need of a toilet is to try American junk food chains as McDonalds, Burger King
or KFC. They often have level free entrance and disabled friendly toilets.
Amsterdam was no exception. Other tips can be shopping centres, museums or bigger
hotels. We must have looked very informative (or maybe it was just Ingrid's
Madonna t-shirt) because when we were enjoying our pancakes, we were
approached by some guys who had a friend in a wheelchair. They were going to
the Madonna-show later on and was wondering what to do if they didn't have
tickets in the disabled section. We told them to go to entrance Zuid H and
hope for the best.
At the end of Kalverstraat you will find the Dam
square surrounded by Nieuwe Kerk (cultural centre), Koninklijk Paleis (Royal
Palace) and Madame Tussaud's. The square itself is covered with old
fashioned cobble stones and can be quite uncomfortable to cross. There are
smoother areas on the side, but the best thing is probably to walk around it. Behind Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) the shopping area continues, but
if you turn left at the Dam Square and walk a few blocks further you will
reach the Oude Kerk (old church) where the Red Light District begins.
The Red Light
Distric consists of a web of bigger and smaller streets, and in the area
you will find a distinctive smell from the many coffee shops (that are
mostly inaccessible) and a lot of brothels, sex shops and museums. But even
if it might sound scary, walking there in broad daylight can actually be a
nice walk through narrow streets with old and crooked houses, small bridges,
idyllic canals (some of them can be a little steap...but most of them do not
have steps) and street cafés and bars. Most red light windows are closed in
daytime, but you might catch a glimpse of one of "the female entertainers"
as the tourist pages call them. Just make sure you don't take a photo in the
wrong direction. This is strictly forbidden. After a beer beside the canal, we
headed back to our hotel, this time through the Amsterdam version of China
Town. We took a different way back, and returned to the hotel over the
Waterlooplein and the Blauwbrug bridge.
At the hotel, Ingrid left us to go back to work
in Stavanger, and we met up
with a friend of mine from Utrecht (also a wheelie). We went to find an
accessible restaurant and ended up in
Thai Restaurant Bangkok, just
around the left corner of Rembrandtplein. The place had a level entrance. It
was not very spacious inside, so it did get slightly crowded with 3
wheelchairs. But it worked out allright. Food was delicious, but
unfortunately there were no accessible toilets. And it was really nice to
meet my Dutch friend again.
September 5th 2006 - The Power of Goodbye
After breakfast we checked out of the hotel, and
went for a walk in the shopping district again. My friends wanted to visit
the Madame Tussaud's before we left, so we headed for the Dam Square. It
turned out that the tickets included an "interactive tour" and that we would
need a guy to escort us through the building, since there were places we
would be needing assistance. And due to strict fire regulations, only two
people in wheelchairs were allowed to go inside at the same time. The woman
at the counter, gave us coupons for free coffee at
't Nieuwe Kafé at
Nieuwe Kerk and told us to come back
in 1,5 hour. We decided to have lunch in the meantime and crossed the
cobbled square, to get to the café. It turned out that the place was pretty
expensive (tourist prices) but it was accessible both inside and outside,
and there were nice toilets in the basement. We thought about going to the
exhibition Fashion DNA in the former church building, but we dropped it.
After seeing the Madame Tussaud's I slightly regret not having gone to the
exhibition instead.
The interactive tour through the Madame Tussauds
starts with a big tableau of Dutch history and then you are led into what I
would call the horror department. If you are easily freaked, I would
strongly advise you to skip this part, because it includes loud and sudden
noises, people stumbling into you, and moving through a room on wooden
pathways in complete darkness. At the moment I was desperately hoping that
there were no holes in the ground I could get my front wheels stuck in.
After the horror department you are transported via a wheelchair lift (don't
know whether it would fit big power chairs) to the celebrity department,
where you can photograph yourself with wax copies of celebs like Robbie
Williams, the Dutch Queen and of course... Madonna. Been there, done that,
but not worth the entrance fee really. And it was definitely more fun to see
Madonna live.
It was time to head back to the hotel and get a
taxi back to Schiphol. To sum it up, Amsterdam was a really nice city that
in my opinion was very easy to wheel around in. The locals are relaxed
towards disabled people. They give you a hand if you need one, but leave you
alone otherwise. And even if we were 4 disabled people travelling together,
I felt very little of the usual "staring problem".
I could definitely come back to this place,
which is perfect for an spring or autumn break, even if Madonna is not the
hostess. In this life....
September
2006, Ingunn W.
