Amsterdam

First of all, forget every preconceived notion you've got about Amsterdam being a haven for drugs and trouble-making. It's actually a very nice, clean city, that is very liberal thinking and progressive. Yes, there is marijuana legality in Amsterdam, and prostitution, but no, its not like Animal House. Amsterdam held a place on my list of places to go towards the middle. If I had time I would hit it up, it not, I would be too upset. When the deliberations for where to travel for my week off came up, I wanted to go for simplicity. Nowhere terribly far away, cheap tickets, a nice room. Amsterdam came up as a good choice.

I left for Amsterdam on Friday the 20th, rather early in the morning, on the Thalys train from Paris Gare du Nord. Surprisingly the ride is only a little more than four hours, that's how interconnected Europe is. The ride was cool because we went through a lot of cool cities on the way... Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium, and Rotterdam and The Hague in the Netherlands. Places that I would have liked to go, but due to lack of time and finances they were relegated to pass-throughs on the train. I went to Amsterdam with my future roommate Sara, who is in a similar situation to me, low on money but eager to get out and see stuff. We stayed in a cute-ish hotel south of the main canals in Amsterdam, a place that could have been nicer but was sufficient for what we needed.

The first day in Amsterdam was really just walking around. We ate a lot of random street food, but other than that we just looked at stuff. The main part of Amsterdam is the center canal ring. The city is well served by boats (though the are expensive) and is incredibly bike friendly. We walked through Chinatown and the Red Light District, as well as the Jordaan (the cute part). We ate dinner at a somewhat hilarious noodles place called "Wok to Walk," which we sort of grew obsessed with. Think flat top grill but less hands on and less choices.

Our second day in Amsterdam was the touristy day. We started out relatively early in the morning by walking over to the Anne Frankhuis. They've turned Anne Frank's famous annex into a museum on the Holocaust and Anne Frank's story. It's actually really well done and informative, and incredibly eerie to visit. The rooms are more or less unchanged from when the Frank family was removed by the Nazi's, although all of the furniture was taken by the Germans. There are still pictures on the walls, and certain personal effects are still there. Weird. After we had lunch at a herring stand, fresh fish sandwiches! After Sara and I visited the Rijksmueum, its more or less the national art collection. Not to sound snobby, but I was unimpressed. For dinner that night we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. We got a lot of flack from other people, but it was delicious none the less.

The third day was the one I was most looking forward to... we rented bikes! If you know me well you know that I love my bikes, so this day was of particular importance to me. Hadn't been on one since September! So being in Amsterdam was sort of like my opening of the season, and my first injury (a strange hematoma/bruise on my knee when I pinched my leg between the 100 pound frame of the hulk I was riding and the wheel casing, whoops). We rode all around the parks in Amsterdam, with no real direction or intention. It was just nice to feel the wind in my hair and whatever. And Amsterdam is so bike friendly that its something you really have to do. Fabulous day.

I feel like I should address some of the stereotypes of Amsterdam before signing off. People think that marijuana is everywhere. In reality you can only buy it legally from certified dealers at "coffeeshops." It's illegal to buy from non-certified dealers, just like anywhere else, and its illegal to smoke in public. The prostitution is a little different than I expected, and maybe a little more shocking. Most of the people selling there services display themselves in windows of buildings. So you might just walk past and turn and see something you don't really want. Public nudity is of course not allowed but its a little more skin than the normal wants to see. Strange and shocking. But the industry is highly regulated and you usually have to sign up in an office in town before you are allowed to partake. Hard for me to comprehend.

Photos:

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