Amsterdam

Welcome to the home land. Amsterdam so far has been my favourite city, but I am also a little biased. My Oma and Opa both immigrated to Canada from Holland when they were in their late teens.  I have never been to Holland so I was extremely excited to finally visit.

The coolest way to see the city is to rent a bike. Their bike system in Amsterdam is amazing. They have the best bike lanes which are on the side walk so you don’t have to worry about car traffic. The bikes are very simple. We chose the ones in which you peddle backwards to stop. Just as a warning it takes a while to get used to.  We had the chance to visit Ooster Park, Vondel Park (where we saw a grown man in a baby costume) and ride around the canals. We walked through the Albert Cuypmarkt and left with fresh mango/orange juice and a basket of fries. When we stopped at Rijksmiseum to take a photo with the I AMSTERDAM sign they had a festival hosted by Mountain Dew. We walked around, stopping to watch a skateboard competition and a ballet performance.

 

Our Amsterdam walking tour was exciting and informative. We immediately immersed ourselves in the local culture by walking through the Red Light District. It was strange to see exposed women standing in rooms looking out at the spectators while young families walked with children. Holland prides themselves on being open minded and accepting of all people and cultures. Drugs and prostitution are legal in Amsterdam in order to reduce crime. Individuals who partake in these activities are not judged. Aside from the people, the second craziest thing was to see the variety of people who enter these Coffee Shops.  Marijuana is so widely accepted that you would see men in business suits, hippies, teens and construction workers in these Coffee Shops.

Other interesting things we heard or saw were:

• De Oude Kerk: a church located in the heart of the Red Light District. In the cobble stones is a ‘statue’ of a woman’s breast being groped. This sculpture symbolises a lot about the city. It is anonymous in form of who’s breast, who’s hand and who is the artist. It shows that Amsterdam is accepting, discrete and never flashy 
• The only remaining building of the old city boundaries, now a clock tower, was used to collect taxes from all who entered the canal system
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• Fact: over 20000 bikes are dredged from the canal system each year
• Fact: there are more bikes than there are people in Amsterdam
• Begijnhof, the hidden courtyard in the middle of a housing system that was once used to house nuns, which has kept the tradition of only housing women. If a man is to stop over for a visit he must leave by 6pm.
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• Since people paid taxes based on the width of their house, the smallest house in Amsterdam is just larger than the owner’s front door. The man who currently owns it is fairly tall so he can only sleep length wise in his house
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• Fact: Amsterdam is made up of over 1200 bridges
• Bloemenmarkt: the famous flower market) is extremely packed and plain when there are no blooming flowers
• Fact: You can take any ferry for free behind centrall station. They are short rides but it gives you a great idea of how Amsterdam looks from the outside
• Krokets are an absolutely amazing invention and are even tastier when you get it from a small shop

Chris and I decided to go into the Red Light District at night. The culture shock was extreme and we almost felt naughty looking at these women. It was amazing to watch the negotiation/ business process that takes place. We watched a group of extremely drunk men hit on one of the ladies in another language.  Now that we have been here for a month we find ourselves taken back when we hear people speaking in English. It is a weird feeling yet it is one of the most amazing things about traveling. The chance to immerse yourself in someone else’s culture.