Biking in the rain sucks a$$!
Trip Start
Aug 28, 2010
1
6
Trip End
Sep 18, 2010
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Friday, September 17, 2010
So back to my euro trip. I was headed to my last destination...Amsterdam! Before Amsterdam I did a stopover for a few hours in Brussels to checkout the capital of Belgium, NATO and the EU. Similar to Brugge, it had a market square. I took a few pictures of market square and didn't stay long b/c it was raining. I had stopped by a pizza/pasta place for lunch. What was interesting I had overheard a lady beside me saying she was from Toronto. Now not saying anything, she said that I must be from Canada. I said yes and asked how she knew and she said it was b/c of my North Face jacket. Hmm...I thought to myself if North Face is the face of Canadians. I was thinking if I had worn a MEC jacket then for sure that would've given it away.
Now I wasn't sure when I caught it but waiting for the train in Brussels MIDI I started coming down with a cold or flu. The whole train ride to Amsterdam was unbearable and all I was looking forward to was a nice bed to rest. While I was waiting for the train on the platform I caught a glimpse of what I would consider a dutch. My guidebook said Dutch folks are among the tallest and attractive people in Europe. I was staring at a blonde girl who had to be over 6 ft and I gotta admit she was pretty attractive. Hmm...more of things to see in Amsterdam.
When I had arrived at the Central Station, I was initially thinking of renting a bike (yes Pat, a bike...something that you're unable to do) and biking to my hotel. But after seeing the rain and realizing I was carrying 20 kg I decided to take the tram. Thank god the tram ride was only 10 minutes and the walk to the hotel another 5 mins b/c I just checked in and went straight to bed. I did wake up to grab something to eat. The guy at the hotel suggested a thin crust pizza place close by and I'm glad I took his advice. The pizza was phenomenal and more of the dutch physical attributes was substantiated at the restaurant to say the least. Although Dutch people might be attractive I must admit their language is not. I overhead the dutch folks at the pizza place and it sounds like they're drunk when they speak. Almost a slur speech. While walking back to hotel I passed by a pintxos bar. Hmm...it brought back memories of San Sebstian and I guess I did miss those tapas.
The rest of my time in Amsterdam I had visited the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum. Now Amsterdam's weather reminds me so much of Calgary. While biking to the museum, it was sunny and by the time I got out of the museum it was raining. That was the weather everyday I was there. After visiting so many museums during this trip, I would say I enjoy the Dutch paintings a bit more. They mostly use darker colours but their sharp attention to detail is what I most liked about them. After visiting the Van Gogh museum, I'm starting to become a fan of his work now. What I found amazing was he was for the most a self-taught painter/drawer and he's artists career only spanned 10 years but he produced about 1,000 paintings and even more drawings. The tragic part and typical of anyone famous, he did not have a huge following until after his death.
Another time I had visited a Cannabis College. Lets say it was interesting what people can do with the cannabis plant besides just smoking it. I saw a snowboard and skateboard made out of hemp. The guy running the place said a lot of the car makers (incl. BMW and Mercedes) use hemp in the interior of their vehicles. Of course I'm sure they wouldn't really promote it that much. Now of course Amsterdam are famous for their 'coffee shops'. Just to clarify a difference. If you want to buy a joint, you go to a coffee shop (popular one being Bull Dog). If you want to get a coffee, you go to a cafe. These coffee shops are highly regulated by the city. I swear the city has a sweet deal legalizing marijuana and prostitution. Coffee shops are only allowed to carry a small amount of marijuana. The bylaws restrict no advertising of the cannabis therefore when you're there you need to ask for the 'menu'. Of course they're also famously known for selling 'space cake'. I've been warned that you should eat it and find somewhere quiet where there isn't a lot of people around for about 2 hrs after you consume it. I heard a horror story of people consuming too many of them b/c they didn't get a kick right away and then going to a museum afterwards. Then they get high and start laughing out loud in the museum. They were eventually escorted out off of the premises. :) Now did I try 'anything' in these coffee shops...well..."What happens in Amsterdam, stays in Amsterdam". I read somewhere the Dutch gov't is starting to crackdown on coffee shops that are within a certain radius of schools. The irony in this is they allow a pre-school in the red light district but not a coffee shop. Now that leads me into my next interesting adventure.
I had done a walking tour in the red light district. It was definitely an eye opener and I really enjoyed it b/c after that tour I had quite a different view of this district. During this walk I discovered Amsterdam had the oldest stock exchange in the world and it was the first one to issue a stock for the Dutch East India Company. Now I'm sure everyone knows the Netherlands are known for their tulips...well at one time their stock exchange actually exchanged tulip bulbs to represents the shares of companies. I thought that was interesting. Back to the tour, the tour guide we had was awesome. He was quite knowledgeable and entertaining. It helped he was a retired teacher. :) The things I learned from him was the rooms with the windows that the prostitutes are in are for the most part owned by the city. They rent the room from the city for each night or for several nights. He said there are CCTV cameras everywhere in the area and each room have a panic button. Taking photos of the prostitutes is strictly prohibited. If they see that you are, they press their panic button and within 30 seconds the police will show up or a big burly bouncer will come out of nowhere and take your camera and throw it in the canal. Because of the CCTV and police presence, the red light district is quite safe. It's also quite safe b/c there are tonnes of tourists in the whole district. What's interesting to learn is there is an old church and a pre-school in the red light district. He said the district is actually a desirable part of the city of live-in b/c it's close to everything. You actually have professionals like doctors and lawyers living the area. On top of that I saw 2 Salvation Army ladies giving biscuits and refreshments to prostitutes and just asking them how their evening is going. Lastly, these ladies have file a tax return.
That is what I find fascinating about Amsterdam. There is such a high tolerance towards differences in religion and ethnic groups. I think the only way for the red light district to operate like it does in Amsterdam is because of this tolerance. They are quite liberal to a lot of things and their thought is if nobody gets hurt then it's okay. The tour guide said there are about 170 countries that are represented in the city. Amsterdam has historically been a safe haven for so many people in the world. It was sad but I didn't get a chance to tour Anne Frank's house b/c the line up was too long. I'm pretty sure I will go back again to Amsterdam.
I really enjoyed Amsterdam and it's not because of the coffee shops and the red light district (albeit it was a bonus). I loved the townhouses, the canals and the fact they're so bike friendly. Plus people in general seem quite happy...maybe it's the cannabis but hard to say what it is. Plus there is a good balance in terms of work/life. The pace is not so fast but just enough. I wish I had more chance to explore it but I was quite sick the first few days. Thank god they have a direct flight to Amsterdam from Calgary. :)
It's sad that my trip has ended but in a way I did get homesick too. I actually missed the regular routine. But I'm already thinking about where to go next year.
Tri
