Oh Amsterdam... A city that has a reputation for sex, booze, and weed. The "sleazy" city in which everything goes. Well after spending just even a little bit of time there, you notice that the city has more to offer than just its reputation. We arrived in Amsterdam and immediately booked our overnight train from Amsterdam to Berlin for two days later. That right there was a load off of my shoulders. We walked to our hostel and discovered that it was the most "bro" of places. There were barely any other girls in our hostel, there was only wifi in the bar, our bathroom door didn't lock, and the shower, my last hope of saving this place, had hair in the drain and only flooded at my feet. Oy vey. Hopefully the city was going to save my thoughts on Amsterdam...
We tried to get to the walking tour of the city on the first day but saw that we were late. The tour was already full. This was a shame, but wasn't going to stop use from exploring on our own. We usually try to make a walking tour on our first day to get an idea of the city, where to go, what to look for, etc. But we knew of one place we wanted to definitely go to: Anne Frank's House. It was a little bit of a walk from the center of the city, but when we arrived, we saw that the line was quite long; 30 minutes long. Supposedly this was actually pretty good for a wait. The line would sometimes go an hour long. We jumped in line and shuffled our way into the museum. Now this wasn't just some house that was built to look like a replica of Anne Frank's house. This was the actual thing. For some of you who maybe haven't heard of the story of Anne Frank, here's a short summary: Anne Frank was 13 years old when her family went into hiding from the Nazi party. She had dreams of being a famous writer someday, and kept a diary of the nearly 2 years her family hid. With the help of Otto Frank's (the father) fellow workers who were not Jews, the family of 4 plus another family of 3 and a single gentleman lived in hidden quarters behind the workshop. Unfortunately, they were discovered and sent to concentration camps. Anne died in Auschwitz one month before liberation, and Otto was the only one to survive. He returned to the workshop, where he received Anne's diary. Walking through the workshop, through the famous bookcase that hid the families, as well as the actual hiding spot was overwhelming. Anne used to paste magazine pictures to the bare walls to add some decoration. These are still on the walls today. Along the walls are painted quotes from her diary which added to the haunting feeling as you walked through the house. You heard and saw interviews from the helpers, from Otto Frank, saw pictures of Anne and her sister Margot. It was very emotional and hard to walk through. But definitely one of the most rewarding experiences I have gone through.
We continued to walk through the streets of Amsterdam and saw it come to life a bit at night. One of the most beautiful parts of Amsterdam were, of course, the hundreds of canals that made the city one of the most important port cities in the north. And what better way to see Amsterdam than by boat?! We decided to take a wonderful canal cruise just as the sun was beginning to set. It took us along some of the most important canals in the city, and the sights were simply wonderful. The houses that are built in Amsterdam are tall and extremely thin (we learned later that the wider your house, the more taxes you had to pay). We saw some wonderful house boats that once used to house poor students and the homeless. Now, it's the most expensive housing in Amsterdam. Funny how that works. The weather was a little uncooperative on the tour, and we unfortunately had to close some of the windows. But as the sun went down, the lights reflected off of the water, illuminating the streets and creating a romantic and picturesque setting. It was a wonderful way to end the day.
The next day, we got an early breakfast and got to the meeting point for the walking tours early to make sure that we definitely had a spot. Our guide, Cornelia, took us through some of the most important points in the city including Dam Square (where the city was founded), the churches which are now museums, the birth of the Dutch East India Company (as well as the headquarters), and the tolerance of Netherlands policies. A lot of people believe that weed, prostitution, and other "crazy" acts done in the Netherlands are all legal to do. Well, this is wrong.; these acts are all tolerated, which has been the Dutch way of life for quite a long time. #1: Smoking weed in Amsterdam is NOT legal, it is tolerated. The Dutch believe in limiting and tolerating things before it gets to crazy. For the most part, you're only allowed to smoke in coffee shops. The Dutch thought if they give smokers an area to smoke, it'll contain it. Also, smoking is mainly a tourist activity. 60% of smokers are tourists. It's boring to the Dutch because there's no "excitement" of getting caught or anything. #2: Prostitution IS legal in Amsterdam. However, the city is now trying to limit the amount of prostitutes in the city down to the main street of the Red Light District. They are making progress doing this, converting the old brothels into shops. #3: For a while, Catholicism was banned in Amsterdam. But, like everything else in Amsterdam, if it didn't hurt anyone and was making the city money, then it was tolerated. There were secret Catholic churches around the city that Catholics could go to pray. The walk was very informative, and I started to actually voice record a lot of these tours because there was too much information to remember and duh, history teacher (hopefully soon).
After the walk, we followed the guide to a little restaurant where I tried "bitteballs," a fried ball of dough that contained "mystery meat." It's a delicacy in the Netherlands, and they were actually pretty good. Corinne and I followed along the canals to check out some of the markets on the opposite side of town. There was a little bit of everything: Amsterdam souvenirs, shoes, clothing, old trinkets, jewelry, and much more. There was loads of the blue Delft pottery that I wanted to bring home. But, alas, glass and traveling do not go well together. We had no plans for the rest of the night, so we decided to sign up for the tour of the Red Light District. Part of us felt that we kind of had to see the Red Light District in its glory since we were there. We noticed that a lot of people who were on the walking tour came back for round 2 with Sandeman New Tours, so that was wonderful to see. Our tour guide, Gerrt, has been the best guide we've had so far! He was full of energy and full of fun and interesting info, all of it coming from fact or "experience." He told us some of the history of the District, some of the theories behind the "red light," and showed us some of the most interesting spots in the District. I must say, I was less embarrassed walking through it being with a group that was laughing along with Gerrt and everything else. It was one of the most enjoyable tours we've been on. We ended the tour at a bar where we ended up talking with a lot of the people our age and hanging out. Gerrt joined us and showed us a couple more bars and walked more through the District. It was a lot of fun meeting the other people (Canadians, Australians, Scots) as well as being shown around by a local. Definitely one of the more fun nights we've had so far.
We had an overnight train the next day, which meant that we still had a good amount of the day to explore more of Amsterdam. We checked out of our hostel, put our luggage into a safe at the train station, and set off to see some of the southern sights, including the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. The trams were slightly confusing, but it was a beautiful day and we decided to walk the 30 minutes down to the Rijksmuseum, which holds quite the collection of Renaissance art. We skipped the museum and visited the famous "I amsterdam" sign that is located right outside of it. We managed to get some beautiful touristy photos, but we kinda had to do it. We continued down past the Van Gogh museum to the Vondelpark where we had ice cream, sat by the water and relaxed. It was gorgeous outside. People were laying out in the sun, listening to music, playing games, and just enjoying the day. Being in the park was a nice getaway from the city, and it gave us a bit to rest our legs.
Part of me felt that since I was in Amsterdam and there was a whole museum dedicated to one of my favorite painters, I couldn't simply just walk past it again. So Corinne and I decided to do our own separate things for a while and then meet at the train station. My choice: the Vincent Van Gogh Museum. I'm so glad I didn't walk passed it again. Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most unique personalities in art history, and to see his struggle, his successes, his emotions in painting was a dream come true. The museum held the majority of his artwork from his beginnings to his final painting, which was never completed. One of the most touching stories I read about Van Gogh was about the painting called "Almond Blossom." He painted that for his nephew, who was named after him: Vincent Willem. He painted it hoping that his nephew would believe in a brighter future. Theo, Vincent's brother, hung it over their fireplace for the remainder of his life as a thank you. The last section of the museum was dedicated to the final days of Vincent. It was heartbreaking to see that he would never know how influential his art was to the world. The final timeline painted on the wall included modern portrayals of him (including film stills from Doctor Who, Painted with Words with Benedict Cumberbatch, Lust for Life with Kirk Douglas) as well as some of his letters to his brother. Overall, the museum was a beautiful dedication to the magnificent, beautiful and eccentric individual that was Vincent Van Gogh. I was completely moved and in awe by the whole of it, and beyond happy that I visited.
All in all, Amsterdam was actually more interesting and beautiful than I thought it would be. Of course, I went into the city thinking it was going to be disgusting, dirty, and definitely not up my alley. But after hearing the history, exploring the Red Light District, gazing at some magnificent artwork, and meeting wonderful people, I would say that Amsterdam has been one of the most intriguing cities that we have visited thus far.
We tried to get to the walking tour of the city on the first day but saw that we were late. The tour was already full. This was a shame, but wasn't going to stop use from exploring on our own. We usually try to make a walking tour on our first day to get an idea of the city, where to go, what to look for, etc. But we knew of one place we wanted to definitely go to: Anne Frank's House. It was a little bit of a walk from the center of the city, but when we arrived, we saw that the line was quite long; 30 minutes long. Supposedly this was actually pretty good for a wait. The line would sometimes go an hour long. We jumped in line and shuffled our way into the museum. Now this wasn't just some house that was built to look like a replica of Anne Frank's house. This was the actual thing. For some of you who maybe haven't heard of the story of Anne Frank, here's a short summary: Anne Frank was 13 years old when her family went into hiding from the Nazi party. She had dreams of being a famous writer someday, and kept a diary of the nearly 2 years her family hid. With the help of Otto Frank's (the father) fellow workers who were not Jews, the family of 4 plus another family of 3 and a single gentleman lived in hidden quarters behind the workshop. Unfortunately, they were discovered and sent to concentration camps. Anne died in Auschwitz one month before liberation, and Otto was the only one to survive. He returned to the workshop, where he received Anne's diary. Walking through the workshop, through the famous bookcase that hid the families, as well as the actual hiding spot was overwhelming. Anne used to paste magazine pictures to the bare walls to add some decoration. These are still on the walls today. Along the walls are painted quotes from her diary which added to the haunting feeling as you walked through the house. You heard and saw interviews from the helpers, from Otto Frank, saw pictures of Anne and her sister Margot. It was very emotional and hard to walk through. But definitely one of the most rewarding experiences I have gone through.
We continued to walk through the streets of Amsterdam and saw it come to life a bit at night. One of the most beautiful parts of Amsterdam were, of course, the hundreds of canals that made the city one of the most important port cities in the north. And what better way to see Amsterdam than by boat?! We decided to take a wonderful canal cruise just as the sun was beginning to set. It took us along some of the most important canals in the city, and the sights were simply wonderful. The houses that are built in Amsterdam are tall and extremely thin (we learned later that the wider your house, the more taxes you had to pay). We saw some wonderful house boats that once used to house poor students and the homeless. Now, it's the most expensive housing in Amsterdam. Funny how that works. The weather was a little uncooperative on the tour, and we unfortunately had to close some of the windows. But as the sun went down, the lights reflected off of the water, illuminating the streets and creating a romantic and picturesque setting. It was a wonderful way to end the day.
The next day, we got an early breakfast and got to the meeting point for the walking tours early to make sure that we definitely had a spot. Our guide, Cornelia, took us through some of the most important points in the city including Dam Square (where the city was founded), the churches which are now museums, the birth of the Dutch East India Company (as well as the headquarters), and the tolerance of Netherlands policies. A lot of people believe that weed, prostitution, and other "crazy" acts done in the Netherlands are all legal to do. Well, this is wrong.; these acts are all tolerated, which has been the Dutch way of life for quite a long time. #1: Smoking weed in Amsterdam is NOT legal, it is tolerated. The Dutch believe in limiting and tolerating things before it gets to crazy. For the most part, you're only allowed to smoke in coffee shops. The Dutch thought if they give smokers an area to smoke, it'll contain it. Also, smoking is mainly a tourist activity. 60% of smokers are tourists. It's boring to the Dutch because there's no "excitement" of getting caught or anything. #2: Prostitution IS legal in Amsterdam. However, the city is now trying to limit the amount of prostitutes in the city down to the main street of the Red Light District. They are making progress doing this, converting the old brothels into shops. #3: For a while, Catholicism was banned in Amsterdam. But, like everything else in Amsterdam, if it didn't hurt anyone and was making the city money, then it was tolerated. There were secret Catholic churches around the city that Catholics could go to pray. The walk was very informative, and I started to actually voice record a lot of these tours because there was too much information to remember and duh, history teacher (hopefully soon).
After the walk, we followed the guide to a little restaurant where I tried "bitteballs," a fried ball of dough that contained "mystery meat." It's a delicacy in the Netherlands, and they were actually pretty good. Corinne and I followed along the canals to check out some of the markets on the opposite side of town. There was a little bit of everything: Amsterdam souvenirs, shoes, clothing, old trinkets, jewelry, and much more. There was loads of the blue Delft pottery that I wanted to bring home. But, alas, glass and traveling do not go well together. We had no plans for the rest of the night, so we decided to sign up for the tour of the Red Light District. Part of us felt that we kind of had to see the Red Light District in its glory since we were there. We noticed that a lot of people who were on the walking tour came back for round 2 with Sandeman New Tours, so that was wonderful to see. Our tour guide, Gerrt, has been the best guide we've had so far! He was full of energy and full of fun and interesting info, all of it coming from fact or "experience." He told us some of the history of the District, some of the theories behind the "red light," and showed us some of the most interesting spots in the District. I must say, I was less embarrassed walking through it being with a group that was laughing along with Gerrt and everything else. It was one of the most enjoyable tours we've been on. We ended the tour at a bar where we ended up talking with a lot of the people our age and hanging out. Gerrt joined us and showed us a couple more bars and walked more through the District. It was a lot of fun meeting the other people (Canadians, Australians, Scots) as well as being shown around by a local. Definitely one of the more fun nights we've had so far.
We had an overnight train the next day, which meant that we still had a good amount of the day to explore more of Amsterdam. We checked out of our hostel, put our luggage into a safe at the train station, and set off to see some of the southern sights, including the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. The trams were slightly confusing, but it was a beautiful day and we decided to walk the 30 minutes down to the Rijksmuseum, which holds quite the collection of Renaissance art. We skipped the museum and visited the famous "I amsterdam" sign that is located right outside of it. We managed to get some beautiful touristy photos, but we kinda had to do it. We continued down past the Van Gogh museum to the Vondelpark where we had ice cream, sat by the water and relaxed. It was gorgeous outside. People were laying out in the sun, listening to music, playing games, and just enjoying the day. Being in the park was a nice getaway from the city, and it gave us a bit to rest our legs.
Part of me felt that since I was in Amsterdam and there was a whole museum dedicated to one of my favorite painters, I couldn't simply just walk past it again. So Corinne and I decided to do our own separate things for a while and then meet at the train station. My choice: the Vincent Van Gogh Museum. I'm so glad I didn't walk passed it again. Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most unique personalities in art history, and to see his struggle, his successes, his emotions in painting was a dream come true. The museum held the majority of his artwork from his beginnings to his final painting, which was never completed. One of the most touching stories I read about Van Gogh was about the painting called "Almond Blossom." He painted that for his nephew, who was named after him: Vincent Willem. He painted it hoping that his nephew would believe in a brighter future. Theo, Vincent's brother, hung it over their fireplace for the remainder of his life as a thank you. The last section of the museum was dedicated to the final days of Vincent. It was heartbreaking to see that he would never know how influential his art was to the world. The final timeline painted on the wall included modern portrayals of him (including film stills from Doctor Who, Painted with Words with Benedict Cumberbatch, Lust for Life with Kirk Douglas) as well as some of his letters to his brother. Overall, the museum was a beautiful dedication to the magnificent, beautiful and eccentric individual that was Vincent Van Gogh. I was completely moved and in awe by the whole of it, and beyond happy that I visited.
All in all, Amsterdam was actually more interesting and beautiful than I thought it would be. Of course, I went into the city thinking it was going to be disgusting, dirty, and definitely not up my alley. But after hearing the history, exploring the Red Light District, gazing at some magnificent artwork, and meeting wonderful people, I would say that Amsterdam has been one of the most intriguing cities that we have visited thus far.