I Amsterdam

My apologies for the long absence between posts. Our hotel in Amsterdam had seemingly changed its internet policy between the time we checked it out online and when we actually got there. We spent the last four days in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is a very different world. Compared to our previous stops of Paris, Strasbourg, Frankfurt, and Berlin, Amsterdam was not just picturesque and European but intense and seedy. Its intensity does not come from a frenetic pace like that of London's, but it is more that no matter where you are in the downtown core, there are people on the streets. There are people everywhere going about their business, whether legal, illegal, or somewhere in-between. The seediness on the other hand comes from city's somewhat sinister underbelly, which itself derives directly from the tolerance of soft drugs like marijuana and the legality of prostitution.

The unfortunate combination of its intensity and seediness makes inexperienced travelers like myself distinctively less relaxed. Holding purses tightly and always looking over your shoulder at night can diminish the enjoyment of an otherwise beautiful city.

But beautiful it is. Built in a "C" shape, it is comprised of concentric canals, which are lined with and connected by little streets. There are hundreds of bridges and a few thousand houseboats along the canals where residents live all year round with the luxuries of running water, electricity, and of course internet. The houses are both incredibly tall and incredibly skinny - the skinniest house in Amsterdam is about 1 meter wide. Many built before Napoleonic rule brought street numbers to Amsterdam, each house is crowned by its own distinctive gable - a way to tell between your friends' house and their neighbours'.

Our comedic canal boat captain told us that Amsterdam is not known for its palaces or churches because it was and always has been the city of the people. The French translation called it une ville des bourgeois. True to this, we hardly saw any major buildings. We spent most of our time wandering the canals and trying to discover the secrets of this ancient town.

And secrets it has. Some better kept than others of course. Without having the slightest idea of where we were or where we were going (and as my brother warned me, even someone with the strongest directional sense is always lost in Amsterdam), on the first night we turned a corner and were suddenly confronted with the red light district. I hadn't realized until that moment that the reason it has that name is because almost every window has a bright red light emanating from it. The prostitutes sit in their windows (which are also doorways) and solicit customers by advertising their products.

Tourists and perhaps potential clients stroll through and gawk at the sheer objectivity of it all. These women (I had expected but did not see a single man) seem to have made a conscious choice to sell their sexual services for money and have no problem putting themselves on display for all to see. I do not judge them, assuming that they made a truly free decision to be there - but it certainly takes some getting used to.

On one of our days in A-dam, we took a reprieve from the city's intensity to drive to The Hague, where the Dutch Parliament sits and where the International Criminal Court is located. A small town, it was quaint and quiet on a Sunday. We then made our way to Rotterdam, the largest port in the world at the mouth of the Rhine River. Having suffered massive amounts of bombing during WW2, it is mostly new, with experimental modern architecture. I find myself without much to say about it.

I'm glad we went to Amsterdam. I enjoyed the city, got lots of great pictures, and had fun. But I was not unhappy to leave. Perhaps it is a comfortable place for some, but not for me.