Amsterdam, Netherlands

Thursday morning saw one of our earliest wake up calls in quite a while. It's interesting that sometimes you go to bed at 4 a.m. after a fun night on the town. However, this was the other way round and waking up from a short nap to catch a taxi to the airport just isn't any kind of fun. The ride to the airport was quick though as the roads were pretty much empty except for other taxis full of people also foolish enough to pay for a flight leaving at 615 in the morning. Everything went well and landing in Amsterdam was actually interesting because it allows you to see just how underwater the west coast of the country really is. There are canals running everywhere and it looks like a few more inches of water would send them over their banks and into the lives of many of the Dutch. Having previously visited Amsterdam six years ago, we were excited about having a weekend where we wouldn't feel rushed to see things. We took our time getting into the city and had a nice leisurely stroll to our hostel. Amsterdam is a beautiful city beyond the smoking coffee shops and the red light district. The architecture is nice, clean and the houses are some of the strangest, slimmest, yet nicest you will see around. We were later told that many people leave the curtains open on their bottom floor to show how well cultured and mannered they lived. This is a mannerism left over from many years ago when the rich Dutch decided they needed to up the class level of the poorer folks so they figured why not show them just how well mannered people live. We met up with our friends from Madrid who took a different flight around noon and went to the Pancake Bakery for lunch. We ate there last time we visited Amsterdam and love their pancakes. They are gigantic and they will put all kinds of ingredients in the pancake like bacon, ham, cheese, onions, chicken, bananas, apples, etc. In the Netherlands, lunch is not considered to be all that important so people usually eat just a sandwich or something light. This is due to the importance they place on dinner, which is usually a large meal served between five and six o ´clock. After lunch, we strolled through the streets taking in the sights. The architecture of Amsterdam is beautiful and has a unique touch, due to the canals and old laws. The houses are usually very tall and not very wide. We were told that this is due to the fact that the old laws stipulated that taxes were levied based on the width of your house so instead of building out, the people built up. This caused some interesting problems. For one, the stairways in some houses are so narrow that getting up them can be quite a challenge. In some instances, there is no staircase but a ladder. Another interesting feature you will see on the houses is a long beam sticking out of the front with a hook. This hook is for a rope that is used as a pulley to lift furniture into and out of the house via the windows because the depth or lack of a staircase makes putting a bed upstairs impossible unless going through the window. This method of furniture movement has caused some houses to lean forward farther than others. Some of the houses also have odd shapes where one floor looks to go one way and the top floor the opposite. The canals are everywhere, lined with boats and people sitting and eating and talking. You can take a taxi through the canals if the streets are too congested but Amsterdam is a city built not around cars nor canals but the bicycle. There are people bicycling everywhere and they will run you over with no hesitation. If you hear a bell dinging, odds are that is your one warning before you get hit. We saw one guy get hit after not observing the bell of an oncoming biker and he was promptly told "look out you asshole". You will find bikes everywhere to the point its almost too much but it definitely cuts down on the noise and air pollution. We walked around looking at the shops, there are tons of local boutiques and other types of shops but they are expensive. Later we spent some time relaxing in Vondel Park, a beautiful place with tons of lakes and wildlife.We ate dinner at a semi-cheap Chinese place. We met up with a friend of ours who lives in Amsterdam now and he took us around the city explaining some of the things he´s learned about the Dutch culture. He told us that the winters are brutal and that some days you cannot leave your house without walking over ice and yet the Dutch have learned to adapt. The rest of his advice is spread through the three entries for this weekend prefaced with we were told. We had a couple of drinks and headed back to our hostel, another story in and off itself. Enjoy the pictures.

Share