As the clock turned 7 and I finished my 10-hour, 3-country journey by bus, I stepped out and gazed upon the Sodom and Gomorrah of the Western World. I'm in Amsterdam, the world of drugs and legalized prostitution. To those who aren't into all that, it's a world of cheese and pancakes, windmills and Van Gogh, Delft and Diamonds.
Amsterdam is a beautiful place and surprisingly almost everyone (except for one older security guard I met) can speak English. That means I only had to talk in grunts and pseudo sign language once. It's a good idea to book accommodation ahead, especially in the summer months, and the going rates aren't too cheap. It's expensive there! As for food, a lot of pastries and pancakes are on the menu. Fortunately, if you want something different (or have vegetarian tendencies such as I have), you can find falafel huts and Indo-Chinese restaurants if you really look.
Now, no trip to another city is complete without doing the tourist thing and visiting a museum or two. Since he was the most famous artist round these parts, the Van Gogh museum is one that shouldn't be missed. I was fortunate enough to be able to view the Van Gogh/ Gauguin exhibit. It was really well put together--there was an audio guide so you could listen to info on the paintings and the painter’s relationship / lives by entering a code at the appropriate areas (like the Experience Music Project in Seattle).
They worked together for a very short time in the south of France which ended in the argument in which Van Gogh famously cut off a piece of his ear. He then ended his life a mere two years later at 35 with a gunshot to his chest. Gauguin died on a remote island all alone some time later (though I think he partly deserved it; he was a bit of an ass). This exhibit was the first time three out of the reputed 15 versions of Van Gogh's Sunflowers have been shown in one place (One from London, one from Amsterdam and one from Tokyo). "I apply myself to canvas with all my mind. I am trying to do as well as certain painters whom I have greatly loved and admired." (Van Gogh).
The best two museums I went to, though, were phenomenal for completely different reasons. The Heineken Experience is first on this list. Though Heineken moved its official headquarters, the place where it all began has been converted into a museum or more accurately put, is a large brainwashing machine. Although the need to drink Heineken is drilled into your head, the three beers and the free souvenir glass is well worth the five Euro entry. The glass alone costs four Euros in the shops!
The more humbling visit was to the Anne Frankhuis. This is where the Frank family lived in secret during the German occupation before they were captured and forced into concentration camps. I actually went through the door behind the bookcase and up the narrow stairs that were so steep I swore I was going straight up which led to their little apartment. Touched the walls that they touched. Saw Anne's room with all her decorations pasted to the wall - movie stars and pictures cut from magazines. Someone left a rose for her in the corner... Near the end of the exhibit sits the original diaries under glass and they look like most young girls' diaries. It's hard to imagine all that she went through was what thousands went through...
"One single Anne Frank moves us more than the countless others who suffered just as she did but whose faces have remained in the shadows. Perhaps it is better that way; if we were capable of taking in all the suffering of all those people, we would not be able to live"
-PRIMO LEVY-writer and survivor of Auschwitz, 1986
For most, Amsterdam is really about the nightlife. There's a long list of clubs to go to (if you have cash to burn and you wanna dance!). I took a chance on Paradiso, a two-level club in an old converted church, complete with stained glass. Be warned - the place doesn't start happening until about 12 or 1 am. Before that time, the half-empty rooms are reminiscent of a bad high school dance reinforced, of course, by the couple of giant happy face balloons that are hanging from the ceiling.
If you want to chill, there's always one of the well-placed 'coffee' shops. These places are where you can get ANYTHING of the pot variety including space cakes and the like. The most famous shops go by the name of Bulldog. The one we went to was in the old police headquarters. With a fresh juice or black coffee in hand, you can sit in a graffitied jail cell as wafts of sweet smoke fill the air and you join right in.
The dream of many a BC resident only the stuff is way better in those parts. This not being your kind of trip of course, there are shops such as the Magic Mushroom, which sells just that. Not only can you get those mystical fungi but it also comes with a complete how-to guide on consumption and a mail order form.
On either side of one of the many canals and through small side streets, is the Red Light District. Completely Surreal. Women stand in windows and sell their wares under the glow of red light. Their eyes are blank and hard as diamonds. I felt like I shouldn't have been there--as if my presence was an insult since I was being a tourist and wasn't a true customer. 'What a strange feeling.' After wandering a bit, we went to a live sex show. If you have the dough or not, you should still go. 25 Euros gets you in to see 30 minutes of live sex and other acts - a bit like a Vaudeville Show. Now before you go crazy--it's not what you would think. It's VERY rehearsed and a lot of them looked bored. Some of the things they did were really amazing but yet, as I said before, unbelievably surreal. You need to see it to understand.
All in all, the best thing about Amsterdam is that you can walk everywhere. Do it. See the flower markets overflowing with tulips, tour the canals and marvel over the hundreds of bridges you have to cross. Wander. Take in the Damplatz - the centre of Amsterdam complete with street artists and the Koninklijk Paleis, where the Royal family sometimes stays. Or bicycle like everyone else does. The soft whirl of hundreds of pedals is beautiful unless you happen to wander onto the bicycle path. I almost got run over about a hundred times - not too smart. Finally if you're lucky and you take a bus out of the city like I did, you might even see a windmill as you head off into the night.
Thinking about Amsterdam? Check out a Lonely Planet from your local library or log on to www.amsterdam.nl. The link to Amsterdam Hotspots is great.
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