Amsterdam

  Amsterdam, Netherlands
Thursday, February 22, 2007

1st day, enjoying the canals

The city where everything goes certainly had a lot to offer, to people from all walks of life. Shortly, my favorite three parts were our houseboat, the Van Gogh Museum, and renting bicycles.

A city of canals and situated right on the water Amsterdam is an ideal place of distribution of goods. Thus, over the centuries the city has grown as a center of International trade, and the results can be seen today in a incredibly diverse, bi-lingual population. Relatively small, getting around the city wouldn't seem difficult, until you actually start walking around the maze of canals and one way streets. Set up as a series of concentric circles radiating out from the city center, separated by canals, it can be a bit confusing.

Amsterdam

If you are lost here and just keep walking straight, you will go in a large circle - something we discovered on day one! Although the domestic language is Dutch, almost everyone speaks at least some English, and everyone was very kind in offering us directions.

Also, this inflow of foreign influence has resulted in an outpouring of ethnic eatings in the city. Mostly all of high quality, the Indian food especially seemed prevalent. We enjoyed one nice dinner in a Argentinean Steakhouse - I was sold with the all you could eat ribs - Score!

Amsterdam by night

Afterwards we went to a few "coffee" shops, enjoying the local offerings. One of my favorite hangouts featured a large tobacco hooka, which was situated in the middle of a large seating/lounge area made for laying out in. We hung out there for a bit, sipping on tea and smoking flavored tobacco - but left when we felt eyes of curious tourists peering in the windows to the shop.

I went alone from my program, met with David in Alicante who had 4 friends come with him from his program in Alicante, as well as his girlfriend Laura who is studying in France. We rented out a houseboat for the first 2 nights for 4 people, then crammed 7 people into the thing! This brought down the price to paltry 25 euro per night, on par with a hostel, for a houseboat that looked straight out of an IKEA catalog.

Day one in the Houseboat

Fish Market

On day 1 we scored big at a large farmers market by the boat with fresh vegetables, fruit, bread, dutch brawtwerst, candies, cheese and pastas. Preparing our own meals for a few days helped out with costs, and even still we ate great! The houseboat was a blast - and the location was perfect! After 2 days half the group left - and to avoid the high costs of continuing to stay in the houseboat we changed location to a hostel a little closer to the city center. "Durty Nelly's", an Irish Pub with beds upstairs, held up to it's name and ended up being a drag of a hostel with unkind staff, shared bathrooms, and low security but it sufficed as a place to shower and sleep - plus it was really cheap. As a pub it was great!

The city itself is absolutely breathtaking. Serene canals flanked by old trees and tall, old fashioned buildings decorated with elaborate gables lead to an unparalleled ambience. Spotted around the city are all sorts of old churches, jewish quarters, beautiful homes, houseboats and parks. The majority of the museums are situated in the same quarter, adjacent to the large city park - the Vondelpark. We went to the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh art museums - both of which were fantastic. I enjoyed comparing the abstract, colorful expressionists to the darker, more serene art of Rembrandt.

The Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum

Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" - Street Style

My favorite paintings were "Wheatfields with crows" by Van Gogh and "The Night Watch" by Rembrandt - of which I found a graffiti version of elsewhere in the city!

We also went to the Amsterdam Historisch Museum, which outlines the history of the city over the years. The entire city is built on reclaimed land, and if it were not for a series of levies holding back the oceans it would have been inundated years ago. Builders have used interesting techniques to solve the problems presented by this situation over the years, and today drill large concrete anchors sometimes over 100 meters below the surface, where large sand deposits anchor the buildings. However, these techniques have not always been used, exemplified by a few precariously leaning buildings in the city. Always a critical trade point, the Dutch have made their fortune by wheeling and dealing the worlds products, acting as a major importer and exporter in many major markets. This constant inflow of outside ideas has lead to a very accepting culture - tolerating pretty much anything.

The Red Light District Canal

This toleration resulted in the creation of the infamous "Red Light District" - where anything goes. We walked through the area - but to be honest it was kind of a dump. LIterally, the smut was palatable. Prostitutes taunting from fluorescent lit windows, junkies flanked on the river, and men using open air urinals all lead to a different ambience then the rest of the city.. Although pretty out of control - the Dutch government does tax all happenings there, and uses the money to fund all sorts of social programs. Trying to avoid judgments, we enjoyed this part of the city for what it was and mostly just stayed away from this tourist trap.

Compact & flat Amsterdam, is a perfect city to enjoy with a bicycle - which the local population clearly realizes. Nowhere, in all my life, have I seen so many people on bikes! Also, since nice bikes are immediately stolen, they are all 20-30 years old and rusty! It almost makes you feel as if you are riding around in the 60's when you look at everyones bikes, with some it is surprising that they are still working! We rented bikes for one day, and it ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. Covered in bike trails and lanes, the city was a cinch to navigate with the bikes, and it also made it possible to cover a lot more terrain in one day, really freeing us up.

Bikes of Amsterdam

The Vondelpark

Riding through the Vondelpark was probably the pinnacle - unfortunately the weather wasn't quite as good in Alicante so it was a bit chilly!

On our last day we enjoyed the popular "Body Worlds" exhibit, which was in Amsterdam for another few weeks. When I first heard of this endeavor, in which real bodies are preserved and used for anatomical models in a art exhibit, I was pretty freaked out!

Body Worlds

However, after seeing it for myself I would recommend everyone to check it out. It is not scary, but on the contrary fascinating and incredible how they have done their work. You can see exactly how all the systems of the human body work. My favorite exhibit was focused on the circulatory system. It featured hearts, bodies, and other organs that had been injected with a plastic compound that hardened. After this all other tissue was removed, leaving only the veins and arteries behind - intact! I know it sounds weird, but it was really cool!

The food was diverse and fantastic! My favorite local offering was a dutch pancake, similar to a crepe but thicker - made with egg. Mine was topped with pineapple, ham and cheese - it was delicious!

Gables and Houseboats

Also, with its proximity to Belgium, waffles are available at every corner snack shop, covered in chocolate, nuts, or the both! Warmed up these made for a very tasty treat! I don't know if they deliberately target the population leaving the "coffee" shops, but the number of snack shacks was surprising - and difficult to resist! Ethnic food of all types is available there, all within close distance, but the most prevalent is Indian food, which is very good in the city. Also, when ordering a generic "beer" in Amsterdam you will be served a ice-cold Heineken, the Dutch staple, served diligently with about an inch of head leveled on the glass with a plastic spatula.

An amazing trip - It felt great to return to Sevilla! Time to rest up & work on some more Spanish, I've got exams coming up :(