December 15, 2007
Steve and I have been living in Germany for almost six weeks now, and we finally decided it was time for us to take our first trip to another country. Since Amsterdam is only a 2 ½ hour drive from Cologne, we decided that the Netherlands would be the first country on our list of places to visit.
The drive to Amsterdam was nothing like what we expected it to be. Aside from the fact that at times we were traveling 120 mph on the Autobahn, the highways and the scenery looked much like it does in Michigan. Most of the countryside was either flat or scattered with farms. Nothing jumped out at us as being unique or out of the ordinary. In fact, we both commented on how we felt as though we were driving to a Lions game on a Sunday morning back home.
Once we about thirty miles into the Netherlands, the scenery begin to change quite dramatically when the GPS took us on a route off of the highway. We drove through several little villages that were exact replicas of "Dutch Village" in Holland. Most of buildings had orange-tiled roofs and the white sandstone walls. All of the streets were made of cobblestone and most of them were lined with lanterns as streetlights. But what Steve and I found to be very interesting was the fact that we weren't as excited as we thought we would be about seeing everything because we've already seen it all back home! Almost everything was the same. It was still interesting to see the history...how certain areas of the Netherlands looked so much like parts of Holland in Michigan. But because we were already so familiar with things, we didn't have the "Wow, this is amazing!" feeling that most tourists would have driving through.
When we finally arrived in Amsterdam, it took us a quite some time to find our hotel. Mostly because the streets are so narrow that only one car can fit on them at a time (even though they are said to be two-way streets). Since cars park on both sides of the road it is nearly impossible to maneuver your way through traffic. In addition to this, because the roads are so skinny, parking is a nightmare. If you happen to get lucky and find an open spot, you grab it as quick as possible or you have to park in a parking garage several blocks away. Another issue regarding parking in Amsterdam, it is outrageously expensive. No matter where you park (on the streets or in the parking garage) it costs an average of $40EU to $60EU for 24 hours (our hotel room only cost us $80EU a night!). If you try to risk it and not keep your parking paid up, the local meter maids will put a boot on your car the first chance they get, and that could take 24 hours for it to be removed, plus it costs another $100EU or so. We definitely didn't want that.
Once we arrived at our hotel and got over the shock of how much we had to pay for parking, we checked into our room. The room was on the third floor of a hotel that required doorbell entry. You couldn't even get into the hotel unless someone let you in. Our room was the smallest hotel room you could ever imagine. There was enough room for a bed, a small TV shoved into a corner and a closet-sized bathroom. Since it was on the top floor, it had a slanted ceiling which made it feel even smaller. Good news was...it was clean!
We began our tour of Amsterdam right outside the front of our hotel. Though the accommodations weren't very good, the location was spectacular. The very first thing that we noticed was that the city was surrounded by water. Just a few steps away from our hotel was a long canal which had several bridges crossing over it. This was one canal in a series of many that weaved in and around throughout the city. Houseboats were docked on both sides of canal and each one a permanent mailbox so you knew that people were living on them year round.
We walked alongside the canal until we finally reached the bridge leading us into the center of the city. That's when we noticed the bicycles. They were everywhere! We probably saw more bikes on one square block in Amsterdam than we've seen in any of the high traffic areas in Cologne. Everyone was riding a bike. The only difference was the fact that all of the bicycles we saw here were the old bicycles with the baskets on the front of them. We saw baskets with groceries in them, baskets with magazines, and even a few carrying small dogs. Whenever we saw dogs riding in baskets, Steve would make reference to the Wizard of OZ and the Wicked Witch of the West riding around with Toto in the front. It was hilarious.
Another thing we found very interesting (but also very irritating) was how very skinny their sidewalks were. In Amsterdam, they do not have bicycle paths like they do in Cologne and so bikes have to ride on the streets. Pedestrians are given a 2-3 foot sidewalk to walk upon and so you can never walk next to each other because someone is always trying to pass you. It is also very dangerous walking in Amsterdam because the trains run very close to the sidewalks as well. When I say close, I mean two or three feet away. Far enough away not to hit a bike but not far enough away from you to fall into one if you tripped...
Other things that we observed as we were walking around, there are trains everywhere in Amsterdam and they are running constantly. In Cologne, the train system is consistent and runs on its own track system. In Amsterdam, they run here, there, next to each other, across from each other, around each other...everywhere you looked there was always a train.
One thing that sticks out when you're outside...it was loud all the time. Once we walked around in the center of the shopping/entertainment district, we got lost trying to find another part of the city and so we ended up a few blocks outside of town. The very first thing we said to each other was, "Wow, can you believe how quiet it is here?" It was amazing how loud it was in the city. I believe it rivals that of Chicago (or maybe that's just the weather)!
Among other things, we really enjoyed the fact that almost everyone in Amsterdam spoke English! After hearing nothing but German for six weeks, it was so refreshing to hear people speak something we could understand. Even TV stations were in English. It was wonderful! A funny story to add...Steve and I were having pizza in one of the restaurants there and as we were leaving, I said, "Danke Shoen" to the waiter (only because I've been speaking German for 6 weeks now). Anyway, he says back to me, "Your Welcome Shoen" (instead of "Bitte") and I'm quite sure he was making fun of me because he knew I was an American trying to act German!
As we continued to walk around the city, we realized that atmosphere quickly changes from one part of the city to the next. In Cologne, you have the same feeling in pretty much every part of the city. You feel at home...things always feel familiar and the scenery doesn't change much. In Amsterdam, as soon as you walk four or five blocks in a different direction, everything looks different. For example, on our way to find the Central Station which is the hub for everything in the city, we walked through a central park type area where we were surrounded by tall buildings and businesses. It had a Chicago city type feel to it. As we continued walking, we ended up on some side streets and back alleys (only because we got lost) and we felt as though we were in New Orleans.
Long story short, in our journey to find the Central Station, we went the wrong way and ended up walking three miles in the wrong direction. But if we hadn't, we wouldn't have anything to compare the village atmosphere of Amsterdam to the city atmosphere. Needless to say, we had our own "unplanned" tour of Amsterdam!
Once we took the train back to the city, Steve took a nap at the hotel (mostly because he was out late with friends from work the night before) and so I went shopping and sightseeing by myself for a couple of hours. As I was crossing over one of the bridges, I caught the sun set over one of the canals and it was absolutely beautiful. I now know why they say that Amsterdam is considered the "Venice of Northern Europe".
As I continued on my shopping excursion, I did a lot of people watching as well. Most of the people in Amsterdam were couples. And I can understand why. It is a very romantic city if you can get past all of the noise and the distraction of the trains and bikes everywhere. The other thing that I noticed was the fact that there were not very many women walking around alone. In Cologne, they walk alone everywhere, day or night. Since I've been in Cologne, I haven't felt unsafe even once. I've taken the train by myself at night and have walked around the city at night too. But once the sun set in Amsterdam and it got dark outside, I felt very uncomfortable. The only people that were really walking around were large groups of guys. Had I known this (or if Steve had known this) he never would have let me go out alone. A lesson learned for next time I suppose.
In summary, Amsterdam is a beautiful city and Steve and I will go back if we get the chance. We would have enjoyed the trip so much more if it wasn't as cold as was and if we knew where we were going and exactly what we wanted to see. You could spend three or four days there and not see everything. For example, Amsterdam is home to the Rembrandt and Van Gogh Museums and also the Anne Frank House. We only touched the tip of the iceberg in the short time we were there. The good news is because it is so close to Cologne, we can make a day trip there whenever we want. And for those who come to visit us, it's just one more exciting place we can take them to see!
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