Amsterdam

This city shocked me in so many ways. First off, the weather was bitter. It was so much colder than it had been in Rome or in any of the other places I have been. Secondly, the city was gorgeous. It easily ranks in my top two visits in terms of aesthetic beauty. Thirdly, prostitution and marijuana smoking are openly accepted and legal in the country. Fourthly, there were literally more bikes than people. This is no joke. On the local tour, the guide told us that there are actually more bikes than people. You have to be more alert about staying out of the way of bikers than of cars or other vehicles. Lastly, the food there was unreal.

I had no real expectations when I arrived in Amsterdam. On the arrival flight, I began to doubt my choice to take the trip. The flight was the most turbulent of any that I have ever been on (On a side note, Ryan Air and Easy Jet, the only two airlines I have flown with abroad, are easily the two most nerving airlines to fly on). Not to mention, some man caused a huge scene on the plane ride. By huge scene I mean he was standing up in the aisle yelling and pointing, in Italian, at one of the femal flight attendants. Her body language suggested she was nervous and angry with the man. The exchange moved from the middle of the plane to the back of the plane to the front of the plane. The chatter on the plane grew louder as people began to focus their attention on what was going on. Just when the scene subsided, turbulence shook the plan hard while the pilot seemed to struggle to steady if for landing.

This made me a little uneasy but I was pleasantly surprised by the city from there on out. Even with the cold and windy weather it was pleasant to hear people speaking English. This made it easy for us to find our way to the hostel. On the walk to the hostel, we could see all sorts of lights and beautiful architecture all around us. There were these outdoor urinals that they set up on the weekends to prevent public urination.

I got to see the Ann Frank house, the old church, the new church, and the Heinekin factory. My favorite was the tour of the Heinekin factory. The tour was packed with people. There was some informational stuff and some interactive stuff that gave a history and some information about the brewing process and the founding of the beer.

The food in Amsterdam was very Americanized. I need to mention first that I ate the best Pad Thai I have ever had. The falafel was very good and the meat in the Kebab’s was worthy of three of my meals during my trip. There were several bakeries that sold such goodies as cream filled croissant with sugar glazed fruit and whip cream on top. If I were to admit to eating it I would say that it tasted so good but made me feel sooo unhealthy afterward. There were a lot of fast food places including, of course, McDonald’s and Burger King. There were an unnecessary amount of Chinese restaurants.

Not only was the city beautiful it was more quiet and more civilized than any other I have ever been to. There were sooooo many bicycles. I think the tour guide told us there are 4 million bicycles and only 3.7 million people. The country literally figured out how to control crime and violence. There are an average of only 17 deaths a year. This is seemingly due to, in an odd way, the fact that the government openly accepts and taxes marijuana and prostitution. This generates an additional 3 billion dollars of revenue per year that the city uses to please and protect its citizens. I have never seen anything like this city before.