The Sweet Spot

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I will start out by saying Amsterdam is pretty sweet. Off the plane we took a pristine clean subway into town. Town wasn't where we would be staying though. Way too spendy. Our destination was further out of the city at a camp ground. Unlike some arrivals where we had to find our bearings in a strange new city in the waning hours of the day we arrived at the noon hour. Plenty of time to stumble about. It was a gorgeous day. High sun in a full blue sky. Off the subway we tottered with our huge bags with a very badly designed map that made no sense. Lucky for a us a nice man riding a bike spotted us right away as campers and pointed us in the right direction. From day one we ran into people that seemed to go out of their way to be friendly. Not to say that people weren't friendly down south. Not in the least. It was just a totally different type of face.

Camping in Europe is much cheaper than staying at a guest house or hostel but it is still a bit to pay. We paid the fee and spread our tatty tent out under a tree on the soft green grass. Everything was lush and verdant . At all our other campgrounds we had become accustomed to the the little rocks and roots that felt like boulders in the middle of the night. Sleeping here was going to be heaven.

Through out the rest day the small camping area slowly filled up. Everyone was considerate of each others space and for the most part quiet. Weary from our early flight and hauling our backpacks around, we settled in to catch up on some rest time. I have never stayed in a campground that was so happy. There weren't many children but the little playground next to us was no less used. The most popular item in the playground seemed to be the bouncy rabbit. Everyone loved it. I wanted to get a picture of Scott on it but he wasn't gonna have any part of it...lol. The most common sounds to be heard in the camp ground was coughing and giggling. It was more than amusing.

It sounds mundane but after so many shared facilities I have become very appreciative of the places that keep clean bathrooms. The bathrooms were spotless. As were most things about Amsterdam. At first glance everything seemed very mellow but underlying the outer demeanor was an inner grandma that liked to keep everything tidy. Once grandma made sure everything was in order she was quite content and laid back. For example, when going through Netherlands customs both times our passports were stamped so deliberately that there will never be a doubt we and visited the Netherlands. While going through the Mediterranean customs they barely cared to press the stamp to the paper if they remembered to use the stamp at all. Being a fan of a nice highly readable passport stamp I was yet again pleased with the Netherlands.

The first thing you will notice right away is everyone speaks English and if you start a conversation by asking if the person if they speak English you get first a surprised look which is then followed by "of course I do" look. Not only do most speak English but they speak it so well that an accent is barely to be heard. And not only do most people speak English they most likely know a selection of other languages as well. However, if you try to find a a book to read in your language you will be hard pressed. Despite their affinity for multiple languages they are very committed to speaking and reading in Dutch. You wouldn't guess it though considering most shop signs are all in English.

For most of our visit the weather was unfortunately drizzly. But we had some wonderful spots of open sky. Amsterdam is a lovely old city. I would call it the Venice of the north. Canals run along most streets. The streets run along aged stone townhouses that totter back and forth on the moist earth. Some streets more than others. It made me think of a Doctor Suess town.

As most people fully know the Netherlands has a rather relaxed view point of what is called soft drugs. Meaning things like mushrooms, marijuana, and a variety of other minor mind altering substances. Most people have also heard of the coffee shops you can go to to obtain any of these things. First thing you will find out however is that if you go to a coffee shop all you are going to find is a lot of coffee. You have to go to a cafe. Yes, in this world there is a difference.

Cafes look and feel sort of like any other coffee shop. The difference is that instead of pictures of coffee everywhere there are marijuana leaves and a layer a smoke hovering at about face level. It should been known that no cigarette smoking is allowed at the cafes.

There are a few rules of conduct concerning smoking weed. You can smoke it anywhere you want to but you are kindly asked to be considerate and not smoke where elderly or children are. So if you want to light up in a public park and lounge about it isn't an issue as long as you are sensitive to those around you. Restaurants discourage smoking of any kind. But if they have an outdoor patio they don't mind you smoking a cigarettes. They will make sure isn't a joint though.

Amsterdam is an easy city to walk around...easy to get lost that is. If you aren't looking for something in specific you will find everything. If you are looking for something in particular you will spend forever looking for it. We wasted a whole day trying to find an internet cafe(no pot here)
Which is how we ended up finding the most amazing library ever. Six or seven stories of information. Books, audio books, videos, music and hundreds a computers hooked up to the internet that anyone off the street could walk in and use with out paying or handing in anything. It was a huge modern building. On the top floor there was a gourmet kitchen and an outdoor patio that looked over the city. On the really rainy days we hid from the rain at the library. Sounds boring but it was too cool to be boring. See Amsterdam is so sweet even the library is exciting 😊

Then there is the Red Light district...The same tolerant attitude given to soft drugs is also given to the sex trade. And yes we did walk the the red light district. It wasn't as seedy as I thought it might be. It is hard to describe how something so controversial wouldn't be seedy but somehow Amsterdam managed it. The sex trade is a highly monitored job. As you are walking down the Red Light District you are expected to never take pictures of the girls in their glass framed booths lining the streets. They are working and snapping photos is considered rude and disrespectful.

Tourists as well as locals walk the streets past the girls. The Girls are never on the streets. They stay in the warmth of their closet sized booths. With the trade mark red light glaring inside. At first it seems odd but it isn't uncommon to see couples walking hand in hand or a mother pushing a baby stroller or maybe someone walking their dog. Most societies cringe and make illegal what the Netherlands has decided to turn in to a trade. Prostitution has been around for thousands of years. I'm not saying a I agree with it but it is something that will not simply go away. Unfortunately it is something people turn to to make money to survive. Even though I don't agree with prostitution I don't think it should be illegal. Seeing as this trade will not go away it should be something that is monitored. Making it illegal makes it very dangerous for the girls. Not only for their personal safety but for their personal health.

Amsterdam is this unusual mixture of old and new. As much tolerance as the Netherlands has for it own society and everyone else, it is under fire from the outside world to tighten up and make soft drugs and the Red Light District illegal. To some degree it has been caving into the pressures. When walking down the red light district you will notice some of the booths are lit up with white light and inside is a manikin with with some hideous "high fashion" dress on. Many of the booths were bought up by a disapproving faction.....and turned into windows to display clothing designs. The new booths look as out of place as garlic sprinkles in your ice cream sunday.

On our last day in Amsterdam we had a really early flight to catch to Spain. We new trying to break camp in the middle of the night to catch a string of buses and subway would be too difficult so we decided to stay up through the night, not too hard to do in a city that never sleeps. We stashed our backpacks at the subway terminal lockers and walked aimlessly for hours through the night. On this night we me the rudest man and the nicest man.

I can't blame Amsterdam for the rudest man however for you see he was a French. He decided to pick us out on the street to bum some money from and when we denied him he exploded. He yelled "I am the king of France and if you visit Paris I would not give you a cent if you asked me!" As he yelled and screamed this he kissed his tattooed bicep.

When finally our feet were to tired to carry us any further we decided it was time to catch our train to the airport and headed back to the subway. The luggage department was completely locked off! There above the door was a huge sign we had failed to see saying exactly what we had just found out. Somehow we had missed the huge block letters warning us about lock out times. Both of us went into a panic hoping we could find someone to help us. We could not miss our flight. Postponing it was not an option. We rushed to find someone, anyone to help us. An to our amazement we were not dismissed with annoyance as stupid backpackers(which would be normal procedure). A guard at two a clock in the morning was called in to open the doors for us. We waited with pathetic looks on our faces. The guard walked up. He was huge guy. Well over six foot. As he approached he had a serious look on his face and in a deep voice he told us that we had to pay a penalty fee of 50 Euro. We both nodded our heads not even disputing his demand. Whatever we had to do to get our bags we would do. Then his face changed completely and he started laughing and shaking his head. He unlocked the door and waved us in saying he was just joking. We couldn't have been more relieve or impressed.

Over all Amsterdam was a breath of fresh air. A new way of looking at the same old things. There are ways to deal with unsightly things. I don't believe it is possible to please everyone. It is my firm belief that the harder you try to harder it becomes. It is best to try to be open minded. Not every one is going to make choices we all agree on. It doesn't mean they are any less a good person or have any less to contribute to this world and these times. If everyone was the same shade of gray this would be a world sadly lacking.

And as we crossed through customs departing Netherlands we got our firm bold stamp 😊 and a smile to boot. Who would a thunk it...someone in customs smiles.

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Photos

Cosso Rosso Elephant.
What can you say, had to be done.

The Erotic Museum.
Err, that´s one way to ride a bike.

Gotta take a wizz, no prob.
Out door porta potty for the fellas. You can pee while still holding your conversation!

The Fun Bunny.
This seemed to be a big hit with kids young and old in our campground.

Comments

[dave]

Great Read
Great writing guys! I loved the part about if you were not looking for anything you would find everything and if you were looking for something specific you would not find it. Great observation. The 50 Euro joke the Dutch guy played on you was great as well! Great Entry!