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Published: November 20th 2008
MY AMSTERDAM CS HOST
After a 3-hour train ride from Brussels, I arrived in the evening at Amsterdam Central Station and quickly made my way to Alfon's place. I arrived at a cute flat in the center of the city greeted by "Fons" as they call him. His place was decorated with modern grafitti style paintings. The works of art were his own come to find out Fons is a freelance graphic artist specializing in website design who dabbles in painting from time to time. He wasn't shy to say the least, with plenty of things to say, a great sense of humor, and overall the kind of person you just love to be around. The minute I got settled, we lounged out on his fat boy bean bags and chatted the night away for almost four hours over
way too many cups of coffee.
THE CULTURE
LEGAL PROSTITUTION. Everything is pretty central in Amsterdam, so everything is within walking distance. The city landscape is charming with townhomes, bridges, canals, cafes, shops, and bicycle riders everywhere. With such a unique beauty, I wondered where the hype of Amsterdam's liberal reputation all fit in. Oh was I about to find out.
On my first day strolling through a nice, quiet, and cozy neighborhood I randomly turned my head at a house on my right and standing outside the door was an older man with a women on the inside of the door dressed only in her bra and underwear.
"What the?! I thought to myself as my eyes popped out of my head. I kept walking about 10 more feet, then discreetly turned my head back to see if the man dared go inside. He did not, but I'm sure you can just imagine as well as I can what the extent of their conversation was. A few blocks further down I noticed again to my right on two separate occasions a woman sitting in a chair behind a window, legs crossed, and scantily clad in just lingerie for anyone on the streets walking by to see (officially known as "window prostitution").
Where the heck was I? The Red Light District?. I didn't think so picturing in my head that the District was similar to Pigalle in Paris - blinking neon lights, strip clubs, and a ton of gawking men (and women). The neighborhood I was in was quite the opposite.
Smart Shop
"Its Friday..."I would later find that I was right. If that was not the Red Light District, I was looking forward to seeing the real thing.
SOFT DRUGS. Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, where people speak Dutch, prostitution is legal, and home of the "smart shops" - retail stores where people can buy marijuana and "magic" mushrooms like we buy Big Gulps at 7-Eleven. Of course I was curious. There everything was displayed behind the counter or on the shelves. Varieties of marijuana and mushrooms, hemp seeds, cultivation "How to Guides", periphenalia, you name it. It was quite weird to be in a store to overhear an employee working his sales pitch to a couple of Americans sharing his "magic" mushroom experiences and educating them on the different "high" effects depending on kind you try. I officially knew I was in Amsterdam.
From that point on everything is a blur so this is the extent of my blog. 😊
Just kidding....
SIGHTSEEING
AMSTERDAM LIBRARY - So on my first full day in Amsterdam I had big, exciting, adveturous plans. I went to the library. Yeah, you're thinking "Huh!?" I had read up on their free
access to the internet and needed to take care of much needed business of checking emails, future couchsurfing requests, etc. before getting caught up in my sightseeing. Plus, the Amsterdam Library I find blog worthy as its is far from ordinary. It is actually the largest library in Europe, with seven collection floors, all decorated in modern decor, including a theatre, a readers' cafe, and a restaurant overlooking the city. A cool place to just chill. Who knew. I ended up staying at the library the rest of the afternoon with all my planned sightseeing out the door. I know...bore snore, but I had a couple of days ahead of me to do what I needed.
CANAL CRUISE. An inexpensive must do and a good way to unwind after a long day of sightseeing.
ANNE FRANK HUIS - A visit I recommend to anyone visiting Amsterdam. The tour is self-guided and takes you through the last place Anne and her family lived before being taken away to concentration camps. It was
very sad to actually be standing there having reading the
Diary of Anne Frank book as a child. Anyone need a brush-up on history? (I did).
WWII, the Frank family, Jewish, forced into hiding for two years in a hidden portion of a house, the entrance concealed by a bookcase, cramped living quarters shared with another family, no interaction with the real world, eventually betrayed, arrested, transported to concentrations camps, victims of the Holocaust, Otto Frank (Anne's father) the only member of his family to survive, a diary left behind by Anne of the emotional and detailed account as victims of Jewish persecution, and an everlasting impact left on the entire world.
VAN GOGH MUSEUM - Not only do you get to appreciate great art at the place that holds the largest collection of Van Gogh's work, you also gain an in-depth perspective of his life: art dealer turned priest turned artist. More interestingly the museum chronicles Van Gogh's evoluation of his initial use of somber and dark colors, progressing into his reknown impressionist style of distinct brush strokes and use of light colors, ending with his last years of his life suffering from mental illness until finally his death by suicide.
RED LIGHT DISTRICT For the most part it was what I expected to be and then some advertising live sex shows. WOW.
And yes, it was similar to Paris's Piagelle, but Amsterdam's charm still isn't lost in all the debauchery of this area. But then again, my visit was was during the day. Perhaps its a different story at night.
MARKETS, MARKETS, MARKETS - Flower market, Waterlooein Flea Market, China Town area, 9th Street vintage markets. Plenty of shopping to go around.
HEINKEN FACTORY. A place to experience the making of genuine Dutch beer....but to my disappointment, it was closed for rennovations! BOO. For anyone visiting soon, it should be open by now...
NIGHT LIFE
In planning my visit to Amsterdam, I intentionally wanted to be in the City on a Friday to experience the CS Amsterdam Groups weekly Friday evening gatherings which I was told was a "must-do" from some CS friends from back home. But instead, Fons, a "break from the norm" type guy insisted that I would have a better time hanging out at one of his digs, Da Nieuwe Anita (The New Anita). A good call on his part. The place had a relaxed, laid back swag, with a lounge bar playing sounds of soul/jazz/funk all night. My kind of place. Excellent espresso martini's and
"Fons"
At Da Nieuwe Anita a small dance floor on the lower level to shake your groove thang.
FOOD
Its hard to distinguish traditional Dutch food when you're in Amsterdam as there are endless choices of international food cuisines. In a conversation with Fons about food, he shared with me his liking of a white bun filled with meat that he called "Bapoa" (Bah-pow) which I mentioned sounded similar the to the Filipino version called Siopoa (shoh-pow). I wasn't surprised as I know many other cultures share a similar version like the Vietnamese "bahn boa" , the Hawaiian "manapua", and the Chinese "cha siu baau." But then I was in a for a shock when the word "Lumpia" came out of his mouth. For all my peeps reading this who don't know what "lumpia" is, its a Filipino eggroll that hopefully you've had the pleasure of trying. You're even more lucky if you've had my moms because they're the
BOMB. (Damn I miss home...). Okay, I digress. So anyway, my jaw dropped highly impressed that Fons knew what lumpia was and equally shocked that I would hear that word in Amsterdam assuming the name was exclusive to Filipinos. I was motivated to do research
Bapao & Loempia
Reminds me of home... and so from what I gathered, here is some Lumpia 101 for you: 1) the term "lumpia" actually originated in China from the word
"lunpia; 2) "loempia" spelled with the "oe" instead of the "u" is an old Indonesian spelling; and 3) "loempia" is actually a word used in present day Dutch language to describe a "spring roll". AMAZING what you learn about your own culture when you visit a completely different country.
Amsterdam is a beautiful place to visit, but as you can see is an absolute culture shock compared to the US. I can't wait to go back. Now off to Deutschland (Germany).....
For more Amsterdam pictures, click here ----> Amsterdam Pics Where in the world is Lynn now? ----> Lynn's Twitter Page
AMSTERDAM TID BITS
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Holland or Dutch? Both words are often used interchangeably to describe people from the country of the Netherlands, but for clarification, "Holland" is actually a region of the Netherlands which technically should be used when referring one self belonging to that particular part of the country. "Holland" however is the typical term often used mistakingly by both foreigners and non-foreigners. "Dutch" is actually the appropriate term to generally describe people from the
Netherlands.
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"Dutch Indonesian." I've heard it plenty of times when someone has described to me their ethnic background, but not until my trip to Amsterdam did I understand its true meaning. So here it is..back in the early 1600's, the Dutch gained control, colonized, and ruled for almost 350 years what is known as present day Indonesia, referred to back then as the Dutch East Indies. Naturally, there was the co-habitation of the Dutch with the Indonesians, hence the term. Interestingly, in WWII, the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, causing many of Dutch-Indonesians to flee, including many who settled in the Netherlands.
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Prostitution. It is a legal "profession" in the Netherlands, with privileges of social security, the option to join unions, and yes, they are taxed on their earnings. There are options one can specialize in such as strip clubs, private homes, brothels, escort service, massage parlors, or simply on the streets.
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No slander in Amsterdam. Weather its a commercial on television or political election covered in the news - the Dutch like to fight fair and present only the facts. In Amsterdam, you won't see "Coke is better than Pepsi" advertised or "Obama is a closet Muslim" speculation in the press.
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"The Mac" = the Dutch reference to McDonalds.
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Puthapom Prapunwong
non-member comment
Cheers
Always enjoy reading your stories, loads of fun + new knowledge !! Go on LL !!! [-_-]/ Puthx