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Published: June 11th 2010
After four days in England, a last-minute four-day trip to Rome immediately following my return from England, and just a few short days in Douai, I was rather dreading my trip to the Netherlands. I had two bags open on my floor with clothing, books, and bottles of shampoo strewn everywhere, and I tried to repack a third bag.
In addition to the stress of trying to pack yet again, still being sleep-deprived, there was also a national strike on Thursday, the day I was set to leave. Only my train to Brussels was cancelled, and fortunately the earlier train to Brussels was delayed just long enough for me to jump on. After a delay in my train from Brussels to Amsterdam, and a two hour train ride with some of the most obnoxious Americans I've ever encountered, I arrived in Amsterdam.
I found my hostel, right in the middle of the "coffee shops" (more on those later) and sex shops. It was run by an Asian family who spoke almost no English, I climbed the stairs that were so steep they were practically a ladder, and then I met the roommates. I was staying in a six-bed dorm
with five Italian friends. Their schedule? Smoke an insane amount of pot, sleep for four hours, repeat. I got woken up at 3am both nights because they had flung open the windows, turned on all the lights and were smoking up again. Then they'd crawl back into bed, and I'd see them start rolling more joints when I was getting ready to go out sightseeing the next morning. I guess I don't see the point of flying all the way to Amsterdam, spending all the money on hostels (which are really expensive in the city) and marijuana, just to get stoned and sleep all day.
I went on a free walking tour of the city (by the same company who did the free walking tour in Jerusalem), and met another American who was also traveling alone. We stuck together for the rest of the weekend, and went on a walking tour of the red light district that same night. Amsterdam is a beautiful city, and the weather was gorgeous. We got to see all the major sights in the city, walk along the canals, hear interesting facts about the city (like the fact that they pull 20,000 bikes out
of the canals every year), and get our bearings a bit before setting out on our own.
One of the most interesting aspects of the city is its overwhelming tolerance. Prostitution is legal, and you walk past window and window of women wearing very little clothing, trying to entice passing men. Pimping is illegal, though, so these women work for themselves. They must be at least 18 (and the oldest is 83!) and they rent the windows and the small rooms connected for eight hour shifts and keep all the profits for themselves. They have the to power to determine who is and isn't let into their rooms, how much will be paid and what exactly that price includes. Condoms must be used, but interestingly enough, they don't require prostitutes to get tested. Apparently, though, the women get tested several times a year of their own volition and have a lower rate of STDs than university students in the country. There are also brothels and escort services, but they're not nearly as visible as the girls in windows. Oh, important fact to keep in mind: red lights are for the girls. A blue light means that woman gyrating in
the window isn't entirely female...
The other major draw for tourists is the abundance of marijuana. Surprisingly, possessing and producing marijuana are both misdemeanors, and pot is a controlled substance. You wouldn't think this from the dozens of "coffee shops" lining the streets and canals. Yes, they serve coffee and Cokes, but the main item on the menu is marijuana, whether you buy it by the gram or already rolled into joints. And yes, they literally have a menu, listing all the varieties, countries of origin, types of joints, etc. you can purchase. You are required to buy a drink, but then you can sit in the tiny, dimly lit cafés and smoke to your pot-head heart's content. You can also buy "space cakes," which are baked goods (typically brownies or slices of cake) with the marijuana baked right in. They used to sell smoothies and other types of food with marijuana in it, but it's very hard to regulate just how much goes in it. This becomes dangerous for the person eating it because the effects occur after an hour or two and it's very easy to ingest too much and have a bad trip.
The city
is trying to clean up the city centre and move all the coffee shops out of the center and drastically reducing the number of windows (many windows have already been bought out by the city and are now filled with art and fashion displays). If you want to get the real A'dam experience, you better hurry up and book your tickets now. The city is aiming to have everything cleaned up by 2013-2015. They want to attract older, wealthier (read: classier) tourists than the current young, poor, stoner backpackers they tend to attract.
If inhaling clouds of smoke or ogling prostitutes isn't your thing (and it's not mine!) there are other things to do in the city. It was strange seeing older couples and young families with small children as tourists in the city that seems so synonymous with hedonism, drugs, and sex. But I suppose they were there to do the alternative activities, much like myself.
The Anne Frank Huis lets you see the Secret Annex where Anne Frank and her family hid during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. You actually get to climb through the secret opening hidden by a bookcase and climb the very
narrow, steep steps up to the attic. If you can ignore the throngs of obnoxious high school students, it's a very interesting experience and something I've always wanted to do.
I didn't have enough time to do all the other museums in the city (the Heineken Experience, Marijuana and Hash Museum, several famous art museums, Tulip museums, the Dutch Resistance museum, torture museum, etc.), but you could easily spend several days (and hundreds of euros) just hanging out in museums.
I got out of Amsterdam after just two days. It's really not my scene, I got sick of the scent of pot everywhere you walked, and I was terrified of the bikes. The Netherlands have the second highest number of bikes in the world, after China (though I feel like China has an unfair advantage based on their billion-plus population). Bicycles basically rule the streets, and trying to walk through the maze of roads, bike paths, sidewalks, and canals (with no railings or other sort of barrier!) is dangerous as a pedestrian. I'm surprised I made it out alive and without a serious collision with those two-wheeled monsters.
I spent the rest of my weekend in Den
Haag (The Hague). It's much calmer, has fresher air, (mostly) fully clothed women, and it's near the North Sea. Oh, and my dorm room was full of friendly girls who didn't get up at 3am to smoke pot. Yay!
Den Haag is the political seat of the Netherlands, so it's full of embassies and government building. There is also still a monarchy in the Netherlands, and Queen Beatrix lives in The Hague. Oh, and it's the judicial seat of United Nations, so they send all their war criminals to this beautiful city.
I only had a day and a half in Den Haag, but I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Meermanno Museum (which had a fabulous exhibit on the history of Pippi Longstocking), walked the three miles to the beach in Scheveningen (and then promptly got caught in a downpour, of course), explored the city, and stumbled upon a wonderful outdoor photography exhibit of Europe's endangered species and natural beauty.
Would I go back to the Netherlands? Yes, definitely. The Dutch are very friendly (despite their aggressive bike riding), bilingual, and tolerant. The country is very flat (a third of it is actually below
sea level), so I might take my life into my own hands next time and rent a bike for an extended cycling trip through the country. The Dutch language sounds a bit like gobbledygook...like I'm a really drunk and just can't quite understand, and their choice of street food is appalling (raw herring served with raw onions and pickles? no thanks, I'll pass)....but I suppose I can overlook that. I would skip Amsterdam in the future and go earlier in the spring to see all the tulips. Oh, and I'd buy myself some wooden shoes.
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Aunt Marie
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Kate-you really are getting an education with all the traveling your doing-what a strangely interesting place you just visited. Getting ready for Italy. love you