Tolerant Amsterdam

First, a bit about my mother. 

Mom has been traveling for work since I was born, and is quite the travel expert. She has taken us on some amazing trips to places like Brazil and the US Virgin Islands and has taught us the rules of travel. I am very lucky to have her and to have had these great experiences. The fact that I am an experienced traveler makes this trip possible. 

But mom has done a lot more than that. In the weeks leading up to my departure, she was helping me pack, researching, and going with me on errands. She was sitting on my bed talking through how I could possibly fit 2 months of clothes in one bag. She was calling friends and finding places for us to stay. She was putting up with my stressed-out self and helping me through packing when I had a lot of other stuff going on. 

Which brings me to Amsterdam. A week or so ago we hit a bump because we couldn't find anywhere to stay in Amsterdam. Everything was booked or way out of our price range, except the sketchiest hostels that I wanted nothing to do with. Apparently those Dutch like to have big festivals and one started this weekend. So I called mom. 

Within half an hour, she had found us a hotel in our price range, researched how to get downtown, and booked it for us. 

So that's how we got to stay in a hotel in Amsterdam. 

It's right next to the airport, so on Wednesday night we got in, rested in our own PRIVATE ROOM, took SHOWERS, and headed back to the airport for the train downtown.

We arrived at Amsterdam Centraal station just as it was getting dark. It really does look like a gingerbread house. 

We grabbed some dinner at a touristy sit-down place but we didn't care because we were just hungry. We walked around for a bit and bought some bananas for breakfast at the hotel, but we called it a night pretty soon. We were too excited for our fluffy hotel beds. 

Thursday morning  we were going to take the 11 am free walking tour, but we just slept. For the first time on our trip it was rainy, and that really just makes you want to stay in bed (am I right?).  We slept until about 10, took showers, and headed out for the later tour that started at 1 pm in Dam Square. 

Walking tours are where I learn the most about the city, so this is the part, as usual, where I share with you. 

First of all, Amsterdam is absolutely beautiful. It has 4-5 main canals that go through the city like concentric semi-circles. There are over 1000 bridges over these canals, and trees and houseboats line most of them. The buildings are tiny townhouses with really cool roof lines. All the shops seem locally owned and the homes are cute with tons of flowers. There are more bikes out than people. I read that the average Dutch family has 4 bikes. Seems like 8 or 9. 

We learned on our tour that the Dutch are very direct people. They say it like it is. I can tell you tht it makes sone interactions a little uncomfortable, but I guess it's a good thing. So this is their national monument, which they call The National Monument. 

And this is their oldest church in the city named... You guessed it... The Old Church! 

We saw a lot of other cool stuff too. Let's go chronologically. 

Legend has it that Amsterdam was started by two men and a dog in a boat traveling through the swamp in a storm. They swore if they made it til morning they would start a city wherever they landed. So they lived and dammed the river Amstel and voila! Amsterdam. No one knows if its true because the area was all swamp and there is no archaeological record at all. But here is a cool sign depicting the men and the dog and the flag of Amsterdam- three x's down the middle. 

The Netherlands became a super power a few hundred years ago. Amsterdam was the headquarters of the Dutch East India Trading Company, the first international company, the first company to have shares, and the first entity to discover most of the world (i.e. Australia before Captain Cook). This was their headquarters.

There was a wall around the city to control imports and exports (meaning to collect taxes) and the was the main entrance- De Waag. It was also the home of public autopsies, one of which was painted and made famous by Rembrandt. 

Did I mention Rembrandt lived in Amsterdam? And like... A lot of stuff is named after him. 

In this era of trade and wealth, most of the buildings on the canals stored imports (spices, etc.). The staircases were so tiny that it was nearly impossible to get stuff up them, so instead they use hooks! Just lifted stuff on up to the attic where it would stay fresh. 

 

The pilgrims that landed on Plymouth Rock also have a connection to Amsterdam. They stopped here on their journey, and worshipped in a hidden church that now hangs a huge US flag. It's nestled in the quietest, most peaceful little courtyard in the city. 

A little more recently, Amsterdam was occupied by Nazis during WW2.  This is the building where Anne Frank's family hid for 2 years before they were split up and taken to concentration camps. It was her father's shop. 

Did you know that before she died Anne told her dad that she wanted to be a published writer? And then when the war was over he was the only survivor of the family so he worked really hard and got her diary published. It is now the second most-translated book in the world. 

Through all of the history lessons we learned there was a major theme- tolerance. When Catholicism was outlawed, the community still let Catholics practice their religion in secret churches. This building has a church on the top 2 floors that can hold 200 people- in secret. 

When the Nazis wanted to kill the Jewish community, everyone in Amsterdam, including government officials, stood up to the Nazis in a huge rebellion to defend their neighbors and friends. Hundreds were killed by the Nazi soldiers, but it was the first anti Nazi rebellion by normal civilians in Europe. 

This tolerance extends to modern times. You've probably heard of these...

What you probably didn't know is that it is illegal to buy, sell, or smoke marijuana in The Netherlands. But they tolerate it. The police literally look the other way. No one has been arrested for smoking weed here in 35 years. 

In 2000, prostitution became legal. Many prostitutes opposed it because it had been tolerated before but now they would have to pay taxes like any other entrepreneur. But the laws have made it safer. 

So here's a sex worker. I was far enough away that I felt ok taking a picture. 

Walking around the red light district was seriously wild. I was so fascinated I just wanted to keep walking around. These women are just standing in windows advertising themselves. And they make BANK- €50 for 15 mins. There are also sex and lingerie shops everywhere. Here's a cool, tame one. 

So that's your tour of Amsterdam. After our walk we got a snack and headed back to the train station. Mom, being amazing and thoughtful, had bought us a dinner cruise around the canals. So we sat and relaxed for an hour or 2 before that. 

The boats have to be really flat to fit under the bridges. 

It was great. Beer, wine, pizza, ice cream. Perfect. We got to see some other stuff, like one of these signs

 (there are at least 3 that I know of...) and the smallest house in Amsterdam, #7 Singelgracht, which is only one window wide! Crazy. 

After that was when we walked all around the city at night and saw the red light district. 

And then we headed back to the hotel. 

We slept in again yesterday just because the beds were so nice, and we knew it was going to be a long day. We took the train to the city and immediately got some food. Jeremy wanted to try the fries and mayonnaise. He said they were good... Idk it just tastes like some Dukes mayo on thick fries. But he liked it! I got a veggie wrap and we headed out to rent bikes. 

Biking around Amsterdam is both really easy and a huge challenge... The locals make it look easier than walking. No one wears helmets, they talk and text while biking, they use the same roads as scooters and cars without issue, and they breeze through intersections. 

Well being a tourist, not knowing the city or the rules, and using a rental bike make all of this much harder. We were going slow and staying out of the way, but I almost got hit like 4 times (one of those was an ambulance). When we were on busier streets it was stressful, and my seat was way too high for me which makes it hard to stop and start quickly. But when you get out further you can just cruise for like 45 mins from one end of the city to the other stress free and it is beautiful. 

Only problem- awful bike seat and my ass is killing me! The train today is no fun. But I got a lot of great pictures of the canals and stuff (at the top). 

We rode out to one of the 4 remaining windmills in the city that now has a brewery attached to it. We heard there was a free tour but it was in Dutch so instead we just got a beer. 

Nothing wrong with that. 

We rode for 3-4 hours total, and after returning the bikes we got some dinner on a canal. I wanted real food so we sat down. 

Our dinner spot. 

Jeremy just got some soup but I got tortellini and even though the waiter forgot to put it in and it took an hour, it was amazing. 

After dinner we decided to head back to the hotel because we had to plan and pack for our travel day today. 

So that's Amsterdam!

Today there's not much to report. We are traveling 8-8 to Copenhagen. It mostly looks like this. 

It's nice to be able to blog for a minute but there is no wifi here. I hope I can post it tonight- we are staying with one of mom's friends for 2 nights. 

You may be wondering at this point how much goes in the blog and how much doesn't. I can honestly tell you about 75% goes in here. For the rest, we will have to talk when I get home. :) 

So it's day 17 and we have 43 days left. Btw if you want to talk or just let me know you are reading, leave a comment or email/Facebook/iMessage me. Several of you have and I LOVE IT!!!!

More soon!

<3