If you replace the gambling and drinking of Las Vegas with prostitutes and marijuana you get Amsterdam. The city is quite overwhelming, so the first night we wandered around attempting to take it all in. There are multiple “coffee shops” on every block along with a mix of unique museums, such as the Vodka Museum and the Sex Museum. The ground is littered with papers of all kinds, and there are sketch balls everywhere. But despite the oddities, Amsterdam still manages to pull of somewhat of a charm, with its blue canals and friendly locals.
When we could no longer handle the city we headed back to our hostel. Our hostel, Lucky Lake, was located far outside the city; after a metro ride out to the suburbs we had to take an additional shuttle provided by the hostel. The commute was kind of a hassle, but was worth it to avoid the chaos of the city. Lucky Lake was definitely the most unique lodging we’ve encountered. We stayed in a “caravan” otherwise known as a trailer. The trailer was small and decorated in a 1970’s motif with wood paneling and brown-carpet chairs. Along the hostel paths were large colorful animals; across from our caravan was a fat purple hippo. Pretty intense, huh? Surprisingly the bathrooms were clean and the breakfast was good, so we didn’t have too many complaints.
On our first full day in Amsterdam we took a free tour provided by New Europe. The tour began at the National Monument, where we were warned of what was to come later in the day. For example, we were told to put our cameras away while walking through the Red Light District in order to avoid pee-throwing prostitutes.
We started the tour by walking down the most crime-ridden street in Europe. As I clutched tightly to my purse we made our way to the Red Light District. Walking through the streets we passed girls in windows attempting to sell their wares. According to our tour guide this site is becoming less common as the national government buys property in the area; all the girls will be gone within the next five. If you want to visit Amsterdam as it’s known to day you’d better do it soon!
Leaving the Red Light District we headed to an area just as sketchy. Our guide led us to a bridge where stolen bikes can be bought for as little as ten euros. Drug addicts sell stolen bikes and use the money for their next fix. Sure enough as we stood on the bridge a toothless crack-addict tried to sell us his bike. Apparently bike theft is such a problem in Amsterdam that most of the city rides around on stolen bikes. Amsterdam is such a weird city.
Adding to the odd atmosphere is the abundance of crooked houses. Apparently the houses sink into the ground at a rate of about a millimeter per year, but rather than fixing the foundations people just live in crooked houses. It’s rather bizarre. Another interesting note about the architecture is that the steps in Amsterdam are really steep. It’s almost like climbing a ladder. In fact the steps are so steep that rather than hauling furniture and other big items up the steps, the people use ropes to pull it up the outside of the building and then through the window. Moving must be a pain in the butt!
The next stop on the tour was the old Jewish neighborhood. After WWII the area became known as ‘Funky Town’ (the one in the song.)
Along the way to our next stop the tour guide pointed out the contraptions the city uses to prevent public urination. In the corners of buildings are shields that squirt the urine back on the perpetrator. This may sound bad, but in the past public urinators were shocked by underground electrical wiring. Only in Amsterdam.
The next stop on the tour was the famous coffee shop Dampkring (it was in a John Travolta movie.) Through the window we saw the shop’s cat totally zoned out on the counter.
At this point it started down pouring and the tour was cut short. Josh and I sat out the rain while eating lunch. Afterwards we visited Anne Franks house. It was cool to visit the place I’ve read so much about. After a short exhibit about Anne’s life, we walked behind the bookshelf and into the secret annex. It was bigger than I imagined, but of course still very small. It’s amazing that so many people lived there for such a long period of time.
The next day was the 4th of July and Josh and I were both pretty disappointed to be out of the country. Luckily Josh saved the day by buying a large array of American food: a watermelon, corn on the cob, hamburgers, and potato chips. It was a really good Independence Day lunch!
After eating we went to town in search of the internet. (That was one big problem with Lucky Lake, the wifi didn’t work.) We walked around until finding a quiet café. After checking our e-mail we planned to go to the Van Gogh museum, but we found out that museum is surprisingly closed on Saturdays. Instead we found Amsterdam’s Biomarket. The market is a big tourist trap with nearly every store selling wooden-shoes and an assortment of tulips. We also found a cheese store (Holland’s known for gouda) where we got free samples. Yummy!
On our way back to Lucky Lake we stopped for some famous Dutch French fries. They were good, but really not any better than McDonald’s. Interestingly, they use mayonnaise instead of ketchup (it’s your kind of place Austin.)
Amsterdam is definitely the most unique place we’ve visited on our trip. I’m glad I was able to experience the chaos first hand, but I have no plans to return in the near future!
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