Last week at exactly this time I was sitting on a train, next to a nice Dutch guy named Sjors, speeding through Holland on our way to...Amsterdam! (Next week at exactly this time I will be in Geneva, Switzerland, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. At exactly this time I'm in Paris, just so we're all well situated in time and space).
It was somewhat of a whirlwind weekend, so I'll give you guys a few highlights. I went with my friend Olivia, who's in my exchange program, and we couchsurfed with a super sweet girl named Anna, who's a music student at the conservatory of Amsterdam. She spent most of the weekend playing her violin, so we set off be ourselves into this world of bicycles and canals. And this is what we found...
Bloemenmarket! A huge flower market in the center of the city. Dutch people really love their flowers--they're everywhere, and in full bloom right now. If you don't know about Tulip Mania during the Dutch Golden Age (in the 17th century), I would suggest you take a moment and educate yourself, because it's quite interesting.
Rijksmuseum--not as moving, but still a cool museum experience. I learned lots of interesting things about the Dutch--for example, they've got quite a colonial history (like so many other European countries). They have particularly strong ties with Indonesia and China, which explains their beautiful porcelain "china" that was originally imported, then copied by Dutch manufacturers taking over the market.
Speaking of colonial history, we had a traditional Dutch meal called an rijsttafel (an Indonesian rice table). It didn't seem very Dutch to me--you get a big bowl of rice and then a bunch of smaller bowls full of meat and vegetables and tofu, flavored with curry and peanut sauce. It was delicious!!!
Bikers rule in Amsterdam. It's unbelievable how many there are--I think I saw more bikes than people. They rule the roads, and pedestrians better watch out. Sunday was a beautiful day, all blue skies and sunshine, so we rented a couple bikes and rode through Vondelpark, their version of Central Park. It was like riding through a postcard of Holland--flowers blooming, people relaxing under trees, little fountains and statues everywhere. We also rode up the East side of the city over the canals and checked out the architecture. Fun fact: Amsterdam has some of the narrowest houses in the world, because at the time they were being built there was a tax on the width of the houses. As a consequent, they're all tall and skinny, and sqeeeeeezed together along the canals.
Speaking of canals, we also took a canal cruise! Amsterdam started as a port on the Amstel river, and grew into the most important commerce city in the Netherlands, so canals were their bread and butter. Today they're still a defining characteristic of the city, and so beautiful!
Amsterdam is very interesting because there are a lot of clashing elements. There is a rich Dutch history and architectural beauty, but there is also a big drug and sex scene, because marijuana and prostitution are both legal. Almost everywhere you go in the city you can smell marijuana, wafting out of a coffeeshop or floating through a park. We walked through the Red Light District once, and that was enough for me!!
