Dag from Amsterdam

As you have read on this very blog, Edinburgh is a marvelous place here once can have a new experience each and every day and not get bored once. So, naturally, the first thing I did when finishing exams was fly to another country, the Netherlands (or Holland, if you prefer) This is my first stop on my 2 week mini tour before I rest and then return home on January 5th. Soon, I will be heading to Paris and then spending Christmas in a small English town before returning to Edinburgh, possibly doing some day trips, then staying in America. That will be the first time in more then half a year I will be in America for longer then a month.

But you aren’t here to read a list, I presume. No, you’re here to ‘hear’ witty commentary from a student traveling abroad! Or look at pretty pictures. Whichever comes first. So Amsterdam… I came there for the architecture, and stayed there for the friendliness…. Honestly! If Edinburgh is full of wonderfully kind people who would gladly help a tourist from one part of the Royal mile to the next, Amsterdam is full of people who would save a you from drowning in one of the many rivers. Re-reading that sentence, I can safely say I didn’t get into college for my metaphors.

I’d say Amsterdam is a mix of Dubrovnik and New York, with a dash of Las Vegas as well, if that helps you picture it. There is plenty of modern architecture, but plenty of wonderfully and perhaps painfully picturesque apartments and churches that seem to have been ripped right out of a postcard. If that doesn’t fulfill your need to see pretty things, museums dot the landscape; form the Van Gogh museum to the Anne Frank museum. Well, that last one is not art, but it is definitely something you cannot miss if you visit. You can explore the bunker the young Jewish girl and her family shared for a few horrifying years, and learn a great deal about the life of Jews during the holocaust. It is nearly impossible to get through with a dry tear, especially at the end, when you realize that Otto, nearly completely alone in the world, helped put the museum together so ‘young people can analyze the horrors of hatred’.

Because this blog is supposed to be family friendly, the next few paragraphs will be presented as subtly as possible (bearing in mind that I’m not at all good at that, according to the poor souls once subjected to my high-school poetry.) Yes, there red light district is very active in Amsterdam, and yes, one can find many interesting substances in certain areas as easily as one could find a fashion magazine. I was caught off guard during an awkward moment while on a public street, passing a shop that showcased young women in the windows striking poses next to a toy shop. Other colorful shops that would often have blinds covering their wares were fully displayed on the main streets. No one seems to be badly effected by this openness, and as I’ve mentioned, these areas are relatively crime-free, but it still may be a shock for new travelers, and especially for people traveling with their children (oh, to be a fly on the wall for that conversation).

However, Amsterdam is also a very family-friendly city. The nearby parks were full of families with rickety sleds sliding through the fresh snows (which I perhaps would have enjoyed if it had not delayed my flight an hour, or maybe I’m just bitter because I didn’t bring a sled). The dogs control the parks here much like in New York, to the point where it seems they were built for the dogs over people, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

It is frighteningly easy to get lost, as the streets may change their names erratically, there are plenty of side streets, and bridges crossing the many streams look similar. Thankfully, if you get very lost, the tram and metro are easy to use, but even then, why worry? The city is very safe, and each time I got lost, which I assure you, was most of my time, I simply wandered around the streets and found many new things to occupy my time with, be it a trendy shop or museum, or simply watching the people walking by, like the slightly creepy woman I am. The city is incredibly beautiful at night, as there are lights on many of the higher buildings and bridges, and now there are holiday decorations on every street. If I were younger, I’d perhaps be a little disturbed by the plentiful plastic life-sized Santas that greet each passerby with an eerie smile.

Pictures, as usual, will be posted eventually.

Happy Holidays, and thank you for putting up with my incredible smugness.

Sincerely,
The weird traveler with a thick American accent.