Pretty easy flights today to go from Bangkok to Amsterdam, but man am I thirsty. Flying really takes the water out of me.
Amsterdam's Schiphol airport is surprisingly plain. And the luggage is taking forever! I really would have thought the luggage would be faster here than anywhere else since this is such a hub. Ah well.
But the passport controller was the friendliest I've ever had! He actually smiled and wished me a happy journey. Imagine. I've got Good Vibes from the Netherlands already! If it's not blazing hot here, I'll be happy with whatever this country has to offer.
They have so many trains here - and in all sizes. Even double decker trains, like I first saw in Sydney, AU. I guess that's only unusual to my American eyes.
It's not blazing hot here. In fact it's kind of cold. Only 58 this morning! Let's hope it gets sunnier.
Day One: Amsterdam Central and First Impressions
Old quaint quiet bikes and canals everywhere. All lovely. In the afternoon it got sunny. The perfect temperature. I'm still dehydrated from the flight and I can't find water anywhere. There are no huge bottles of water anywhere, or even small ones, being sold on the street. This is really strange after Asia, where they have water simply everywhere. Cultural differences, right?
Welcome to the Land of Giants. Seriously. They grow people Exceptionally Tall here. It's pretty cool. Actually, it gives me that feeling of true Awesome. Just watching these giant people walking around like it's nothing odd is so "Wow". After traveling to a lot of different parts of the world, I can say it is such an unusual thing to see uniformly tall people. Okay, so you get that I'm really taken with these people.
Smells like weed everywhere in Amsterdam. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise, but it's not the beatiful, fresh smell of marijuana buds that you might be imagining (should you be familiar with that smell). More often than not it's kind of a stinky, stale aftersmoke drifting through the air. Not the most pleasant smell ever. Get ready Americans - this smell may be coming to a city near you. But smell aside, this place is delightful!
They have such cool shops and restaurants here and it doesn't feel crowded at all, even though it's the most populated country in Europe (I read that online). But man, the sticker shock. Everything is so expensive!! After walking for two hours, I finally did find a little stand that sold water. A half-liter (a tiny little bottle of water by Asian standards) cost me Euro 2.50! That's like movie theater prices!! Totally outrageous. But to them, that's totally normal. I don't think NZ was this expensive.
They seem to like bagels here. I keep seeing places for them.
And everyone smokes here, and I don't mean The Chronic. Tobacco is BIG here. It's been awhile since I was in a country with so many smokers, and it seems really weird. But I guess if you bicycle everywhere, which they do, it kind of balances out. It would be interesting to look up the studies on that? Do Dutch smokers have lower lung cancer rates because they do so much regular exercise in the form of bicycling everywhere?
Since there are so few cars, it's incredibly quiet. It's like being in a small town, while actually being in the center of big city. So cool.
It's not that warm here and it's the first of June. They're all still wearing pants and light jackets on their bikes. I wonder what they wear when they're riding in winter. I wonder how cold it gets here in the winter.
Day Two - The Amsterdam Library and Bicycle Culture
Wow! The Library is a five story building. The first level is all music and movies - seriously. No books at all. Just like going to the music store except you get it for freeee! They have a huge DVD collection too. And there's a radio station on the first floor too - what an ideal place for a community radio station! The Dutch are so clever. And just generally cool. The fifth floor has a wonderful view of the city and a large bay that connects the ocean to all the city's canals.
I thought Taiwan had a strong bicycle culture, but the Dutch beat them tenfold. Watching the Dutch on bicycles is incredibly fun. These people can ride! And they aren't joyriding around, they're going FAST. As fast as their bikes can carry them. Two ladies ride next to each other, talking fast, riding faster. It's so cool to watch.
They don't wear helmets. Except sometimes the children, who are usually in a little seat in front of the rider. Bigger kids ride in the back. And they all have bells on their bikes to use like horns to warn you that they're coming. Bicycles have their own lane here, but for unfamiliar pedestrians, like me, it's a bit too easy to wander into what seems like a sidewalk, but is actually the bike lane. Luckily, they aren't afraid to use those bells. Woops!
Their bikes aren't status symbols mind you. No one's riding around with a blinged out bike. Some are a bit nicer than others, but mostly I would describe all of them as sturdy with that rickety sound of fenders. Fenders with reflectors. All manner of old to new bikes with very large frames. And most bikes have baskets and racks on the back. These bikes are built to be USED. Commuting, grocery shopping, going for a drink with friends. You can bet they're riding their bike to get there, if they can.
It's like a dream come true to see them riding bikes everywhere. Isn't this the universe we want to see come true? Environmentally speaking, I think it is. Healthy, cheap, quiet, non-polluting, personal. Why did we ever stop riding bikes? I thought it was Taiwan, but The Netherlands might be MY country! Is this model exportable? If only.
Day 3 - Another day in Amsterdam, a few days later
Back in Amsterdam after a few days in the college town of Utrecht, I'm taking the delightful, tourist-required, canal tour. The highlight: We hit another boat! Or rather he HIT us. Right in the middle of the bay (across from the library). It wasn't a large boat, but it was a very nice sailboat. The Captain was less than impressed with this guy, who immediately got angry and started yelling, like it was our fault. It was all very slow-motion and unbelievable. This sailboat just got closer and closer and then BAM, right into our bumper. The Captain was so nonchalant on the microphone, that at first I thought it was part of the tour. Ha Ha. It wasn't!
Picture some drunk guy driving a nice sports car rear-ends your heavy duty truck at a stoplight and then is like, "Why'd you hit me?!?" His front end is crumpled and your truck has nary a scratch. The sailboat had a nice dent, but we didn't suffer any damage. The Captain tossed a few words back at him, but we just floated on. I guess you don't have to call the cops in that situation? It was all a bit crazy. But unusual and exciting.
After that, the rest of the tour was a bit anti-climactic. And with no one to share it with, it was a bit blah too. Canal after canal lined with beautiful old Dutch mansions from the 1600s. You can get it from the pictures.
After lunch, I made the obligatory walk through the Red Light District. It was late afternoon so there wasn't much going on. Only two scantily clad girls standing in floor to ceiling windows. I'm sure it is quite a scene in the evening, I can only imagine. It was simultaneously strange, disturbing, curious, unbelievable and fascinating. I can certainly see the logic and sense of the place, from a legal perspective, but that industry doesn't really lend itself to sense and logic. As a cultural phenomenon, I'm glad I saw it, but a quick walk through was enough to satisfy my curiousity.
The other part of the Red Light District is all the marijuana bars. They are coffes shops really, where you order any number of types of mj, instead of coffee. Not that interesting, really. The most interesting thing in the District was a large metal sculpture that turned out to be a men's public toilet, where (drunk or stoned) men could take a piss on the pavement without exposing themselves. I suppose otherwise, they'll just go right in the canal, exposing themselves in the process. Talk about mind-boggling. I'm still confounded over that one. Wait till you see the picture.
And now I'm off to Delft. But next up, I'll have an article about my time in Utrecht. And maybe one about the amazing Rijksmuseum that I didn't cover here.
