Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a beautiful city. The people are friendly. There is a culture of tolerance. Since the early 1200s when it was first established, the people's main concern has been floods. After all, that is what happens when the majority of the city is built on land reclaimed from the sea (I have summitted Mt. Amsterdam and dare I say, I got a bit of altitude sickness at 1.5 meters above sea level). There is an attitude of "Let's put differences aside and work to save and preserve our city from the sea." Once survival wasn't the primary concern that attitude morphed slightly to "I don't care about your language or religion or customs, as long as what you have to offer is good for business and we can make a profit." The people are proud of their secular nature, but they do serve the Almighty Euro. The people are pragmatic and coexist. Perhaps one of the better examples is the Dam Center where metro trains, cars, bikes, tuk tuks, pedestrian, horse carriages meet with surprisingly few accidents.

Amsterdam is a city of canals and and bridges. Over 200 canals have been built along the river Amstel. The homes are narrow and tall, built along the canals. Homes under construction were taxed based on the width of the home. It is interesting to compare that to America where we have to follow zoning laws decreeing that only homes of certain sizes and stories on certain sized lots can be built. The homes lean to the side and forward. They are built on wooden poles drilled into the ground and as the wood begins to rot, the home leans. It is very expensive to replace the foundation and procrastination is a general rule. There is quite a lot of business in leveling floors and crooked windows. Amsterdam is a city of bikes. There are as many bikes as people. Every year 20,000 bikes are pulled out of the canals.

Trade has been central to the development of Amsterdam. The East and West India Trading Companies were based out of Amsterdam. Amsterdam was also the site of religious pilgrimages after the Miracle of the Bread. A man was dying and a nun gave him bread as part of the sacrament for Last Rights. He vomited up the bread which somehow then had the ability to float around the fire. It was also fire proof and kept returning to the home of the now dead man. Amsterdam became a pilgrimage site and people would crawl around a silver box containing the bread three times to be cured. Sadly, a thief stole the bread box and upon finding a crouton instead of treasure, threw the magical bread into the water. So the bread that could levitate, survive two fires, and cure people came to a soggy end. However, in the meantime, Amsterdam prospered and business continued to thrive despite the tragic loss of the bread.

Amsterdam is known for its tolerant attitude towards drugs and the infamous coffeeshops. Marijuana and soft drugs are actually illegal but are not considered a criminal offense, leaving a large gray area for a booming business. The term "plausible deniability" is used frequently. As long as it doesn't disrupt or harm others and is discreet, then it is ok. And if they can tax it, all the better. I would not say that cannabis is discreet. Every souvenir shop offers a fine selection of marijuana memorabilia. It's mostly the tourist who frequent the coffeeshops. Only 10% of the Dutch population smokes weed regularly.

Dutch is a very hard language and the people are known to have some interesting names. After Napoleon conquered the Dutch, he installed his little brother Louis as king. Louis was a terrible king and Napoleon took over control after watching his little brother muddle around for 7 years. Louis decreed that everyone must take a last name. Many chose their occupation as their last name. Tom the baker became Tom Baker. Others choose King or Emperor as their last name. Still others chose to make a greater mockery of it. They selected "Pubic Hair" and "Shit on Head" and other raunchy names. 10% of the nation is getting the crap beaten out of them on the playground because their great great great granddaddy had a crude sense of humor.

We also have gone to the Anne Frank House. It is excellent and extremely well done. I had no idea that the rooms were that small. For some reason the diagram in the book made it seem bigger. I absolutely cannot imagine spending two years confined to the rooms and during the turbulent teenage years... and being forced to be quiet... There are quotes and excerpts from her journal on the walls. Otto Frank, her father, was the only one who survived. After reading his daughter's journal, he was shocked to find a young woman that he didn't know. Upon reading that her dream was to become a writer, he earnestly sought to find a publisher. The Diary of Anne Frank is the third most translated book. Otto Frank also established a youth conference where current issues regarding discrimination, intolerance and lack of freedoms are discussed.

We have also been to the Red Light District but I think that will have to be a separate post