Spending a month in Amsterdam seems to be the minimal amount of time to actually call it a vacation. Jet lag, climate acclimation, dietary changes, living quarters adaptation and all considered.
Our apartment is near a school yard and it was really neat to see 35 young school aged children walking around with trash pick up tools clearing the streets and gutters from debris mostly strewn by tourists. What a concept!
The school grounds and streets we live near in Santa Barbara are littered with everything the students could toss without regard to polluting the earth.
Another advanced project throughout Amsterdam are recycle bins for plastic, paper and glass. Theyre located about every 3-4 blocks so its easy to do and a frequent reminder to do it.
LONG hair is prevalent among the women and younger girls, even the toddlers. Id like to think its a hippy thing, but its more of a matter of staying warm in this rather cool environment.
We were blessed to have Santa Barbara type weather for about half of the stay. We pack layers and layers of clothing and on this visit, we needed on layer or 2 at the most and really did not need our raincoats.
When a weather forecast is given, it states there is a % of chance for rain. What that means there is there is a % that it WILL rain.
It`s difficult to learn Dutch in that English is their 2nd language and when I say something in Dutch, they answer me in English.
Ive previously mentioned this in past musings, but it is still astounding, there is only one river in Amsterdam, The Amstel. Water is everywhere, but its the damming of the waters forming canals that is so prevalent.
I`m often asked what is the attraction of Amsterdam for me. I answered it with the same proclamation that one sees when entering the Amsterdam Museum, “The City of Freedom”. I felt it the first time there and have ever since. People are free to be themselves and most choose to do this with reverence to the principal of not doing any harm.
For groceries, we often go to an Albert Heijn, the largest Dutch supermarket chain, founded in 1887; however, there are so many wonderful shops that specialize in fresh daily breads and cheese and daily open air markets that have fresh locally grown organic produce, we have wonderful choices to acquire what our preference is for any given day.
For a city known for it canals, there are probably twice as many parks, some are very small and a few are larger than Golden State Park.
The people we know are more informed about what is going on in the US than we are especially in politics. The consensus is Trump is a joke and they don’t want him removed because he provide so much to laugh about. Well, at least a couple said that.
Amsterdam is a lot more than museums, red lights, coffee shops and canals. The population is 851,373 with the metropolitan area having 2,410,960. Tourism is BIG. There are 4.63 million international visitors annually and this is excluding the 16 million day trippers visiting the city every year.
Amsterdam is in one of 12 provinces called North Holland. There is a South Holland and 10 others. So, the country is called the Netherlands, not Holland.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815, but its one-time sovereign provinces have intermittently been “governed” by members of the House of Orange-Nassau and the House of Nassau from 1559 to 1747.
I know I have been Dutch in a past lifetime. It`s all too familiar.
Truly one of my favorite cities. I’m fortunate to visit it every other month, at least for the foreseeable future. Nothing short of amazing to consider how much the food scene has changed since my first visit 10 years ago.
And Andrew, I`ve been going regularly for over 15 years and seen even more changes in the food scene. Even places that are obscure and off the beaten path have really good food. Now it seems the wine scene has taken a more serious leap. All good.
I spent only a few days there, and that was decades ago, but I loved what I saw. We have been talking about gong for ages. We really just need to do it.
Dutch often considered a tough language to learn, so they’ve ended up being better linguists than most. That said, I recall someone saying ~ 30 years ago that there were many jobs where they wouldn’t employ you if you hadn’t learnt Dutch to a good proficiency level.
The city of freedom does create a lot for tourists to think about, and I always recommend people to visit the red light district to make their own mind up - I wouldn’t want to lead their thinking as to whether it was a good or bad way of handling the sex industry.
We do like the leafy suburban area around PC Hoofstraat, but there again we’re happier away from the crowds / hubbub. Wider than that, I’ve found Amsterdam as a city that really rewards some advance prep, as there are a multitude of cuisines, some fantastic specialist shops and plenty of interest away from the centre. It does take a little thought though, as even with a good tram system, it can take time to get around.
Kaaskamer cheese shop on Runstraat. One of my favourite cheese shops.
A news piece that somewhat highlights the unique problems that mass tourism brings to Amsterdam - at times very much a victim of a reputation that the locals often feel uncomfortable about.
+1
I would have moved my family there if my manager wasn’t sitting in Paris. Amazingly beautiful city, fantastic food scene, everybody speaks English and it’s probably the top European hub (KLM, etc.). Beer scene is awful (Heineken and Amstel), but you still get a heavy Belgian influence and sheesh, everybody loves windmills
I was there this past August with my wife and two teenage daughters as well as my parents and in-laws. We had a wonderful time as the city is beautiful and easy to walk. The museums are top notch and there are a number of fun neighborhoods to walk around in.
My two quibbles…first, the food scene was disappointing to me, especially when compared to other major European cities. Had a really fun meal at Blauw (sp?) which was Indonesian and enjoyed the pancakes and crepes, but in general I was underwhelmed by the food. Second, the beer scene was just abominable.
That said, it’s a pretty spectacular place to visit.
And, Blake’s post and the follow ups are really enjoyable to read.
Mike, one needs to connect with locals for turn ons for dining out. Actually, there are so many good places, it just takes getting some direction from those who can lead you to your preferred type cuisine.
Re the beer scene, I drink Belgiun beer when there in lieu of Dutch beer or much wine [and Im a wine geek]. My neighbourhood bar/ restaurant features many Belgium imports, some are exclusive to the owner for the country. Its de Engelbewaarder on Kloveniersburgwal which is centrally located in the Centrum. Fabulous choices on tap, really good fresh and mostly organic Dutch food at reasonable prices and great people on both sides of the bar. My favourite beer is the unfiltered Palm. Check it out
Certainly some fantastic beer bars, though perhaps more out in the 'burbs than the centre? There’s always the long-established beer shop in the centre (Bier Konig?). On cricket tour there almost 3 decades ago, I took great delight in introducing the locals in Utrecht to the charm of wheat beer, which was in their club bar, but they’d never tried. Amusingly they thought it was brilliant, berating themselves for ignoring it for so long.
Dope/Hash (and other drugs)? That’s the other part of the liberal attitudes, where visitors should make their own mind up. Not something that’s ever appealed to me, though I’ve visited 2-3 with friends, though to be honest I found them dull, grungy and uninteresting, though if your only reason to be there is the dope, then I guess the surroundings are less important and to a degree you ‘make your own ambiance’. I’ve been shocked and felt quite angry at the occasions where hard drugs sales are openly touted in the street. Although dope doesn’t interest me, I’m quite relaxed about friends being into it, and the calming effect makes a counterpoint to the effect beer has on some people. However I was shocked to see Heroin & Cocaine openly touted. Police attitudes do change, and I’m aware there have been crackdowns (back in the day they were arguing it was a social issue not a police issue, but they seemed to realise that wasn’t a viable position).
Not mentioned initially, because it was clear that quite a lot of locals were rather fed up of drug tourism and the seedy reputation it gave their city. There is much more to the city than that and the red light district, though viewing the city as a whole would include them in the landscape.
Re the hard drug scene, Ive seen very little of the in your face, outlandish confrontation of this the last few visits. According to my local friends, this has been more policed and enforced. Not once in 30 days did we encounter a proposition and since our apartment is close to the red light district, were in the hood where it has been prevalent. Me thinks it`s becoming a lesser issue.
In fact, it`s almost a non issue as I have returned in April 2018, walked the streets in question and absolutely no hint of a problem. Does it exist, most certainly. As with any major city, be aware and alert and careful with belongings. Do not flaunt jewlery/ extravagance.
The biggest issue is with the tourists. Groups of guys from the UK, Germany and the like get drunk, stoned, loud, confrontational and unruly.
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