Amsterdam: A Wonder- full city
What do you think of Amsterdam? I asked people who’ve been there.
“A wonderful place,” said Ma’am Tina Monzon-Palma. “It has its own character, different from other parts of Europe,” added Julius Babao. Both had that certain look on their faces, as if reliving a quaint and beautiful memory of Amsterdam. That got me excited.
Amsterdam was never part of our bucket list. Mention Netherlands (or Holland) and I am instantly reminded of Joma Sison.
It was out of convenience of getting our much-needed Schengen visa to enter France that made us consider Amsterdam. It was easier to get an appointment with the Netherlands Embassy than the Embassy of France.
This trip to Europe was the most disorganized I’ve ever been. It was hard to coordinate with my family’s schedule, their accommodation, the tours, etc. I bought our airline tickets though I had not done research on the activities to-do, but my asawa and I were determined to make the most out of it.
Surprisingly, exploring Amsterdam was a breeze. It’s like going to an amusement park of a city. It’s that easy to navigate. An amusement park, because Amsterdam is not known for its natural wonders. The beaches are brown! There are no breathtaking canyons or mystical caves. Amsterdam lies on a plain — but it’s far from being that — “plain.” Everything about the city is man-made. So, the Dutch say, “God created the Earth, the Dutch created Amsterdam.” But what man has done with nature is truly remarkable.
Amsterdam means “it grew around a dam near river Amstel.” Amsterdam is below sea level, but the Dutch devised a way of getting the water out of their land and into dikes and canals back in the 1600s! Hence, the nickname “Venice of the North.”
We spent Day 1 getting oriented with the city, which was quite easy because of trams, like a Disney train going round and around the touristy sites. Conveniently located outside the inter-city Amsterdam Central train station is the information center where you can buy tickets to the trams and maps.
There are so many places to go to. Not to be missed are the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum, a tour of the canals and centuries-old windmills. And it’s a wonderful experience to ride the bike around Amsterdam!
Tour the Anne Frank Museum and you will get a bit of the Dutch history, the German Invasion and the persecution of Jews. When I visited the Van Gogh Museum, I wanted to know more about his art. There was more to Van Gogh than the story of him cutting off his ear. The canals and the windmills made me envy the Dutch. They had the technology for flood control and water management back in the 1600s!
The bicycles tell so much about the Dutch. It is a source of pride to own a bike. For a tourist like myself, I didn’t ever think I could so conveniently explore a city on a bike with my skills tried and tested only at Burnham Park in Baguio City.
What most people would find most intriguing about Amsterdam, however, is not their history or their technology, but that marijuana is legal and openly being sold in coffee shops (some points of clarification — coffee shops sell marijuana, while coffee houses sell the regular coffee that we know).
Prostitution is legal and regulated in Amsterdam. We stayed in the Red Light District and right in front of our doorstep across the canal are brothels. Sex workers are in their skimpiest bikinis, showing bosoms and displaying their bodies
behind glass doors. Tourists may look and admire, but one cannot swoon, be rude and take pictures, because the prostitutes have police protection. The Red Light District is being monitored through CCTVs at every corner.
The Netherlands is known to have the most progressive laws. Prisoners, even those convicted of murder, stay at “luxury cells” — with their own TV and countryside view. Plus, they even have their own hobby space.
Curiously, many churches in Amsterdam have been turned into museums if not bars. Maybe partly due to Netherlands’ progressive views. As a Roman Catholic in the freest city in the world, it left many questions in the mind — with all the taboos of society being allowed here, how could Amsterdam be among the safest cities in the world? I felt safe exploring Amsterdam, and people were courteous. If only I could stay longer and learn more about Amsterdam.
I AM sterdam is the city’s slogan. It is what it is after all — I AM — to be true to yourself but still maintain respect for other cultures unlike your own.