Amsterdam: Canals, Sex and Drugs
Hi Everyone!
A fact about me : I love love love to TRAVEL :D.
I haven't been far during my short stay on this very interesting place we like to call earth, but since me and Sami got together 9 months ago we've been away three times already and thats just out of the country! I am adamant that our future will be packed with exciting adventures and cultures, because what can you learn or see from sitting in one place your whole life.... not a damn lot is my opinion! Recently I have just got back from the land of Canals, Sex and Drugs and honestly it isn't as daunting or seedy as you may think!
Yes I've just got back from the wonderful Amsterdam, and to be honest it was nothing like I expected, I say expected but I don't really know what I mean by that because the place is absolutely bizzare. Not just because of the 165 Canals which are all within the city which is only 219 km² but just the overall culture and observing the way that different people live. This is my second trip to the Amsterdam yet both experiences were entirely different, almost as if I was in a totally new and different city this time round.
The weather was a huge factor in this, honestly it was scorching, which wasn't the best thing in the world when your suffering from a stomach bug you caught 2 nights before your holiday, which carried on whilst there even though... IT WAS YOUR BIRTHDAY! Yes you heard me being violently sick in the lovely city of Amsterdam at 4 on the morning of your birthday.. only I could be so lucky! Despite the sickness though nothing could have ruined the amazing experience of Amsterdam in the summer and i still had the most amazing birthday thanks to my amazing friends bloody fantastic girlfriend! and of course the infamous 'Iberogast' which we now know is in fact banned from the UK, thanks guys :P :D!!
FACT : there is 400 km of bike path throughout the city and I wouldn't even like to hazard a guess to how many bikes are flying around. My main piece of advice.. Watch out. Not only do the bike roads look like paths but the bikers have absolute priority on the roads throughout the city. But don't worry because you never get tired of the different varieties of people using this form of transportation. one of my favorite games to play outside the waterfront hotel was spotting the different people on bikes and where they might have been going in the strange often restricting outfits of choice.
We were there for 4 days and 3 nights and absolutely shattered by the end of it, but still never ready for the culture shock of going back home. Its as if the people over there have a completely different outlook on life, the bikers may be crazy but the few I collided with simply brushed it off with a sorry and a smile. We even witnessed two bicycles at one point completely collide into one another due to one of the riders not paying attention to where he was going. In England this would warrant at least a rude gesture or a few nasty names, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if there was a brawl on the streets over who was at fault, but in Amsterdam it was as if road rage wasn't a thing. Of course this could be completely misconstrued due to the constant hazy and happy feeling you tend to be overwhelmed with when you get into the more well known cultures of the city.
Which leads me onto the Coffee Shops! Something which despite your feeling and opinions at home, when in the mighty Dam it would be silly not to explore! not even to have a smoke yourself but just to embrace and observe the way that people live. It's funny because the working day dutch community don't tent to be sat in the coffee shops when your there and you of course tend to see other tourists such as yourself , but it is interesting to see how the city has managed to create such a culture from cannabis, we have out usual stops when we go, however what i can say from febuary to June is the staff have seemed to get less and less patient with the tourists. Of course this could completely be down to the hussle and bussle and the sheer amount of people in the peak seasons, I think I may become a little grumpy myself if I had to work!
Finally what Amsterdam is known for, the sex industry. Our hotel was just by the canal front next to the floating flower gardens, but also not that far from sexy land! We ventured through a few times as this is where you find all your sex shops, and museums like the torture museum, the erotic museum and the museum of prostitution, which are all around 7 euros. We left the museums to the last day so we knew how much we had to budget ( and didn't have to worry about going to too many and wasting money we needed for the other days) Of course they are only tiny as Amsterdam doesn't seem to have a building of normal sized capacity, but as long as you aren't with your parent ( because you will see a lot of lady parts, especially in the erotic museum) they were all worth a look around. But of course we also walked down the alleys past the windows where the girls or at times 'girls' were winking shouting and generally presenting themselves to the public walking by, something which is interesting to witness so openly and throughout the daytime too! I was more shocked by the windows with the blue lights because i'll let you in on another secret (They have both!!!) and we witnessed a gentleman or not so gentleman tapping on the window to be let in! however photo's are not to be taken and they are really quite strict about it, so it really wasn't worth risking!
Amsterdam however despite how openly erotic and sexual it is in certain places, is one of the most beautiful and romantic cities I've ever been to. As long as you are in a comfortable relationship. where you feel you can walk through or past sexy land without jumping through the glass windows and attacking the girls for looking at your lady, then it is the perfect retreat for you and your other half. Amsterdam has been called the Venice with trees and there's plenty as a couple that you can do. You can sail the canals go visit the beautiful vondelpark; shade yourselves and relax under canopy's of green, then dine by
candlelight, looking out over the canals and fairy-lit bridges. There are endless
paintings and street art to lose yourself in, comfy cafes to dream away the afternoon, basically enough and plenty to warm the heart. And the best thing is it’s all cosy
and small-scale, so no time wasted on stressful getting about –
just gentle strolls, quiet moments, and
each other.
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