As most of you probably noticed, it had been a while since my last post. This is mostly due to dodgy internet connections across Europe which I needed to deal with in order to upload my pictures, book tickets, check emails, etc. I realized that I was spending more time dealing with crappy connections and computer issues instead of enjoying the foreign experience abroad, away from the robots. I kept everything logged in my notebooks, so rest assured that everything was documented, but after I decided to not deal with the internet anymore, my fun time abroad was spent more efficiently.
I left Stockholm on the 9th, and was based in Amsterdam for the next 5 days. Travellers take heed, and DO NOT visit Amsterdam on Easter weekend! The crowds are absolutely overwhelming, and the all-inclusive passes are time-oriented. Don't spend your time waiting in lines. Thankfully, I didn't activate my 72 hour "I AMsterdam" card until after the major crowds left. Great success!!
The thing I learned most about while in Amsterdam was interestingly enough, America. Going to the Dutch roots and seeing what modern American society was founded upon was quite eye-opening. (New York was first called New Amsterdam)
The roots of American Capitalism:
1) Getting tourists lost. The maps are completely inconsistent from one place to the next. the order and chronology of the Metro Sneltrams is ludicrous. Many who have visited would agree that the city is set up completely for this purpose. This makes the town loads and loads of money, since the average pass can only be punched twice an hour, and only a total of 14 times. Even the locals rarely have an idea of where they are. Not kidding.
(I didn't have a single problem getting around in Stockholm or in Dublin, and Gaelic/Swedish are just as confusing as Dutch)
2) Everybody smokes. The movie "Goldmember" was spot-on when satiring the Dutch. If you haven't seen it, do so because it's great fun. Since I was coming from Sweden where a total of 2 dozen people a day smoked, here it seemed rampant! They also smoked everything. It's been in deeply entrenched in their history since their founding times. Many of the royals encouraged it as a form of relaxation, with moderation. Business is all about keeping people happy, but as I learned from the free walking tour, marijuana is still illegal there. Nobody has been arrested for its use for the past 30 years, however. Their mentality is that if it (a) makes profit for the community, (b) is not causing any disturbance, and (c) is not sold on the streets, then there is no problem with it. However, you could clearly see how much smoking and living in Amsterdam affects the locals. Skin tone and relative health are completely reversed when compared with Stockholm - even though genetic diversity is a rarity among the tall, platinum blonde, and beautiful - nonetheless, the difference is clear.
3) Bright lights and robbery through a play on primal hungers. In order to keep the homeless in business, and to keep taking their money back, Amsterdam employs no recycling system. They strictly have the recycling centers on the outskirts of town, and they pay a decent amount for clean up. Locals, tourists, everyone throws everything and anything on the ground, because they know that it will be cleaned up every single night/morning. This inevitably makes a bit of money for the community because homeless, depressed people spend their money only in places that make/keep them happy. These places often have naked women in the windows, who are also good at a special business of their own. The Dutch make a lot of money? Of course. It is a play on the basics, and primal hungers of everyone. Therefore, the colonial Imperialism of the Dutch is absolutely remarkable. Protestant = Profit.
From one perspective, one thinks of pirates as the dirty, hedonistic scalliwags that pillage towns and commandeer sea captains, but these are the same people who are responsible for establishing our entire society. They simply knew business better than most. Pretty crazy to think about.
The sight-seeing tourism in Amsterdam is breathtaking. Although I harp on getting lost in Amsterdam, it is probably one of the best things to do. I never felt threatened at any time, and the city is so artsy that one could walk for miles and see scultptures and architecture of the most intriguing and bizarre. However, for the agenda-oriented traveller, I'd highly recommend visiting the following.
1) Anne Frank House. Extremely powerful. It is something everyone should experience, especially people who value writing and/or reading. Seeing the pictures which gave her the only solace she had (no going outside and sunlight was a rarity around the home), and reading excerpts which document her mind's collapse was something I'll never forget. I appreciate my little Moleskines so much more now. Writing and keeping a diary keeps the mind active and healthy, with unrelented thought poured out onto paper. There are few things which allow that type of mental practice - especially now with penmanship going out the door. That's another story.
2) Rembrandt House, Rijkmuseum, and Van Gogh Museum. Allow at least one and a half days to see these. Seeing 30 museums a day sort of saturates your mind; you can only learn so much in one day. However, to anyone who appreciates art and painting, seeing Rembrandt's famous studio and where he worked was kept more or less just as it was over 300 years ago. Seeing how he made his paints, etches, drawings was remarkable. His pieces which have come back to the museum are more on display at the Rijk, and it is one behemoth of a museum. It offers a glimpse into the rich Dutch history. Van Gogh's is a trek through a tragic, elusive, yet fascinating tale of his struggle. Since Amsterdam is the artsy capital of the world, these museums offer a very good grasp on how it has evolved so.
3) Canal tour and Bike tour. Do this first. It'll give you a good perspective on the city's scale, architecture, and the sheer number of bicycles that can be sustainable for one city to manage. Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable.
Other random Amsterdam moments:
1) Paris Hilton getting kicked out of the bar my friends and I were in.
My friends on the first leg of the Amsterdam visit came from Australia, South Africa, and Seattle. The others came from Bulgaria, France, and Spain. For the first 3 days, good English was spoken. For the last 3, arguably none was spoken - only a wierd hybrid of Spanish, French, and Italian. Luckily, it only takes a beer or some food to re-loosen those old languages from their mental harnesses. It was on the 2nd leg of my trip - the way multilingual one - where we went on a pub crawl which Paris Hilton decided to visit. She was apparently very rude at the entrance and didn't make it too far. That's ok, I'm sure she's a lovely in person :)
2) Encounter with a Dutch local outside the Red Light District. My cash-only hastel was located right outside the zoo, near there. Again, I never felt threatened, and it was more humurous than anyting. Nontheless, I wouldn't advise the most sheltered person to take a stroll through there at 4 AM.
Dutch junkie: "Hey man, you do crack?"
Vic: "Nope."
Dutch junkie: "You should."
End conversation - I laughed for a while.
3) All great food is at a stop called De Dam. Rarely is it Dutch, however. I met some saavy restaurant owners that taught me about price fluctuation during tourist season. Interesting stuff. Again - I learned a lot about modern capitalism and its roots in Amsterdam. Where Amsterdam was first founded in the 1200's, once a place of merchants and fishermen, now housed carnivals, a giant phallus of a monument, and restuarants. I like the historic symbolism.
Thanks for reading this post - I know 'twas long, but a lot happened.
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