Amsterdam Observations

Known for its red light district and open drug laws that allow marijuana to be smoked legally, I wasn’t sure what to expect when we booked a cheap flight to Amsterdam for the weekend. I was not looking forward to walking past women displaying their barely clothed bodies like mannequins in shop windows, and though I can’t deny never having experienced the effects of marijuana, smoking weed is no longer as enticing as it used to be during those “peer pressure” adolescent years growing up.

Accepting, Tolerant Laws seem to work here – 

Yes, there are lots of coffee shops, where people go to buy and smoke marijuana. Recently, the Dutch government introduced a ban in which sales to nonresidents would be prohibited. The ban is now in effect in certain Dutch cities in an effort to reduce drug tourism.  Amsterdam’s mayor, however, has made the decision to keep their 220+ coffee shops open.  (NY Times article, 11/2012)

While I walked around the streets of central Amsterdam, though I’m no expert on what happens behind the scenes, the only people I saw attracting any kind of attention were the tourists, not the locals.My impression is that most of the bad behavior results from people who are not quite as used to the open society and therefore go to the extreme when they visit, not the Dutch people who can go to these coffee shops whenever they want.

In the middle of Amsterdam’s central neighborhood, where the majority of the coffee shops are located, I did not feel unsafe or notice any real “out of the ordinary” behavior. It was civilized. Aside from the occasional smell of marijuana, it could have been the center of many other European cities.

Now, I have no clue if this would actually work in another culture that has enforced stricter laws.  But from what I noticed in the short time I visited Amsterdam, it does – successfully.

Canals Everywhere…

London has been my home for the last year, and I’ve enjoyed walks along the canal paths and finding canals in parts of the city where I never imagined there’d be one. On a trip to Venice last October with my sister-in-law and family, it was a pleasure to get off the plane and get to our apartment by boat via the narrow canals.  Similarly, I knew Amsterdam had a large canal system but understimated just how important this network of canals is to the city’s history and structure.

“Amsterdam has been called “The Venice of the North” for its more than one hundred kilometers of canals….this was the successful outcome of city planning during the early part of the 17th century”  (Canals of Amsterdam, Wikipedia). On a train outside of Amsterdam to the towns of Bodegraven and Haarlem on Sunday afternoon, I was most intrigued by the canal “patterns” I observed from the train’s window, like a carefully woven spider web of canals. Fascinating.

The Dutch People…

were friendly, welcoming and spoke perfect English.  There are often cities I visit where I sense scrutinizing looks from the locals who seem to be shouting, “Why are there all these tourists in our city?”  Amsterdam was the opposite.  On a visit to a brewery, Jopen, (more to come on this in an Amsterdam beer scene article I’m posting later this week) Jim met a Dutch couple who noticed he was an American and they struck up a conversation with him about his visit to the Netherlands.  At the end of the conversation they said sincerely, “Thank you for visiting our city.” First time I’ve ever heard that in any of my travels!

The Real Haarlem – 

Having spent 8 years of my life in the New York City area, I associated the term Haarlem with the New York “Harlem”, somewhere north of 125th street in Manhattan. The NY Harlem is an area having a fairly bad reputation for poverty problems and crime, and not usually a neighborhood I’d travel to for a Sunday afternoon stroll in the city. Until two days ago, I had no idea that the “Harlem” of New York City was named after this amazing Dutch city 20km west of Amsterdam.

Dear Dutch residents – I’m sorry for my naive-ness, and especially sorry if the “Harlem” we know is in any way damaging the reputation of your name. Your “Haarlem” is beautiful.

On a cold, snowy Sunday night, the city was lively. I passed at least a dozen restaurants I could have easily stopped by for dinner (unfortunately our mission to find a brewpub deterred us from exploring these restaurants).  Towards the end of the evening, at 9:30pm on our way back to the train station, Haarlem was tranquil, peaceful and charming; fresh white snow layered the streets, church bells chimed, and the gold European colored lights shimmered and reflected off the leaning town buildings.

Cycling Traffic = good kind of traffic

The city has an amazing cycling network, immediately noticeable from racks, bicycles tied to fences and bridges, and even bicycle parking garages set up around the major train stations to accommodate the bicycles. I love the separate lanes devoted to bicycles.  As I headed out of Amsterdam into other towns, there was a similarly large amount of bicycles and bicycle roads everywhere.  This along with the tram network appeared to reduce the amount of cars and pollution.  It’s wonderful to see so many people bicycling and at the same time getting some great physical exercise as well! Much nicer than a crowded road filled with honking cars, frustrated road rage drivers, and traffic jams.

Amsterdam is a 45 minute flight from London. Alternatively, you could get there on the train.  The cities are close in distance but a world apart from each other in culture. I can’t believe I didn’t visit here last year!  I encourage other Americans who are visiting Europe to make Amsterdam one of your stops. I absolutely loved our weekend in this city.