Amsterdam

One of the many canals.

Amsterdam has a stereotype in America of being a city of drugs, prostitution and loose morals. It is the fabled land some kids only dream about and I got to visit. Little kids have Disney World and adults have Vegas. College kids have Amsterdam. If anyone reading this thinks I am above the temptation of indulging in these activities which are illegal at home and considered as sinful by some, they are wrong. I celebrated my time in Amsterdam to the fullest and remember some of it.
Amsterdam is a unique city. It isn’t particularly beautiful and the streets are dirty. There isn’t a long list of attractions to see and most of them are overrated anyways. The weather isn’t great and it rains all the time. What’s cool about Amsterdam is its people and their attitude towards things. It has always been a city of trade and the monarchy has never been allowed to stand in the way of making money. Right or wrong, the Dutch love their money and are willing to put up with a lot to get it. They go by what was explained to me as plausible deniability. Plausible deniability is how people can get away with anything as long as it doesn’t involve hurting anyone, they are discreet about it, and most importantly, that they are spending money. Pretty much anything goes if these guidelines are adhered to.

Some of the guys I was traveling with to the left.

I went with a friend from high school and ten of his favorite fraternity buddies from back home. They are all nice enough guys individually but in a group they are a little too much to handle and stood out like the group of stupid stoned Americans they were. They didn’t quite understand the three rules of plausible deniability either. They weren’t ever discreet, didn’t spend much money when loitering in the cafes and although they didn’t physically hurt anyone, nobody around them enjoyed their presence. This being said, I spent a lot of the time on my own wandering around the canal belt and visiting sights. It is sometimes called the Venice of the north and for good reason. Houseboats line the banks and there are many quaint outdoor restaurants and cafes. This paired with the unique, tall, narrow houses provides for great strolls but getting turned around is easy. As mentioned previously, I visited the Anne Frank House and also the Heineken Experience. It turns out the Heineken Experience is equally boring and pointless as the Guinness tour and yet I’m sure I will be persuaded to go on another painful brewery tour before I leave this continent.

They pull 20,000 bikes out of the canal a year.

I had to get one in here of myself.

I am also happy I visited Amsterdam now for another reason. The Netherlands aren’t happy with the city’s reputation and feel it is an embarrassment to their name so they are taking steps to close the red light district. They have been closing coffee shops, have made psychedelic mushrooms illegal, and they have closed a third of the prostitute windows all in the last year. By July 1st half of the remaining prostitutes will have been shut down and more changes are expected. The city as I got to know it will not be there in a couple years so if you have any long felt desire to go there and experience the madness for yourself you’d better hurry. I wouldn’t want to live there but visiting it was awesome. Right or wrong, people enjoy more freedoms to do as they like more than any other place I have visited. They are extremely friendly people, even towards inexperienced American tourists, and nobody judges others based on the choices they have made. I’m sure there are many people in Oak Park that would applaud their free spirit lifestyle and their acceptance of other people, cultures, and art. The place is insane. I’m glad I can go back to school and tell my friends I made it to the fabled land.

The ugliest grand palace I have ever seen.