[insert any city in the world here]: “Here’s a long list of things you can’t do. You will be imprisoned for years if you are caught doing any of them. This is the best way to keep everyone safe.”
Amsterdam: “Prostitution, drugs, you name it, it’s all good here. We trust you to make the right decisions. Plus, all this tax revenue goes towards improving the city. #yolo.”
In the capital of the Netherlands, coffee shops don’t serve coffee, red lights don’t direct traffic, and that girl in the window definitely isn’t smiling at you because she’s just a nice lady.
When you arrive in downtown Amsterdam, you see condom shops. Restaurants called “High Snacks.” Boutiques showing off mannequins with leather chaps.
Amsterdam takes the notion of “political correctness,” flattens and molds it into an cute little ball, and smacks it 200 yards down the fairway with a seven-iron.
Our hostel was in the heart of Amsterdam, minutes away from the Red Light District. Stepping out the door usually meant walking past windows and windows of prostitutes.
Men would simply walk up to the glass, open the door, and start negotiating. Sex shows were also offered in small theaters for 10 euros.
When you get over all of the outrageous aspects of Amsterdam, though, there’s more than enough to see and do.
One of our first stops on Saturday was Anne Frank’s house.
We withstood rainy, 30°F wind chills for an hour before we finally entered the house/museum, but it was worth it.
We learned that Anne’s bedroom lay hidden in the “secret annex” behind a bookcase, that a group of four Dutch blue-collar workers risked everything to hide eight Jewish fugitives, and that despite the world falling to pieces before her eyes, Anne Frank refused to extinguish the optimistic fire that burned within her.
Later in the day, we partook in the “Heineken Experience” to see how the famous Dutch beer is brewed.
It’s a combination of purified water, barley, hops, and yeast — 28 days of fermentation later, voila!
The Heineken Experience involved tasting “wort,” a mixture of heated barley and purified water. Wort is the base for Heinken beer. It’s actually not too bad.
After the tour, we took a free canal ride down to the Heineken Gift Shop.
Meanwhile, my time in Florence continues to fly by; a mere 18 days remain.
Despite the occasional rain, daytime temperatures are consistently reaching 55-60°F. And yet, Italians still dress as if it were 30°F. I’m itching to wear shorts and a t-shirt in this weather. (I’m guessing the weather in Minnesota is somewhere around 5°F?)
Going to Rome this weekend is my final adventure. I’ll be staying there for three days with my study abroad program, then I’ll be spending the rest of my time knocking items off my bucket list in Florence.
Being able to see four new European cities in a matter of four weeks has certainly been exciting, but it’ll be refreshing to hang out in Florence for a while.
Thank you for reading, and I’ll be back next week with stories from Rome!
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