Hi all,
So this weekend I finally ventured outside of Germany and headed to Amsterdam for a day with two french postdoc's.
We traveled by train Friday morning. It was about 1.5 hours to the border and another 1.5 to Amsterdam. Europe is so small. On the train I also got my first experience with Dutch. Dutch is of course very closely related to German, and it sounds a lot like German. Enough so that my brain tried to translate it, but it just didn't quite fit into the German mold.
Anyho! We arrived to a sunny Amsterdam (very unusual), stumbled around like idoit tourists trying to figure out the best way to our hostel, and eventually managed it. The hostel was a good three kilometers from the center in a very quiet neighborhood. We checked in and grabbed lunch.
Afterwards we wondered around Vondelpark (I'm not sure if that's spelled correctly). It's was big, green and very park-like. We also learned that all sterotypes involving the Dutch and bicycles is are completely true. The number of people on foot in the park were out numbered at least four to one to those on bikes. Furthermore the Dutch have developed sophiticated techniques for carrying stuff with bikes. All bikes had one of those typical racks over the back wheel. Some had huge crate things in front of the handle bars. They also had kid seats that fit over the handlebars with a little windsheld so the kids could see and not be bothered by the breeze. I even saw a guy biking down the street with a double bass on his back. I really wished I'd had my camera out.
We then stopped for the first of many Heinekens on the trip. Heineken may as well as well mean beer in Dutch because that was pretty much all they drink. Then it was time to head to the van Gogh Museum, which as the name suggests, a art museum with many works from van Gogh. The entrance reminded me more of an amusment park than a museum. There was a long line and metal detector. The museum itself was rather small, especially for the 10 euro entrance price. I think I spent about as much time trying to read the Dutch descriptions as looking at the paintings. All descriptions were in both English and Dutch, so when I had trouble with a sentance, I'd just read it in English. The language is an interesting mix of English and German, so for me trying to read it is sort of like solving a puzzle. Anyho.
After experiencing some high culture we decided to head to the Red Light District and see some low culture. The Red Light District is a whole new world. First I would like to clear up some confusion as to why it is called the Red Light District (and not blue for example). The women stand in front of large windows which were illuminated by red flouresent lights. The windows often also had red awnings and curtains. Otherwise the Red Light District looks like a normal, european pedestrian shopping district, but with prostitutes, sex shops, and coffee shops.
Here's a photo of the Red Light District by day. Actually rather pretty. The center of Amsterdam is interlaced with these small canals, and you can take boat tours on them. To prove that it is in fact the Red Light District, you may be able to make out the neon sign that says "Red Light Bar and Coffeeshop". Also, the windows to the left under the clock would be typical "red windows". One of the surprising things about the Red Light district is how it could just as easily be a normal city centers.
Here's another photo of the Red Light District. Off to the left you can even see a girl in a window. What I find particularly amusing about this is the church right across the alley from the windows.
Now a note about coffee shops. In Holland it is legal to grow cannabis for you personal use, but individuals may not sell it. The sale of cannabis is trictly regulated by the state and is limited to coffee shops. This is very similar to how alcohol is handled in the US.
Anyho. We ended up having dinner at an Indonesian resturant, which was actually rather tasty. I'd never had Indonesian before, and I rather enjoyed it. The rest of the evening was spent bar hopping and what not.
The next morning we went to the Rijksmusuem, which a Dutch history and art museum. Also somewhat small and expensive. The specialty here was Rembrandt. Crazily enough as we left there was a line of people trying to get into the museum but had to wait because it was too full. Amsterdam either needs more museums (or larger museums) or fewer tourists. Afterwards we headed to the Heineken Experience. This time the 10 euro admission got us three beers (!) and a gift at the end. The Heineken Experience is not quite the blatent advertisment that the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta is, since it actually tries to explain something about the brewing process and whatnot.
The rest of the afternoon we spent wandering around the city center. Amsterdam is actually really beautiful. Alot of the buildings are attractively built with red brick. Amsterdam's reputation really only applies to the center. Outside of the center the city is very quiet and orderly. There really isn't that much to see in the way of sightseeing, so unless you plan to just sit around coffee shops, one day in Amsterdam is sufficent. As far as language goes, EVERYONE in Amsterdam can speak English and speak it well.
