We had a wonderful day in Amsterdam yesterday, highlighted by a free four hour walking tour of the old downtown. We saw all kinds of things: canals, boats, beautiful old buildings, art, prostitutes, and coffeeshops, where you can smoke marijuana. It was four hours packed with sights. The center of Amsterdam is very beautiful, with so many old buildings packed between canals. Amsterdam is unique because it seems to have resisted modernization--it looks just like we would imagine it a couple hundred years ago. No giant billboards, no Ferraris, and not a lot of glamour.
It does have a lot of rain though! In our four hour walk, it probably rained ten times, off and on, lasting the entire day. It's very chilly for July, and we were both talking about how the hot Paris weather sounds good again.
On our tour, we learned why Amsterdam has a such a laid-back, friendly vibe. After Holland was liberated from the Nazis, there was a strong left-wing backlash, and the city became very tolerant of all cultures and behaviors. We were informed that the Golden Rule of Amsterdam is that you can "Do whatever you want, as long as it 1) doesn't harm anyone, 2) is discreet, and 3) makes money.
Which brings us to prostitutes, who in a small section of the town, really do stand inside windowed areas trying to attract customers. It's not what we expected though--most were much older than we expected, and a lot of them were fairly chunky, well they were just plain fat. Just chilling in the window...
We were also surprised to find out that smoking marijuana actually is illegal in Amsterdam, technically. It's just one of those laws no one cares about and isn't enforced. We learned that the best weed in the world is grown in Holland. Makes sense. They even have a marijuana museum here.
We also checked out the flower market, the bloomenmarkt, in Dutch, which had more tulip bulbs that you've ever wanted to see.
We spent last night washing all of our clothes in the sink and bath tub. It was really fun. We had a ton of clothes spread out everywhere all over our hotel room to air dry. It was quite a sight. The hotel has a "laundry service" but it is over 5 euros per item. No thanks.
Today is our last full day in Amsterdam. We're going to catch a canal tour and check out the Anne Frank house, no matter how long the line is, then party the night away in Amsterdam!
De Bakkerswinkel was a great place for breakfast, which we discovered through a local tip. Very low key and non-touristy. I loved the design, very different! The food was great!
The start of our four hour walking tour. It rained all day.
Inside a lovely, secret courtyard.
Inside a courtyard with Amsterdam's oldest wooden building, a church.
Beautiful tree-lined canal, a frequent sight here.
We bought some cannabis starter kits for our patio. We thought they would look great.
The flower market
The flowers were gorgeous!
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