Amsterdam can be either loved or disliked; it can seem either beautiful and romantic or too free and even lewd; you can visit it only once or come back again and again. Yet, one fact is undisputable: whatever the truth of the matter is, Amsterdam is a must visit.
It’s neither Paris nor London, Amsterdam can’t compete with the giants, however it doesn’t intend to do so. What enchants you there are small canals instead of spacious embankments, and streets instead of wide avenues. It might lack the glitter and grandeur of some European capitals, but it should be valued for its homey hospitality.
Amsterdam is extremely popular among tourists, it is one of the most visited cities in the world. What attracts people there? Let me answer this question!
I visited it about a year ago and my trip only lasted for one week, but how fast this time flew! I guess I saw only 20% of Amsterdam, that’s why I have a burning ambition to come back there.
So, let me start from the very beginning. When choosing a hotel, I wanted it to be as cheap and as close to the city centre as possible. So I booked Hans Brinker Hotel, located in a good neighborhood within walking distance from downtown. The district was truly classic Amsterdam, the view out of the window was spectacular, and the breakfast was also completely satisfying.
Every morning I would make huge sandwiches and put them in my backpack. This was enough for me for the whole day. Amsterdam is pretty expensive, so I had to save up.
To say that bicycles are popular in Amsterdam would be an understatement. It is a city of bikes! I often found myself thinking that there were more bikes than people! Surely both bikes and bicycle parking zones add local color, so I couldn’t resist renting one for only €10 per day. However, you should be very careful: bike theft happens there too often, that’s why I always used two locks for mine.
Here are some interesting things I saw during my bike trips:
Red Light Street is not even a street, more like a whole neighborhood (De Wallen). Don’t miss your chance to have a look at the vices of the free capital! It’s located in the very centre of the city, starting from an old church (Oude Kerk). Such co-existence doesn’t confuse anyone in Amsterdam. What’s more, prostitution in the Netherlands is legal: they officially rent offices and pay taxes.
Wondel park was a perfect place for me. I used to come there quite often if I felt tired of the crowded touristic centre. How great it was to flop on the grass, smoke a blunt, have a snack and observe ducks in the lake or tourist who had had too much of weed or mushrooms. In this park you officially make love, but only in specially designated areas, far enough from playgrounds. I wonder if there is anything prohibited in Amsterdam!
I went to Amsterdam in summer for a reason. Every year in the beginning of July one of the most popular electronic music festival takes place. It’s called Sensation. This tradition is more than ten years old. Originally it was Dutch, but since 2015 it has become world-famous and has already been held in Belgium, Hungary, South Korea, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic, Latvia and many other countries. So what is Sensation? An ultra-popular music event, a magnificent show with best and most popular DJs in the world.
Words fail to describe how surprised I was when I realized that it was prohibited to take weed to the party. Not only was the dress code strict but also the thorough examination of your clothes and belongings. I brought three blunts with me, which I had to hide in my bra. I will always remember that adrenaline rush when I saw that boys were being searched by a security man, and girls – by a woman. She obviously was aware of all those “secret lady places”. But the odds were in my favour, so I managed so keep my White Widow with me.
The party started at 10pm and finished at ended at 6am. When the show started, the stage was lit with fire. The fireworks went off right on the Amsterdam arena and thousands of huge shining balls were thrown into the crowd. I don’t have enough words to describe what was happening at that moment, it just drove everybody absolutely crazy! Well, honestly, I couldn’t bear it until 6am, after 4-5 hours of partying so hard I couldn’t stand on my feet. So I was just sitting, relaxing and observing everything while smoking pot. Speaking of which, for the first couple of hours everyone had been mostly sipping beer, probably because they were afraid of the police and huge fines for smoking marijuana (the warnings were written on posters all over the place). But things did change in the second part of the event! The clouds of thick white smoke (not cigarette smoke anymore) started rising from everywhere. The management of the party, the light, the sound was done highly professionally.
One more symbol of this country, in addition to tulips and coffee shops, is the windmill. There are lots of them all over the Netherland. A village called Zaanse Schans is a place where you can see different types of windmills. Many exhibits of this open air museum are still functioning today.
What’s more, there you can visit a traditional Dutch farm which produces cheese, see different homes, typical for a Dutch village, visit workshops where craftsmen use the old methods to carve national shoes, the klomps, which you can also purchase there. In addition to everything mentioned above, I also got to feed some geese and hens, which were walking around tourists and begging something to eat.
Well, as a bonus, here is my list of best coffee shops (I’ve never seen such a wide range of marijuana):
Kadinsky, Siberie, Grey Area.
