Amsterdam, The Netherlands 22.08

We arrived at about 9pm in Amsterdam, and were greeted by our lovely hosts, Ben and Debs. We met this friendly and funny British couple 3 months earlier while we travelling in Laos. It was such a pleasure to see them and talk to them again, and we had so much to catch up on. They had just finished their 12 month epic trip around the world, and we were halfway through ours. We had both been to similar places so we had lots of stories to share and similar bizarre experiences. We stayed up chatting with them until about 1am, and then we went up to our room and passed out. The stairs in the house were pretty steep. Very traditional for space-saving Dutch houses, the steps were very small and steep, so you had to watch your step. We had a challenge balancing with our backpacks on the way up, but we made it safely with their assistance.
The next morning, we woke up prepared to explore Amsterdam. Ben and Debs bought some pastries at a local bakery for breakfast, which were lovely and warm. Then they took us to the place where they usually hire bikes from. They have a membership, so they were able to get us bikes for an exellent price. If you hire them at normal places, it can cost a lot of money, but this place was for locals only. The bikes were less touristy looking than the other ones that you can hire, so we blended in a lot better.
Ben and Debs had armed us with a street directory and information booklets, and had taken us most of the way into town. Just as we headed off on our own, it started to rain buckets of water down on us. We were lucky to have been caught just near a huge tree, so sheltered there for a while. We had an umbrella thankfully, so we didn't get too wet.
It didn't stop raining, but the rain became a lot lighter. We decided to keep going anyway, as it might keep raiing indefinitely. Loren mastered riding a bike with an umbrella in one hand. It was quite tricky for someone who doesn't normally ride a bike, but she managed to do it and ride safely at the same time.

Rembrant's House
We rode to where Rembrant's house was, and stopped to have a look. We securely fastened our bikes to a strong fence railing, as thousands of bikes are stolen in Amsterdam every year. Apparently they get re-sold on the street, sometimes by junkies who have stolen them. You could buy one for 10 Euro!

We went into the entrance hall of the Rembrandt house and had a look around. We read the brochure about the place, and the description in the guidebook that Ben and Debs gave us. Apparently most of the furniture isn't actually his, and is just set up to recreate what the house would have been like then. We decided the place wasn't worth the price they were asking, and we were happy just to imagine what his studio would look like. It's not like it was left untouched until this day, so someone else has used their imagination to recreate it too.

Van Gogh Museum
We decided to visit the Van Gogh museum next. The queue was quite long to get in, but thankfully it moved pretty fast. The museum houses the world's largest collection of Van Gogh's works. There were pieces right from the beginning of his career, through to the end of it when he was pretty depressed and struggling.

We hired an audio guide, which probably stretched our visit out longer than normal. We spent about 3 hours there. We watched a movie about Van Gogh in the auditorium before we saw the paintings. They told the amazing story of his life and the struggles that he faced along the way.

Van Gogh was raised in a very strict religious family, and he decided to be a priest when he grew up. He studied to become one, and soon found a position at a church. He was a very unusual priest, as he had such sympathy for the poor people that he was working with, that he decided to live in the same conditions that they lived. He was a very idealistic and empathetic man, but the church didn't like what he was doing, and basically fired him for his unusual practices.
He became very disillusioned and didn't know what to do with himself. He became interested in painting, and at first he wanted to use it as a way of spreading the word of God. Disappointed with the world, and the way the church had treated him, he decided to pursue painting just as art, not in a religious capacity.

He studied everything he could about painting, and got some lessons from an art teacher. He was interested in doing portraits, and wanted to focus on them. He struggled to find people who wanted to have their portrait done, or people who would sit for him so he could practise. The church in one town told people not to pose for him, so he struggled to find subjects.
He sent his paintings to his brother to sell in Paris where he lived. All of his landscapes and his other paintings were very dark and gloomy in colour, as was the trend in the Dutch art scene. His brother told him that the style was changing and that he should come to Paris to learn about it. So he joined his brother in Paris.
He started to learn about the impressionist movement, and was fascinated by it. His work became influenced by the brighter colours and the new style. He later bought a house, which he wanted to make an 'artist's house', where artists could live and work. He intended for it to be a prime place for him and another artist who he admired, Paul Gaugin. He studied with Gaugin, and the style that this artist preferred, which was painting what his imagination told him, more than what he saw.

This is the house that was supposed to be the artist's colony.

Van Gogh wasn't as interested in this style, and his arguments with this artist are what led him to his dark days where he slipped into rages, and one bad day he even cut off his own ear. As a result, the artists house failed, and he had to be hospitalised.

He remained focussed on his work while he was in the hospital, and sometimes painted more than one canvas in a day. He was interested in the surrounding landscapes, and spent a lot of time painting his own versions of other artists paintings. Particularly ones about people working in farms jobs and in the fields, he was inspired by their hard work and honest living.

Van Gogh had ups and downs over the next years. Sometimes happy and carefree, but frequently depressed and worried about the burden that he was becoming on his brother. It agonized him that he was such trouble for his brother and his brother's family. He slipped into a deep depression near the end of his life, but continued painting. Eventually it all became too much and he took his own life.

We spent a long time admiring all of Van Gogh's paintings. We were in awe of most of them. As his work developed, his paintings were unlike any other artists. There were paintings on exhibit from others artists in the same period, and it just highlighted how different he was to other artists. Loren loved so many of his paintings. Particularly some of the ones that he painted toward the end of his life. He was a troubled man, but his mind worked in such an amazing way when it came to his paintings. He was a true genius. The unusual way that he represents things in his paintings help you see the bizarre way in which he viewed the world. Simple landscapes become mysterious scenes with raging, swirling skies and strong colours.

Dam SquareWe struggled to pull ourselves away from the museum, but eventually we left for lunch. We missed out on fondue in Switzerland and Paris, so we were excited when we spotted a place in our guidebook that served it. As usual, we were out of luck,and it wasn't open for another hour and a half. We were too hungry to wait so we went looking for someting else. We found a great Thai place, and enjoyed our favorite Pad Thai and spring rolls.
We decided to continue riding around a bit before heading home. We made our way to the Dam Square, and admired the big buildings, the fountains, and the crowds of people. There was an Aussie guy with a mullet, holding a crowd's attention with his tricks. He managed to get himself out of a straightjacket, which was quite impressive.


Nine Streets We rode through Westmarkt, and along the Nine Streets, which surround a section of the canal. The Nine Streets were very pretty, and had lots of cute little shops everywhere. It was a nice ride, as we could see the water, and the houseboats which are parked all along the canal.
We were planning on visiting the Anne Frank Huis, which was along these streets, but Artur wasn't thrilled by the line. Loren thought it was pretty short, but we decided to wait until the next day and buy tickets online.

On the way home, we stopped at a little mini mart to buy some drinks for our hosts. We bought some Polish and Dutch beers, and some fabulous looking icecream - cookie dough, chocolate and banana and chocolate fudge. Mmmmmm!
When we got home, Ben cooked us a delicious vegetarian Italian meal. It was great with our beers, and with a delicious beer that they provided as well. This beer was really fruity, and only comes once a year, in Spring!

Theo Van Gogh

When we told them which store we bought the stuff from, they had an amazing story to tell us. Apparently this was the store where someone famous got shot! You probably heard about the tragedy in the Netherlands, where a guy was shot and stabbed with a death threat for another person. This guy produced a movie about the troubled lives of Muslim women. He was murdered as a result, and the actress was the target of the death threat.
The bizarre thing about this story was that the guy that was shot was called Van Gogh, and he was in fact the last descendant of the painter. He was quite a loud public figure, who took pride in getting under people's skin. He was very controversial, and wrote for a public transport newspaper, like MX in Melbourne.
The day that he was shot, Bec was riding past the mini mart, and just as she got further down the road, Van Gogh was shot! She heard the shot and freaked out when the sirens started coming, as she realised that someone had been hurt or killed. She called Ben in a panic, but he thought she was joking. Later on, she found out that Van Gogh was dead.
Talk about 6 degrees of separation! When the woman who was threatened in the note came to Australia, Loren's housemate was one of her bodyguards! She had to have a whole team of people watching over her, because so many people wanted to kill her.

Bridge and Red Light District
After dinner, we decided to join some of Ben and Debs work friends for drinks. We all left on our bikes, in a little convoy. On the way, we stopped on a beautifully lit bridge. It was like a lantern in the middle of the canal. The view from the bridge, and the bridge itself was just incredible. The skyline was lit up with pretty lights, and the atmosphere on the bridge was magical.

After the bridge, we paid a short visit to the famous red light district. It was quite an amazing place. Loren had heard that the prostitutes are behind windows, but she didn't really understand what that meant. When we got there, she was amazed to see what looked like shop windows in a boutique store or even an office building, but instead of manequins, there were real women in tiny outfits. It could have been any street, with little shops all along it, but these shops had a different kind of product on display.
We wandered along and stared at the strange spectacle. We didn't take any photos, because the people that protect the prostitutes are quite volatile. You could get yourself in some serious trouble. We saw some guys chatting with the girls from the stores, and being invited in. Other guys just wandered around as tourists, or maybe they were working up the courage to approach a window.
We were surprised at the women that were parading in the windows. They didn't seem very attractive, or even skinny. Quite a few were a bit overweight.

The prostitution industry has been thriving in the Netherlands, ever since 1815, when it was legalised. Brothels were not legalised until 2000! Because of the openness of the Dutch system, fewer than 5% of the prostitutes are working illegally. They pay taxes and they have their own unions. Pimping is against the law, but the women are not on their own. They have panic buttons set up, so you should be careful in this neighbourhood, as it's not the police who come to their aid.


Drinks with Friends
After seeing this district, we headed off on our bikes again to meet Ben and Debs friends. We found them at a nice little bar in the city. Everyone was huddled outside in the cold because of the new smoking bans in bars and clubs. We had a few drinks, and chatted with everyone. We didn't stay there too long though, as the others had been there a while, and were anxious to move on to another place.
The next place we cycled to was a grungy rock pub. The clientele was grimy and predominantly male. The music was good though, so we found a seat and started our next round of drinks. We had some great conversations with the other people there, but one turned into an argument. Artur and a Finnish guy started arguing about history. Loren was in the middle trying to placate them and change the topic. Point being, don't talk history when you're Polish and you've had a few drinks.

Our next interesting conversation was with an English guy. He was actually the replacement for Ben, after he left to travel. He was a bit cocky and overconfident. We think he was on cocaine, as that can be one of the side effects. Some guys were being kicked out of the club, and he kept saying he wanted to fight all five of them at once. He also kept bragging about his life and his connections. Apparently, he was a cage fighter, a famous rugby player and the people in Hell's Angels are his friends. He had a few silly comments about how 'we' (he and Hells's Angels) had killed some people. We think his stories were largely bullshit.
By the end of the night, we were all pretty sozzled and everyone was getting along just fine. It was a difficult ride home on the bikes, but it was fun. Thankfully no one fell off.

Anne Frank House
The next day, we got up later than usual, as could be expected. We decided to check out the Anne Frank House that we had skipped the day before, because of the lines. We tried to buy tickets online, but they were sold out, and when we got there the line was even longer than the day before. We had put ourselves in that situation though, so we decided to just wait.
The Anne Frank House is the very house where Anne wrote her famous diary. The secret annex where she and her family and another family hid, is still there. When they were captured, the rooms were stripped of their contents.
Anne's father has asked for the furniture never to be replaced, so that it is left just the way it was after they were taken. This request is a sad and nostalgic one, but unfortunately it makes it hard to imagine what living there was really like. The rooms look quite big without their contents, so it doesn't convey how cramped the living might have been. There were two floors of big rooms, which for 8 people in their circumstances, seems quite substantial.

Artur was quite underwhelmed by the place. He couldn't understand why this place attracts 1 million visitors every year. In Poland hundreds of families were forced to live in the same way, and often in much smaller and nastier living spaces. Many of them died as a result, and the people housing them were put in prison camps.
Despite this, the diary was the first and only one of its kind, and that was why the house became famous. It is a living account of the lives of Jews in hiding, from the eyes of a young girl. The house serves as a reminder of what happened, and in that way it is good. We should remember though, that this family was rich and had much better conditions than other families were able to procure for themselves. They were also lucky to have loyal employees who assisted them. In the end, they were betrayed and ended up in prison camps like all the other people, and only Anne's father survived.
In the building attached to Anne Frank House, there was a fascinating room. It looked like something from a tv set. There were bleachers for people to sit on, with cushions, and little control panels with buttons next to each chair. At the front of the room, there was a big screen playing short reports on current 'freedom of speech issues'. Once the little movie was finished, a question would appear on the screen, and everyone had to vote a 'yes' or 'no' answer in response. One scenario was about the tension between protestants and catholics in Ireland. There is an annual march lead by the catholics, which runs through some very predominantly protestant neighbourhoods. This causes riots each year, and people want them to change their route. They say it's always been that route and they won't change it. The question was 'is it ok for the catholics to march through protestant neighbourhoods?' You had to vote 'yes' or 'no'.

The percentages of votes from people in the room is then shown on the screen, and the percentages for all votes from previous visitors are shown as well. It was very interesting to see what people thought. We were actually in the minority a couple of times, which surprised and scared us. We think that the way some of the questions were phrased, and the angle of the movie reports probably influenced a lot of people's thinking.
Some of the other issues presented were about a historian who denied the existence of the holocaust, Polish priests who openly despise homosexuality, adjusting police uniforms and school uniforms to accomodate people's religious customs, and CCTV cameras and surveillance that watch you and track your bank transactions from the moment you enter a city to the moment you leave. Very provoking issues. We could have spent all day there.


Canal Cruise After seeing the 'Freedom of Speech' room, we decided to take a cruise along Amsterdam's famous canals. Unfortunately, just after we bought our tickets, the weather took a turn for the worse. We huddled under our umbrella near the water, as we waited for our boat to arrive. Luckily, a few minutes after we boarded, the rain stopped.
We began our cruise next to the main train station, that gathers unthinkable amounts of parked bikes each day. This is an incredible sight to see on its own.
The boat took us out into the port, which is huge, and full of life. We saw some huge ferries anchored, which looked like hotels. They were not very tall, but they were extremely long. Also on the harbour, you could see the Maritime Museum, which looked quite futuristic, and is in the shape of a ship.
Finally we made it to the old narrow canals that Amsterdam is renowned for. The canals were full of small houseboats and little speedboats. At either side of the canal, there are beautiful houses. The houses tend to be tall and narrow, and slightly tilted. The stairways of the houses were too small for moving furniture in and out, so the pieces were carried up via crane. The houses were tilted forward to enable easier lifting. There were some amazing old houses along the canal too.


Dinner and Other Delicacies
On our way home, we did some grocery shopping, as we had decided to cook dinner for Ben and Debs. It was a lovely meal with the four of us. After dinner, we decided to visit one of the famous 'coffee shops', that Amsterdam is famous for. We had been in the country for two days already, and we hadn't sampled the legal drugs that are available here.
We headed off to one of the hundreds of 'coffee shops', where the aroma of marijuana floats out to greet you as you ride past. It was funny smelling it on every street when we first arrived. We soon found the one that they recommended and found ourselves a seat and a menu. The menu had a list of the various kinds of hash and weed, where they came from and how much they cost per gram. There was also some 'special cake', which is made from hash butter, and is sold by the slice.
We decided to buy some special cake and try it there at the shop. We had heard that it has a very strong effect, but that it doesn't usually kick in for at least an hour. We also bought a little bit of weed to take back for the four of us. They gave us a little piece of paper with instructions for the cake, how to make it most effective and unharmful, and what to do if you feel bad and want to reverse the effects.

It was so strange to be able to buy this stuff from a shop, and to have a menu for it! The other weird thing was that you can smoke weed inside, but not tobacco. Ever since the smoking ban, people can only smoke 'pure' stuff inside. Most people mix weed with tobacco, to make it less strong when they roll their joints, so I don't know how they police this.
We headed home on our bikes, and Ben professionally rolled a joint for us to share. Our attempts were not very skillful. We sat around and chatted, and waited for the effects of the cake to show. Amazingly, nothing much happened. We had a little bit more trouble with our words, but we weren't totally incapacitated or laughing ridiculously like a lot of people who try it. We were a bit disappointed, but we figured it was probably because we were sitting still for the whole time, and involved in conversation. When we stood up, we felt a bit funny, but when we were still - nothing.
That was the last night of our stay in Amsterdam, and we were pretty impressed with the place. We were very impressed by its liberal attitude, and its history of forward-thinking. The Netherlands was a leader in European art and trade in the Golden age, and in the 60s it was a leader in principles of tolerance. They have long had a broadminded view on soft drugs and same sex relationships. Amsterdam is also one of the most captivating cities, with its quaint canals and 17th century houses, not to mention the amazing bike infrastructure there. It's definitely a very liberal and liveable city.

To see the photos from the post in slideshow mode, click on on the link below:
Amsterdam pictures