Walking by the canals makes you feel so romantic as if you are in Venice. In fact, the locals, those who can of-course afford it, have their own boats to travel from their home to anywhere they want to go in the city. How convenient! And the rest of the commoners just use the bikes, whether hell or high water.
If I ever choose to live here, I definitely will need to be an expert in bicycling. After all, I have to be with my folks. For now, tourists like me just have to make sure to always be on guard when walking as to not be over run by bikers. They have their own lane and they expect you to stay out of it all the time. After having few close calls, I always make sure to look both the sides before I cross the streets, not just for cars, but the speeding cyclist.
There is so much more to Amsterdam than the Red Light District and Coffeeshops (don’t be fooled by the name, they don’t sell coffee but definitely “get high” weed products). Learned it the hard way. Lol.
Amsterdam Centrum neighborhood is where I’m staying because it’s close to the train station as well as very easy to go anywhere in the city from shops, bars, cafes, restaurants and boutiques. Here are some captures from my solo adventures around town.
Most tourists would plan what to see, whereas, I decided to just go with my intuition by walking towards the city center from my hotel.
First, I came across the Asian part of the city with it’s myriad of Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Indian restaurants. Then, I stumbled upon the old town church along with glass boxes lined with red lights. It’s no coincidence that the church and prostitution are next door neighbors. You see the priests are pretty savvy businessmen. They knew that absolution from sin came at a price and there was money to be made. As I walked past the glass windows, a nearly naked women knocked on the glass window to grab my attention, only if she knew that she was barking on the wrong tree. I could hear the giggles from the Chinese tourist near me.
I kept on walking past the cafes, sex stores, coffee shops, cheesy souvenir shops, and restaurants, and then I was on a grand square. Yep, it was the Dam Square with the Royal Palace making a big architecture spectacle and the National Monument, which is a World War II monument built in 1956 to honor the casualties of the war. Took some money shots and helped other visitor friends with their group pictures.
I stopped at a local cafe to warm myself up and have a cup of fresh mint tea. Love how they always have a small treat with the tea.
I then headed back to the cold and windy busy streets which led me to the bridges and canals to the Jordaan neighborhood. There I noticed the statue of a girl standing ferociously. Yes, this is our beloved Anne Frank statue besides the church. Also, nearby is the house she and her family had to hide in from the Nazis. Not far from it was the Homomonument, which commensurates all the women and men ever oppressed for their homosexuality. The three pink triangles represents – the past, present and future.
As I soaked in all the sorrows of the past and was so grateful to all those who made sacrifices so that I can be standing here without any fear but hope and happiness for future.
It was getting dark and my feet needed some resting time, so I headed back to my hotel. Time to relax while another day awaits another adventure.
