A bike-friendly city

Never have I been in more fear of my life than in Amsterdam, when I was almost run over…by a bike. You may laugh, but as one of the most bike-friendly cities (very eco-friendly!) in the world, they’re everywhere, and you better get out of the way when you hear the “ring, ring” of their little bike horns! An amazing sight was walking by the bike racks, because there were hundreds of bikes stored in one place while people were at work. This led me to wonder: How does one find their bike? Is there a mad dash at the end of the day?













I had always thought Amsterdam was smaller but walking around, my travel companion and I covered a lot of ground. And yes, here and there you do get a whiff of “that unmistakable smell” but it’s not quite as out in the open as one might think. There are “Internet Cafes” and special “Bars” all over the city but the drug is not legal, only tolerated.

There is a lot to do and see in Amsterdam. As in every city, I love exploring the small, out of the way streets. I often find these to have some of the best places to catch a bite to eat, because they’re away from the crowds. The city is also full of museums and although I couldn’t visit them all, I would recommend going to the Rijksmuseum and the Anne Frank House. Being an avid Van Gogh fan, I stopped at the Van Gogh Museum, which houses the largest collections of his paintings and drawings in the world.


















At night, the area to take a stroll down is the Red Light District – a network of alleys containing many “entertainment” services and some unique museums! If you prefer to avoid the height of the activity here, you can walk around here in the daylight and at dusk. But because it is a unique part of the culture and such a popular tourist destination, it is worth checking it out. A few months ago, I watched a documentary which mentioned the Red Light District – how it came about and what rules and regulations have been put into place to make this a controlled environment. There's more to it than meets the eye!

As for where to stay in Amsterdam, there are many places to choose from, and my experience was certainly unique. We stayed on the outskirts of the city. Still a college student on a budget, we found this place through one of the hostel web sites. When we arrived, we found out our “room” was actually a mini camper. The entire “hostel” was a series of mini-campers formed in a circle. In the middle, there was an almost life-sized colorful statue of an elephant and next to it, a large tent which served as a lounge. The campers were very clean and the price was cheap. The only drawback was that the bathrooms were separate stalls on the grounds. Being the lucky person I am, we were there in June, but the city was suffering a rare cold spell when I needed to get up in the middle of the cold night – go figure!

My favorite thing about Amsterdam: the canals…and the canals. They are beautiful and I enjoyed just sitting on a bench and gazing at them and how the city was built around them.


Least favorite thing: Figuring out how to use the metro! We bought this strip of tickets and even after we asked a policewoman to explain it to us, I’m pretty sure we used the metro incorrectly the entire time. If I recall correctly, depending on where you came from, each block on the strip was worth a certain number of stops. Not understanding Dutch definitely added to the confusion. Oh well, something to master if I ever go back.