The city itself is entirely bereft of hills of any sort and this makes walking and cycling a true delight. Amsterdam is cycle city and they rule the roost when it comes to the bike paths and roads. For the unwary it is diabolical. I encountered my first wave of kamikaze cyclists within seconds of leaving the train station. You dodge one way only to find yourself under attack from the opposite direction as well. If you get in the way you can reckon on being ridden into the pavement without ceromony. By the end of my three days I had not only a very healthy respect for them but something that bordererd on a nervous disorder. You don't hear them coming at all, they are liked winged angels of death swooping at you from all directions at once, like harbringers of doom. I think my neck did so much swivelling from side to side that I was in danger of getting accute muscle strain. A really tough call, bad neck for a month or tyre tracks up your back.
We walked from the train station through the city centre to our hotel which was located just off the Amstel River to the south of the city centre. Luckytravellers Fantasia Hotel is as the name suggests a little on the alternative side. It was booked on a very good rate and although it was quite simple in its ammenities it was also somewhat unique in its decor. The main theme surrounding the hotel is, just as you would expect, cows! Black and white, brown, dairy, jersey you name it all were represented. Every where you looked and particularly in our room there was a cow looking at you. On the curtains small ceramic lady birds and rabbits about 1 cm large were pinned to the curtains. Most peculiar. Downstairs the owners son had converted the lounge room in his small flat into a bar where he played film clips from the internet and various music tracks. He sold cans of beer at a very good price and I found myself there after returning to the hotel late in the evening for a night cap. Rather eccentric type of guy who provided some very amusing moments. I recommend the hotel for anyone who sports a decent sense of fun. Its location is very central and at under 60 euros per night with breakfast included is great value.
We spent the first full day walking around and taking in the sights as well as visiting several museums. The first in line was the Rijks Museum which houses the largest collection of works by Rembrandt in the world.
Being the 400th anniversary of his birth we were expecting to find a quite exceptional exhibition. The museum is currently undergoing major renovations and from what I could see at least 50 percent of the building was under construction. They were offering hard hat tours but given that we had not come to watch electricians and plumbers at work we declined the offer. The paintings and drawings on display were great and there was a considerable number of works attributed to his students as well. We had originally planned to spend at least four to five hours there but found that we had seen all that was available in less than two hours. They permitted the taking of non-flash photographs so I did click a couple on the way through. The other strange thing was a total lack of barriers between the public and the art works. Happily I did not see anyone being tempted to put their greasy fingers on them.
Next stop was just up the road at the Van Gogh Museum. This was very good as well and there were 3 floors of his works through various periods. There was a very good section on the the current scientific methods of taking tiny paint samples and seeing how he mixed his palette and layered the paints to achieve the various hues. All pretty amazing really. I was about to take a picture there as well when I was grabbed by a very large black security man yelling frantically, “ No pictures allowed!”. He really was completely out of order and the aggressive nature he displayed put a real damper on the whole visit there. I suggested to him that he really needed to chill out a bit and that if he and his colleagues would care to take some time and put some signs up in the entry area saying “No Photographs Allowed” then this would be a far better solution than dancing around, waving arms, getting upset and yelling at people. He stalked me around the museum for the remaining hour I was there. Just me and my shadow…….. Sheeeesh ! I continued to hold my camera by the lense and occasionally took a sharp turn around a corner and out of sight. I could hear the fast footsteps approaching behind me and a couple of times I doubled back and he damn near collided with me. Ha ha ha ha. I just kept looking at him as if he was some kind of psychopath. I think he was a bit unnerved but he was utterly convinced that as soon as I was out of view I would start taking pictures again. As we were heading for the exit I noticed a couple of bits paper drifting around on the floor and noticing a hologram on one I bent down and picked them up. They turned out to be 24 hr Amsterdam wide public transport tickets valued at about 7 euros each and only 45 minutes old. Wahoo what a find ! There were dozens of people around and I was not about to start asking each and everyone if they had lost their transport cards.
We departed the museum by, you guessed it, tram :) and went back up through the city to visit Anne Frank’s House. This museum of the house where Anne Frank and her family hid through the German occupation is very well done. There are a lot of interactive screens, movies and displays of both historical photos and her diaries. The story that lies behing it all is somewhat lengthy. Born on June 12, 1929, Anne Frank was a German-Jewish teenager who was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust. She and her family, along with four others, spent 25 months during World War II in an annex of rooms above her father’s office in Amsterdam. After being betrayed to the Nazis, Anne, her family, and the others living with them were arrested and deported to Nazi concentration camps. The Franks were transported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where Anne's mother died. Anne and her sister were transferred from the Dutch concentration camp, Westerbork, and then to Bergen-Belsen where they both died of typhus some 9 months after being arrested. The father survived and was instrumental in seeing thatb the world got to know of his daughters diaries. She had an amazingly mature and virtually copperplate hand that flowed so eloquently which for a teenager was quite unusual. I guess it says a lots for schooling techniques in the current day. All in all a very moving exhibition but I guess the museum and her diaries live on which leaves the world a very sizeable legacy for contemplation of a humanitarian nature.
Later that evening I set forth alone to look around the city at night and to visit some of of its more unique attractions. In 1976, the Netherlands decriminalised possession of soft drugs such as cannabis. To cater for demand, outlets quickly cropped up in and around the country, specifically in the capital, Amsterdam. These establishments are known as 'coffee shops', but most patrons don't hang out there for a caffeine fix. It's dope that floats their boat. A lot of cafes have signs in their windows saying," NO Drugs Here!". They are after all cafes and not coffee shops. Technically, the sale of cannabis remains an offence in Holland, and dealing in the streets remains illegal. Even so, possession of less than 30 grams for personal use carries only a minor punishment, and coffee shops are restricted to flogging no more than five grams per person. The only catch is you have to be 18 or over. Smoking in public is tolerated but many tokers report that such a laid back attitude takes some getting used to. As a result, they prefer to remain free from all risk of coming into conflict with the law by only smoking in the coffee shops. As expected the menus were full of space cakes and hash browns and definitely not the type associated with American breakfasts either. Business men were dropping in on their way home from work and buying their evening supplies much the same as I would a bottle of wine. I had several coffees and was highly amused by the thought that every single person that was sitting around me was totally off the planet. A most unusual situation and a very interesting look at an alternative cultural experience.
On the following day we went through the old diamond cutters quarter and looked at the housing and factories area that housed the workers when Amsterdam was the world centre for diamond cutting.
Even today no one disputes that the Dutch are the most skilled diamond cutters in the world. These days other major centres include New York, Antwerp, London, Tel Aviv and Surat. We visited Coster Diamonds at Paulus Potterstraat near the Rijks Museum. They had examples of the worlds smallest diamond as well as models of the Cullinan diamond as it was found and replicas of the many stones that it was turned into. The Cullinan Diamond, found by Frederick Wells, surface manager of the Premier Diamond Mining Company in Cullinan, Gauteng, South Africa on June 25 1905, is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found, weighing in at 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g). The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa and at 530.2 carats (106.04 g) was the largest polished diamond in the world until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee diamond (545.67 cts), also from the Premier Mine. Cullinan I is now mounted in the head of the Sceptre with the Cross.The second largest gem from the Cullinan stone, Cullinan II or the Lesser Star of Africa, at 317.4 carats (63.48 g), is the third largest polished diamond in the world and is also part of the British crown jewels, as it forms a part of the Imperial State Crown. Both gems are on display at the Tower of London, as parts of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Some rocks hey. We watched the craftsmen polishing smaller stones and toured the sales area. They had a very nice little Argyle champagne pink from Australia on special for 16,500 euros but it was so small I figured it would just get lost down the back of the couch at some point along with the TV remote and besides, I had left my Amex Centurion card back at the hotel and did not have sufficient loose change about me to purchase one for my partner :)
We slowly wombled up town where we found the Sex Museum, reputedly the largest in the world. As one would expect it pertains to all things pornographic. It was however quite interesting and a great deal more tatstefully done than I had imagined it would be. The basis of it centred mainly on historical photographic images from the 1800’s along with etchings, sailors scrimshaw and carved ivory items such as the handles on gentlemans walking sticks dating back to the turn of the 1900’s that depict erotic figures. The very early black and white / sepia toned images were well preserved and the clothing of the period added a somewhat bizarre air to them. Visions of my great great grandfather and grandmother just somehow didn’t tweak. The section on modern day images and items was quite small and placed in a back room bearing warnings that no complaints would be accepted. All in all it was very well put together and not over priced at 3 euros a head. Was that a bad turn of phrase?
That day was also the day that the England vs Holland soccer match was being played. As a result the streets were alive with the red and white Brits as they overflowed from the local pubs and coffee shops as well as the garish orange clothing and wigs of the Dutch supporters. Hundreds of riot police were in attendance as well. We kept a pretty low profile that evening and drank some beers at a local bar not so far from the hotel. Belgian Duvel beer (Devil Beer) is still my favourite and at over 8% certainly packs a punch. Food costs also bear mentioning as they are quite high. We found it very difficult to locate a simple meal at a reasonable price. They really know how to spike the tourists. I awoke the next day to find that I was still none the wiser as to whom had won the soccer match the previous day. Not that it mattered as to me it is not real football anyway. Go Aussie Rules !
During the course of our stay we had also searched unsuccessfully for a local Buddhist monestary that according to the guide book took 150,000 chinese 3 years to complete. We circled block after block searching for it where the guide book had it marked, all to no avail. On the last day as we were walking back to the rail station we took a small side street and lo and behold there it was.
Truly massive building. Unfortunately it was closed so we were unable to look around but at least we found it albeit by accident. In the middle of Amsterdam it really was out of place but it gives creedence to the number of asian sailors that have called Amsterdam home during their sea faring days. The Dutch were huge in the East Indies as traders and their ships often had a large contingent of asian deck hands.
Lastly I guess one cannot visit Holland and not make note of the tulips. We visited vast markets that sold almost exclusively tulip bulbs in all the colours of the rainbow. We promptly bought a variety of them as gifts and for our own garden. I came across an aerial shot of tulip fields which was so colourful that I photographed it.
A friend thinks it looks like a packet of plasticine strips. I think a trip to Holland in the Spring is looking like a must although the countrysdie is so flat I dare say you would require an aircraft to get a picture that truly capture the extent of the colours. The trip back was uneventful and we found ourselves back in the house a bit under 5 hours later. It was not a long visit but I think you can get a pretty good idea of the things on offer in as a little as 3 days. I will go back again at a later stage if only to see the Spring colours and possibly the Rijks Museum when they complete their renovations.
