Everything you've ever heard about Amsterdam is true...every myth, every story, every tale - all true. Literally you can do anything anytime of day and no one will care or judge. As soon as we got out of the taxi at our hotel we passed a man smoking weed walking down the street as if it was a cigarette. If that's not a culture shock of a welcome I don't know what is. Anywho, we walked around the city and explored our first night going in and out of shops and so forth. We quickly noticed that anything that said, "coffee shop," is where people go to smoke, but it's literally like a coffee shop with some minor adjustments. Those adjustments being the muffins and baked goods behind the corner all have pot in them and you can buy all sorts of pot there as well as smoke it. For me to see people on their laptops, smoking weed and sipping espresso was a little odd to say the least. After all the shocks bed was calling.
The next morning we went straight to the Anne Frank house bright and early and it was unbelievable! We walked through the Secret Annex, her bedroom, saw her diary, and the entire hideout - incredible to see and so so sad. We spent the afternoon walking around the city which has a million bridges and you can't walk a block without seeing a canal - they are beautiful! Because Amsterdam is 100s of feet below sea level they have no tide which I thought was very interesting. Also, after being there less than 24 hours I decided that the Dutch talk like they have a hairball in
their mouth. You know that noise you make when you're trying get something up? Gross I know, but every other word in the Dutch language has that tone/noise at the end of it. Also, the tram/metro runs in the middle of the street. There is the tram, regular streets, scooter paths, and pedestrian paths, but you can go on any of them...once again no rules. For example, our taxi driver spent most of his time driving on the tram tracks than the actual road - crazy? Furthermore, they have neighborhoods on water which is quite the norm for the Dutch. Yes real estate
is sold on water and much of the population lives in their floating houses on the canals. Of course we had to make a stop at the famous Amsterdam sign and take a canal boat tour. It was gorgeous and taught us so much about the Dutch and Amsterdam in general. It's actually a very quiet city (maybe because everyone is doped up the whole time), but the canals and quietness truly give it a relaxed European feel minus the wiffs of weed you get passing every other building. But we did notice quickly that's it's just a big
part of their culture. It's like having tea in Britain - it's used for relaxing, socialization, and conversation. The last bit of this oh so interesting culture we checked out was the red light district...and the shocks continue! The streets surrounding it are nothing but sex shop and coffee shop (pot) after the other and when you finally enter the red light district it's actually beautiful. The lights are something to see and the swans on the canal at night are so pretty; however, as you begin to walk you can't help but notice the females dressed in barely there lingerie pointing at you and making inviting gestures and yes you guessed everything is legal here including prostitution. We learned that it is an actual career where the "employees" get health benefits and the works and even get checked for STDs four times a year...who knew? It was shocking, sick, disturbing, but amazing all at the same time. The city of Amsterdam is something to see, but I swear the city of maybe the Dutch in general are on their own planet and so far from reality - at least in my mind. That way of life...whether it's living in a little boat house on the water, getting high on the regular (how is that cultural and how do they have any brain cells left?) or being a prostitute I have no idea in my mind or can even imagine spending longer than the day and a half I did there. By far the most shocking experience thus far and the shortest one (thank God). Yet another very very very interesting addition and experience to my European extravaganzas and it, once again, concluded how wonderful my life and the incredible in it are. It, as every experience here, just made me so appreciative of my family, roots, and life.
Everything you've ever heard about Amsterdam is true...every myth, every story, every tale - all true. Literally you can do anything anytime of day and no one will care or judge. As soon as we got out of the taxi at our hotel we passed a man smoking weed walking down the street as if it was a cigarette. If that's not a culture shock of a welcome I don't know what is. Anywho, we walked around the city and explored our first night going in and out of shops and so forth. We quickly noticed that anything that said, "coffee shop," is where people go to smoke, but it's literally like a coffee shop with some minor adjustments. Those adjustments being the muffins and baked goods behind the corner all have pot in them and you can buy all sorts of pot there as well as smoke it. For me to see people on their laptops, smoking weed and sipping espresso was a little odd to say the least. After all the shocks bed was calling. 
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