Don’t get me wrong, the Red Light District and Marijuana Coffee Shops are a great tourist attraction and bring in quite a bit of money for the city of Amsterdam. See, many people are confused and think that marijuana is actually legal in Amsterdam, as did I, but it’s only decriminalized. This means you can buy a certain about for personal use (purchased at licensed sellers), and grow a certain amount for yourself, but you are not allowed to personally sell it. It sounds odd, but the government rakes in somewhere around 2 million euro a year from this industry. As a country, The Netherlands is not even one of the top pot smoking countries per-capita in the world. Moving on to the prostitutes…

The concept of the Red Light District has been around since the early beginnings of Amsterdam. As a major port city for centuries, sailors needed a place to knock boots after a long venture across the seas. So why not create a place for this? The only thing was that they needed God to grant them forgiveness after such a sinful act, so they decided to put a church (Oude Kerk) right in the middle of the district. They’ve seem to have all the bases covered. So don’t be surprised when you hear church bells ringing as you’re looking at half naked women in windows, it’s quite the treat.

As you move out of central Amsterdam, and away from the smell of weed and hookers (not really, it smells quite nice actually), it’s extremely difficult not to notice the extensive series of canals. The majority of Amsterdam is actually below sea level. The canals are filled mainly by the Amstel River, which unlike Venice, they are constantly moving. The buildings that line these canals are also quite the site. Many are leaning in one direction or the other because of the shifting of the foundation. Most of Amsterdam is actually reclaimed land from the sea. Large wooden pillars would be driven into the ground until they reached solid soil, today they have upgraded to concrete. You may notice that almost all lean towards the canals, over the streets. This was actually done on purpose in order to make it easier to hoist your shipments up to the higher levels of your home, without causing damage to the front of your house. Little did they know that all you had to do was make the hoisting arm on your roof a little longer and wah-lah! No need to build your house crooked. Silly Dutchmen.

The farther you move outward from the city center, the more museums and attractions there are to see. I ventured out to the Heinenken Brewery, but falied to make it inside for a whopping 15 euro. A quick stop there gave me plenty of time to travel 15 minutes to the Van Gogh Museum. 13 euro grants you admittance to explore this 3 story art gallery with the largest collection of Van Gogh works under one roof (over 200 paintings). It was enjoyable, but hard to appreciate after being in the Louvre a week before. There are a large number of museums throughout Amsterdam, and if you are extremely interested in trying to hit them all up during your visit, the annual museum pass for 40 euro is your best bet. The next stop of interest for myself was the Anne Frank House. Located right next to the Westerkerk (West Church), you can hear the same church bells that Anne talks about in her diary. A touching exhibit as you get to walk through Otto Frank’s office and the hideout in the back upper floors. Definitely a great visit for 8.50 euro. Some free attractions are found just walking the city. This was on a Wednesday, the Waterlooplein area near the Musiektheater, was holding a market. You could find everything from clothing to useless nick-knacks to delicious food. Just out by the Heineken brewery there was an even larger market taking place with the same kind of items. This is where I decided to purchase my first scarf ever for 1 euro (it’s cold as shit walking around all day, don’t judge).

Overall, Amsterdam was a great place to visit and I can’t even imagine how much more fun it would be in the summer. I was told April 30 is Queen’s Day and quite the time to be in town (go ahead and write that one down). Oh yeah, and if you were concerned at all about a language barrier in Amsterdam, don’t be, nearly everyone speaks English, one of the easiest cities I’ve been to in terms of communicating. If you have any other insight or comments you would like to add, they’re always welcomed. See you all in Berlin!

Brussels was incredible and I’ll soon be posting my Brussels pics and Amsterdam pics, updating my map, and adding more to my gear page.  Enjoy your day or night, wherever you may be and I’ll see you all in Germany!

I’ll be in Amsterdam tomorrow night, so get ready.  I can only promise you awesome things.  I’ll catch you all on the flip side… HoboDrifter, out.