Amsterdam (A Cleaner Venice?)

I spent the past few days of my journey in the great city of Amsterdam. It is unlike any city I have ever been to and I feel the people here pride themselves on that. Whether it be the Red Light District, the "coffe shops", or the thousands of people constantly flying by on bicycles everything here is different.

My first day in Amsterdam was a bit stressful. I had no money having relieved myself of pounds back in Scotland and no way of getting more since the bank did not know my intent to visit the netherlands. Once this was resolved I found the nearest pub and enjoyed an Irish feast. I then decided to explore the city in hopes of finding a good bakery or sweet shop. Unfortunately that turned into an hour of getting lost. Narrow streets with over 160 canals make things look very similar at night. Exposing myself as a tourist and asking my way back I eventually returned home safely.

Day 2: My yearning for Dutch food unfulfilled, I got up and went to a place called Pancakes!. A popular place for Sunday brunch and so there was a line (queue as they like to call it) out front. A young man in front of me was also there by himself so I struck up conversation and asked if we could sit together to cut my wait time in half. He obliged and turned out to be a rather interesting Canadian. He was just 20 years old. He went to South America for 5 months, did a year of college, then decided to head off to Europe. But I digress, my pancakes was phenomenal. It is quite flat but very tasty. I ordered one drizzled with chocolate.
Full from breakfast I went to Dam Square to begin a tour around the city. We started in the infamous red light district. Our guide, Mark, had been a neighbor to a prostitute in the city and he therefore knew many of the girls working windows. He was a supporter of legal prostitution claiming that it makes the women safer than if they were to be in brothels and such. From there we saw the national monument of the Netherlands, the Royal Castle and both new and old churches. One of the best parts of the tour was a short stop to taste some cheese from a traditional cheese shop. They use the same methods as before WWII and their cheese was fantastic. The darker parts of Amsterdam's history was also covered. We went to a location of a World War II ghetto for Jews. The tour wrapped up with the uncertainty that faces Amsterdam in the upcoming months. There are those who are fighting to change the extreme tolerance for things that are in fact illegal.

Monday morning I awoke early to beat the line for the Anne Frank House. To my surprise getting there 10 minutes prior to opening puts you quite a ways from the door. Once inside, it was a moving experience. To see the actual place where 8 Jewish people hid for two years invoked a range of emotions. It was terribly sad and upsetting, but I am glad to have seen it.
To cheer myself up a bit, I went back again to Pancakes! So delicious. Then I walked to the southwest of the city in an attempt to visit the Van Gogh museum. However, I like everyone else was refused due to construction. Such is life. But, the popular sign that reads I Amsterdam is right next to the museum so I took the opportunity to photograph the landmark. I then realized that a renowned cake shop was also nearby, so I popped over to have a remarkable piece of cheesecake. After a day full of eating I went over to what must be the biggest park in the city to relax. The park was vibrant and full of dogs and their owners. When it started to rain I found a little nook beneath a tree and enjoyed simply watching. Another visit to an Irish pub before I would get completely washed out and turn in. My rainy adventures have now caught up to me in the form of a cold.