Progressive, tranquil, abundant in cultural history and a flair for the wildly imaginative makes Amsterdam a travel experience must.
When John Lennon wed Yoko Ono in 1969, throughout the height of the Vietnam War, they spent their honeymoon having a two-week "Bed-In for Peace" in the Presidential Suite of the Amsterdam Hilton. Based on a recent journey to Amsterdam, my guess is they chose this city because the Dutch are amongst the most peace loving, diplomatic and all round cool individuals in the world.
It seems to be in their DNA. Possibly it's since for centuries Holland, and particularly Amsterdam, was the center for world trade. Ships cruised to the Baltic Sea, North America, Africa, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Brazil - then back once again. It was a buzzing hub for tourists, merchants and experience applicants from all over the world, all with different languages, customs and faiths attempting to make their fortune. Naturally, that needed getting along.
There's also a distinct cool factor that some refer to as "wacky." It's not the Hollywood cool of Los Angeles or the streamlined cool of New York - the cool factor in Holland comes from smart, city living, needed when you reside in one of the most densely inhabited nations on Earth. Cool too for their progressive social attitudes on gay marital relationship, cannabis, prostitution, and doctor-assisted suicide.
The "green" cool is apparent. Where else can you see lots of entrepreneurs riding bikes to work and thousands of bikes parked at the train station? There's the "smart" cool too. Simply watch how seamlessly they move from one language to another with total aplomb.
All this and more I discovered in just 4 nights and 3 days in Holland.
Without any time to spare, I concentrated on 2 cities: Amsterdam and neighboring Haarlem taking a 14-hour continuously flight on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines from Los Angeles. In Amsterdam, as in many European cities, public transportation is plentiful. Trains run from Leidseplein Amsterdam the airport to any place you're going and everyone speaks English and is happy to point you in the ideal direction.
The day I showed up, all the hotels near the historic center were booked, so I remained at the 4-star Novotel Hotel on the southern side of Amsterdam. This modern high-rise has complete amenities and is simply a few blocks from the massive RAI Exhibit and Convention Centre. Judging from the coats and incorporate the lobby, it's a favorite for business travelers.
To conserve money and time, I purchased an I Amsterdam City Card, a "smart card" that includes a guidebook, coupons for 50 complimentary and 60 discounted activities and restaurant offerings, and a GVB card for unrestricted public transport during the duration of my stay. This trip was everything about doing the most I could in just a couple of days, beginning with a dinner consultation that night at Brasserie Harkema near the center of the city. With my dependable GVB card in hand and encouraged by the Novotel's concierge (who guaranteed me various times that I didn't require a taxi), I boarded a tram and headed off into the night, praying I wouldn't get lost.
I missed my come by a few blocks, however I didn't mind the walk back to the Spui area where my supper was waiting. Found on a pedestrian-street in between 2 of the numerous canals that form a web across the city, the modern Brasserie Harkema offered a delicious repast of pumpkin soup with crème d'anise followed by grilled tuna with wasabi and an apple tart with cinnamon ice cream for dessert.
The architecture in Amsterdam is interesting, whether it's ultra-contemporary in the newer areas or centuries old at the city's center. Among the very best methods to delight in the historical areas is on a canal cruise. I enjoyed my own thanks to a free discount coupon in my I Amsterdam manual. What a reward to lean back, relax and slide by the multistoried homes. These distinctively gabled structures are so tall and narrow that furniture is moved in and out of the upper floors with block and deal with pulley-blocks mounted to the roofs.
If your houses seem to be leaning forward, it's not because you have actually had one a lot of of Amsterdam's home town Heinekens. These structures are supposed to lean forward. How else do you keep the piano from scraping versus the walls as you pull it approximately the 5th flooring?
Given that Amsterdam was when the world center for banking and trade, it was likewise an attractive habitat for artists who made their living painting pictures. To this day, Amsterdam calls to those with an innovative flair and supplies sufficient area for art - from the invaluable works of Rembrandt and Van Gogh to the hippest pieces of modern-day art. The Van Gogh Museum is a must with works like Sunflowers, The Bedroom, Wheatfield with Crows âEURo and most suddenly striking, Van Gogh's hypnotic self-portraits âEURo all on irreversible exhibition.
In the very same Museumplein (Museum Square), you'll find the Rijksmuseum (the nationwide museum with works by Rembrandt and other Dutch masters), the Stedelijk Museum with timeless modern-day and modern art, and the Diamond Museum (Amsterdam was when the diamond capital of the world). Restaurants dot the landscape, guaranteeing visitors they won't need to starve for their art, however I decided to head over to Blue Amsterdam, a terrific place to get a bird's-eye view of the city, since this super-contemporary eatery is set down above the Kalvertoren shopping center in the heart of Amsterdam.
Obviously, what's a trip to Amsterdam without a peek at the infamous Traffic signal District? I was informed by a Dutch bartender that the majority of people in Holland don't truly like the idea of prostitution (or using marijuana), but in normally practical Dutch fashion, they recognize that fighting it is futile.