I AMsterdam

Last weekend we spent two days in Amsterdam as a family. That is no night clubs, no coffee shops (like we would even without kids do it...), no red lights etc. Even without these fascinating elements, I gotta say Amsterdam is not just another European city.

There are many angles to it and I hope my Dutch friends will not be offended too much, since this is coming with a similar criticism and respect as I would hope to hear about Finland and Finns. And perhaps I should empty your arguments about Finland before you do it, even if some of you might have heard it from me verbally ;o)

Let´s start with the bicycles;

In AMS bikes have much better treatment then pedestrians. All roads provide proper bicycle routes but do not necessarily take into account people on their feet at the same level.

Also the pedestrians are awarded with about 50 cm wide tram stop between the rails and passing cars - without railing.

Someone who is not used to the bike domination (>99% of the people on globe), need to be careful since you will be ran over if you don´t pay attention.

I must say AMS is not a tidy place, just like Brussels. Good thing is that the roads are in much better condition then in Belgium.

Tip for Museum visitors: Buy tickets in advance online!!!

If you wanna visit a museum, I can tell from experience that it is worth paying the few extra euros for an online ticket that gives you access to the shortcut queue. I had my motivator to stand in line for Van Gogh museum to see the production of this misunderstood Pastis-abuser. At the end worth the visit but not the 1 hour queue.

We also visited the Anne Frank Museum that is in the building where she and her family were hiding for 2 years before being arrested during 2nd World War. Here you should not expect to see anything fancy or extraordinary, but a story that represents part of history. Having visited Normandie, Brussels Military Museum (that is definetely worth a visit), Finnish military museums, Bastogne (crucial battle point in WW2), and many other related places with children, I can say it does give a new perspective also to school history classes.

I would never had imagined that a 10 year old boy wants to get the book of Anne Frank´s Diary, but he is reading it. It is not light to read but with a little guidance, joint reading, discussions and finding facts that Anne at some point also was "in love" with some boy makes it managable. The same guy was fascinated to read a book about Winston Churchill (more kids version) and make a presentation of him.

At the same time I am very happy to say this young man is very consious of right and wrong!

...a bit off the track so back to AMS...

What about the canals;

The fact is that big part of Netherlands is under the sea level. If you want to capture land from the sea, talk to the Dutch, they are the World Champions in it. Could it be due to enabling to have so many terraces by the water. Or to be exact: under the water line...

A friend has got a "inside the block" garden in AMS city and not that long time ago that used to be under water. When she moved in the garden had not been taken care of for years and now the ground level has gone down quite a lot compared to neighbours. Normally you order a truck to drop a pile of dirt and that´s it. Noup, the only ways are to carry it in small amounts through the house (I would guess it would take about 25.000 portions) or to order a lift that takes it above the house.

Do you know how they move to the houses in AMS?

A bit like in Brussels but in BRU they use the mechanical lifts, in AMS they use ropes that they hang on the hooks you have in front/top of each house and then you move the stuff in through the window.

Why?

The doors and corridors are too narrow to move normal items in...

AMS is canals and partly they make the city what it is. You have so many ways to enjoy the water, and hence there are multiple different boats around too.

And also police.

Talking about the police: Wanna grow some Cannabis?

Welcome to the flower market and choose your flavor. For less than 5 Euros you can get you own starting kit and grow your own pot. In no time you might find yourself using hard drugs, selling your body for a trip and have premature funeral. There are plenty of nice people to help you get your journey started!

Let´s continue with the plants;

Tulips are THE thing and I am happy to say you don´t need to pay much for them.

And then the shoes;

Here are some shoe goodies from the trip.

The green ones were for kids under 10 yrs...

The guy who was wearing the spotty ones above had a helmet I thought only Paul Newman owned.

Queen´s Day I have already written about and I gotta say that has been one of the top city parties I´ve been to so it is highly recommended! Next year again on April 30th in case you can not go to Finland to enjoy Vappu. (In case you are a ski freak, go to Northern Finland - normally many ski resorts are open until early May!)

All and all, I AMsterdam!!!

PS The ones who are Facebook pals with S, check more pics from there