Travel Journal, Part II

Truly, Amsterdam is an amazing city. We spent two full days plus an evening and a morning exploring the city, and I had a fantastic time.

On our first full day, we spent over ten hours just walking about the city. We saw Vondelpaark, some positively stunning architecture, and more canals than you could shake a stick at. The city is over seven centuries old, and displays architecture from several periods. As you walk from one block to the other, the coloration and style of the buildings vary dramatically. One moment, we were walking past an old Gothic cathedral, all spires and stone slabs, and in the next, we were crossing a cobblestone bridge overlooking a collection of houseboats. In the moment after that, it was rows of brick and mortar apartment complexes. There are also examples of Rennaisance era construction, and because the city loves its history everything is diligently maintained. The canals were also very scenic, especially at sunrise.

The city's layout is something akin to a giant spiderweb of minor roads and canals, and one can easily lose themselves in the maze of alleys and sidestreets. Getting lost was really half the fun, however, so that kind of played in our favor. The city has cars, rickshaws, trains, and boats traveling this way and that, but the favored mode of transportation is the bicycle. Bikers have their own lanes on all the major streets, and they can fit into the small side passages that cars have difficulty navigating. After a while, the city started to feel like a giant bike park.

In Dam Square, near the center of the city, are the living statues. Darth Vader, Batman, that stretchy face dude from Scream, and other recognizable (and sometimes not so recognizable) figures are on display throughout the large plaza. The performers will spend most of their time standing perfectly still, giving the impression that they are indeed lifeless statues. However, if you try to take their picture without tossing a few coins in their jar, they always move at just the wrong moment. I was frustrated by this for quite some time before I even realized they were doing it on purpose. After that, I tried for a little longer, but no matter how far away I stood they always managed to thwart me. It was a little surreal. Eventually, I gave in and parted with a few euros, at which point they enthusiastically posed for a shot. Money well spent, in my opinion.

The culture in Amsterdam is a very laid-back one, and the locals are, for the most part, welcoming and friendly. If you stare at your map for too long, an overly helpful native will try and offer you directions. Presumably, Amsterdam has a criminal element like any other major city, but I felt free to wander the city at five in the morning, and didn't wind up regretting it.

We had been expecting very cold weather, but the sun was out pretty much the whole time, and the weather was simply splendid. The whole trip was a success. Unfortunately, we were so exhausted the second day we were so tired from hiking about that we never made it to the museums we'd planned on seeing, but I had a fine time of it all the same. Besides, if I ever go back, I know there's plenty more to do.