Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 12:49 PM
Subject: Alex Flachsbart’s–Ramsey Great Ideas Tour
Now, on to the far more amusing city of Amsterdam! I left Brussels last Sunday at about 10:00 and arrived in Amsterdam at around 2:00, checked into my hostel (after a THOROUGH Google Maps exploration the night before, this one was much easier to find), and set off to wander the town. I met up with a guy from Singapore that I roomed with in Brussels and wound up wandering most of the city of Amsterdam before nightfall. The place, by any estimation, is absolutely gorgeous. It reminds me of a larger and much more vibrant version of Venice; once you manage to work your way outside of the Red Light district and some of the downtown hot spots, you wind up uncovering an incredible historical city paired with a very modern, friendly culture unlike any I’ve seen anywhere else. It was, of course, quite interesting to explore this culture with a very touristy Singaporean dedicated to “getting a flavor of local living”… I’ll save the stories on him for the dinner next year. I’ve got to admit that it was a bit weird watching the police nod greetings to the half-naked prostitutes dancing for the crowd in the Red Light District windows. But when you contrast all of the vice of the Red Light District with the very genteel peace of the Herengracht or the Kaisergracht, you have an incredible study in contrasts. No wonder Amsterdam inspired some of the most brilliant painters the world has ever known.
So in any case, I spent the first day wandering the city and getting a feel for the local culture. Leo and I wound up eating at this fantastic local restaurant that serves Dutch food like a Spanish restaurant would serve tapas, so we got to sample quite a bit of local cuisine; I’ve got to say that it’s excellent. I’d never tried rabbit before but after the portion I had that night, I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to look at a pet bunny the same way… The next day, we wandered a bit more but took a day-trip to the Hague and to Haarlem (which has what amounts to the most impressive cathedral I have ever seen – and that includes Notre Dame, the National Cathedral in D.C., and the Vatican. Oh yes. This thing was good). Both were cool enough, but I was itching to get back to Amsterdam; I had but one day left and a BUNCH of typical touristy stuff to do. So we wandered through the night-time scene of the Red Light District and wound up finding a cafe (not a coffee-shop; we figured out that the cafes serve actual coffee and the coffee shops serve… well… other stuff) that was open until 1:00 AM and sat there talking politics and philosophy with a couple of Dutch college kids until 1:30. I actually had a mad craving for a mocha that night, but the barista had no idea how to make one, so we sort of improvised one with chocolate ice cream and milk. The barista took one swig, smiled, grabbed a pen, and went to the menu, where he promptly wrote “American Mocha” and an arbitrary price… So if you ever want a mocha in Amsterdam, I’ll tell you where to go. Anyways, my last day in Amsterdam was jam-packed with museums and the like. Got a chance to check out the Van Gogh, the Rijksmuseum, the History Museum (which was amazing – I had no idea how badly they got swindled on a routine basis by the English), and the Anne Frankhuis. That was, without question, the most moving experience I’ve had in quite some time. So in a word, Amsterdam was excellent. I suppose it helps that I’m really obsessed with canals for some reason and Amsterdam has more of those than any other city in the world…
Thanks again to all for the thoughts, suggestions, and prayers, and rest assured that I’ll talk to you all again soon!
Yours,
Alex