Amsterdam: City of.... okay seriously, wtf?

And all drugs, art, sex and culture aside, there were a few things in Amsterdam that just made no sense or were weird enough to warrant their own post. Like the gift shop below that featured one of those famouse Dutch ceiling cows you're always hearing about... and by that I mean why on earth was there a life size replica cow nailed to the ceiling of a place selling wooden tulips and clog keychains?
There's some kinds of architecture that just don't age as well as others, and one of the motifs that has certainly been out of fashion for awhile is leering skulls and dead-eyed babies. Maybe it was making a comment on some plague or war at the time, but history has moved on and left this particular bit of work out in the cold. And weirder still it wasn't in a cemetery or anything, it was in the side of a shopping district building. Or maybe advertising is just different over there.
This is exactly what it looks like, courtesy of the Sex Museum. Pleasant dreams everyone...

Amsterdam: City of Vice

Along with all the history and art, Amsterdam has a rather famous seedy and wild side that we only peeked around the edge of. Don't let the swans below fool you, the Red Light District is pretty crazy. Every corner is covered in sex shops, lingerie stores or glass doors with prostitutes flaunting their wares to passersby. Weirdly enough the area always felt safe despite the bawdy nature of it, no doubt in part to a steady police presence and daily cleanup crew, but we saw families with children wandering around at 9 at night without concern so its clearly not too bad.
Even more prolific than the brothels, Coffee Shops are peppered through every corner of the downtown core. Here you can buy pot from the guy at the counter or just get a coffee and smoke your own if you want. Every little souvenir shop within 100 yards of one of these places also sells pot, mushrooms, salvia and pretty much any soft drug you can imagine.
Even vice gets its own museum there, with 3 floors of exhibits covering everything from the history of burlesque to fetishes and an animatronic Marilyn Monroe posing for photo shoots. Also included are a number of artifacts from various cultures dating back hundreds of years, showing that mankind has been giving this particular subject a lot of thought for a long time.
Even being green hippys from Vancouver we found Amsterdam to have an unexpectedly liberal and unrestrained feeling which took some getting used to but became enjoyable after a day or two. I imagine that living in the downtown core would get exhausting pretty quick however.

Amsterdam: City of Art

Being an old European city, Amsterdam is full of museums, and since we were there in a rather rainy and wet springtime, it was an ideal time to check out as many as we could. The Rijks Museum was under heavy renovations (like most of the rest of Europe constantly is) but there was still quite a bit on display inside. The highlight for us both was "The Nightwatch" which is a Rembrandt classic, but there were lots of other paintings and works of art to make it a memorable visit.
The Van Gogh museum is quite enjoyable as well, featuring many of his paintings alongside other painters in the expressionist movement. While I don't personally 'get' many of his paintings it was nice to see them all the same, although some that Kathryn had been hoping to see were out on loan to other museums.
We also visited Anne Frank house which maintains the original buildings and interiors behind this updated and reinforced exterior. The tour is very well arranged to guide people linearly through the home and into the attic annex where they stayed. Following the wishes of the surviving father that started the museum, the interiors are all stripped bear as the nazis left them after the people hiding there were discovered.
None of the museums allow photography so you'll have to make do with these exteriors as proof that we actually went to these places, but all are certainly worth a look should you find yourselves in Amsterdam one day.

Amsterdam: City of Architecture

Changing topics very slightly from the last few months, we also spent several days in Amsterdam on the way back from Africa. Amsterdam in early spring being about as opposite to African summer as we could find without having to change routes on the way home. It was a little cold and wet but still home to some breathtaking architecture and full of history. Getting around was quite enjoyable as well as there were canals everywhere which dictated the layout of the city and made it feel like you were always walking along the river.
You know Europe is spoiled for churches when even the guidebook says there aren't many impressive ones in Amsterdam. Coming from the Canadian prairies we still had to give credit to Newekirk cathedral for being more impressive than anything on our continent. We had a look around the interior and it was full of beautiful carvings, candle filled alcoves and a giant organ, just like most churches in Europe.
Even the train station was sweeping and grand as the panorama below shows (click to enlarge). We came in through here from the airport express and our hotel was right across the street. The old district of the city where we spent most of our time was only a few square miles and easy enough to navigate once we got used to it, and after weeks in vans and camps it was nice to stretch our legs a bit.