I don't feel like I've spent enough time in the Netherlands, nor have I been to enough places, to feel like I've explored the country nearly adequately. Considering how often I meet and enjoy meeting other Dutch travellers it seems a shame I spent so little time there.
In arriving in the Netherlands I did what all tourists do - I went to Amsterdam first. I thankfully have friends in Utrecht and I spent a day in the much smaller and (to my mind) much nicer city. I also visited Arnhem on my last night and this blog entry will cover only those three cities. A completely inadequate picture of the Netherlands follows.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam usually holds an aura of bohemian delightedness to foreign travellers eager to get caught up in all of the things that are only easily available in Amsterdam. I'm not that kind of traveler. I'm not interested in drugs. I'm not interested in the myriad forms of the sex trade. I was there in the offseason on three week nights. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong?
I did find things to do which I really enjoyed in Amsterdam. If you like art, the Rijkmuseum is a fantastic place to visit. If you don't like art, the Rembrandt floor is worth a visit anyway. The incredible skill required to produce the artwork on display there, in such density, can be a bit difficult to take in all at once.
I also visited a place I'd been planning on visiting since I'd decided to travel to Europe - the Anne Frank House. After reading the Diary of Anne Frank I'd been interested in seeing the part of Amsterdam where her tragic story took place. The outside looked so nondescript and simple that I started to understand how the families in the house had been able to live in the centre of Amsterdam for several years undetected. As I walked through the rooms and saw the places she described so vividly I couldn't help but be impacted by it. The rooms haven't been refurbished by request of Otto Frank. I think it detracts from what you expect to see, but in hindsight, it makes the house into a more solemn memorial - the whole point of the place. I hope it stays as it is.
I did try going out for conventional nightlife in Amsterdam and I found it underwhelming, expensive and quiet. I also went to the Red Light District a couple of times - my second hostel was right in it!
The RLD is a very curious place. I can't claim to have been too many places where large groups of severely inebriated (in some form or another) men and women wander the streets; where women with perfectly sculpted bikini-clad bodies stand behind large windows and tap their long fake nails on the glass anytime someone walks past; and where seedy smoke-filled coffee shops offering a wide ranging selection of marijuana products sit nicely beside perfectly normal looking pubs. The biggest difference being the row upon row of neon red lights everywhere!
I decided while I was there that I'd at least go to one RLD institution - a sex show at the Cafe Rosso. It's quite odd to walk in to what looks like a movie theatre, with at least 40+ other people around you, have a beer, and watch a very intense set of 'performances'. My North American sensibilities had me thinking it should've felt weirder to be there, but it seemed so normal for the RLD that I didn't feel creepy or creeped out at all.
I also did some plain old regular sightseeing in Amsterdam. I visited the main squares, I walked the canals, I walked through the park, and I went to the churches and the memorials. The city just didn't jump out at me. I didn't want to extend my stay and left after a mere three nights.
Utrecht
I had organized a ride share to get from Arnhem to Berlin and had one day to get from Amsterdam to Arnhem. Twenty minutes by train from Amsterdam is the city of Utrecht, a place I'd always intended to visit. I'd wanted to visit the city because I'd heard it was beautiful, and because I'd made friends from Utrecht when I'd traveled through South America two years previously.
I spent one full day in the city. I arrived from Amsterdam around ten in the morning, ditched my backpack in a locker in the train station, and set out to walk the canals. The canals in Utrecht are much prettier than in Amsterdam and you can get a lot closer to them. Nice parks run through the city and make the whole inner city a very nice and relaxing place to walk around.
The old city itself has a nice blend of tourist traps, traditional market and shopping areas, nice little cafes and some really nice pubs. In the evening I met up with one of my friends and we went out to a large manor house turned underground church turned Belgian beer pub for dinner and drinks. This was the experience I wanted to have in Amsterdam!
Arnhem
My last stop in the Netherlands was the town of Arnhem. Even before getting to the Netherlands I wanted to visit Arnhem. When I saw an opportunity to get a cheap ride from Arnhem to Berlin I jumped at it. Arnhem is quite a small city and the only hostel in the city is expensive and RIDICULOUSLY FAR AWAY. To make it more exciting I arrived from Utrecht at eleven at night smelling of Belgian beer and the local buses had shut down for the night. Its a good thing I love carrying a heavy backpack for an hour while climbing into the hills (I'm also quite sure it's the only hill in the entire country).
Arnhem was the last western WWII memorial I visited on my trip through Europe. I walked through the old city, had a wander through market stalls, looked at old medieval towers and eventually made it to the purpose of my journey - A Bridge Too Far. I didn't know what I expected to feel or see when I was there - I simply wanted to go and see the bridge and stand on it. At the end of the day, it is just a bridge.
Conclusion
Based on my experiences in the Netherlands, I'm not enamoured. Based on the numerous Dutch travellers I've met, I feel I owe the country another chance. I think it's important to know your personal tastes when you go to a country like the Netherlands, and specifically Amsterdam. See what you want to see while you're there and don't get caught up trying to see what other people think you should.
No comments:
Post a Comment