We decided to make the short trip up from Aachen in Germany up to the Netherlands, we spent a day in Amsterdam on the way. Wow! We headed into Amsterdam with three things to see: The Red Light district, The ‘Coffeeshops’ and Anne Franks house.

The Red Light district was amazing, everybody we had spoken to on our trip said it was the best part of Amsterdam and it certainly didn’t let us down. There is a large canal down the center of the street, on each side of the canal there are old fashioned terrace like buildings with 2 meter high glass windows on each level. Some windows have curtains drawn across them and others are wide open with women standing in them. I think these women have the task of trying to seduce men into the shop. Some do it in a laid back way, where as others  are more ‘confronting’. In fact, one lady had the ability to open her window, like a door, and follow people down the street. She yelled at a man in front of us as he walked past. He ended up going in and the curtains closed. That was a good enough experience as we had wanted so we headed off to a local cafe, (note: Not a Coffee shop, there is a difference) and ordered a nice bowl of Chips with Gravy. The waiter was fascinated by our order so we offered her a taste, saying it was the Hamish and Andy special. Wonder if it will make it onto the Menu?

So we thought we better go and see the other site that Amsterdam has to offer…”Coffee shop’s”. We went into one place that was more like a drug rehab center than anything and quickly decided to head into the Burger King next door instead. We wanted to get some food and thought that this would be the safest option…relatively speaking. The place wasn’t much better. To the left and right of the door were bar tables with people rolling and counting their joints. Others where examining their recently purchased smoking apparatus. But probably most funniest of all where the 70 - 80 year old grannies hobbling around the streets high as kites, just laughing at people walking by and generally dazing into space. They are probably the ones having the greatest time of all in Amsterdam… At least it seems that way!

Anne Franks house was remarkable, the museum has been built out of the original house and involves visitors walking through a series of narrow corridors through the factory below the house and out to the attic where Anne spent many years hiding from the Nazi invasion in the Netherlands. It is alot smaller than I had imagined, however, two things resonate strongest with me, the fact that Anne and the other 7 people sharing this attick with her were captured and sent to Auschwitz only 4 weeks before the war ended. Secondly, there is a quote written on a wall near the exit of the museum by Primo Levi, a survivor of Auschwitz, which reads: “One single Anne Frank moves us more than the countless others who suffered just as she did, but whose faces have remained in the shadows. Perhaps it is better that way; if we were capable of taking in all the suffering of all those people, we would not ba able to live.”

So, that’s my summary of Amsterdam. I’m heading of to London tomorrow and looking forward to telling you all about the things that go on there!

‘Keep on following!’

Related Posts

No Comments Yet!

• Most Recent
• Most Popular

Speaking Engagements

Follow me