ten things to know about amsterdam

{one} don't walk in the bike lanes.

The Dutch hate it, and will rely on you to dodge them.  And let me tell you, that's no easy task.  So please, there is usually another sidewalk for pedestrians.

{two} there are coffee shops...and then there are coffee shops.

Smoking marijuana is legal 'round those parts.  And the places one goes to do it at?  Called a "coffee shop."  I'm not quite sure why that is, and it's heart-wrenching to me that my favorite and least favorite places have the same name.  Sigh.

But don't worry, friends.  It's usually pretty easy to tell what kind of coffee shop is which.  Titles such as "The Coffee Company" and "Small Talk Coffee Shop" imply real coffee being served.  Titles such as "Coffee Shop" or, even more obviously, "Smokey's Coffee Shop" tend to imply marijuana being smoked there.  And if worst comes to worst, inhale deeply.  That will probably do it.

{three} some things are nasty.

Coffee Shops aside, The Netherlands is simply a rather liberal place.  There's crazy nightlife, and the famous Red Light District, and disturbing things in souvenir shops and on magazine covers.  While there are beautiful windmills just outside the city and the designer shopping area and lovely canals and incredible museums, other parts of Amsterdam are, um, present as well.  But, if you don't actually pursue it, you really won't run into it much.  And when I did, because I'm a sensitive person, I would say a prayer in my head...which at times, I'll admit, went, "Lord, give that person a life!" ;-)

{four} jet lag and canal tours don't mix.

On our very first day, when it felt like the middle of the night and we were trying to stay up for about 24 hours straight, I had the brilliant idea of doing a lovely canal tour thing to "see a lot of the city right off the bat!"  Problem was, I sat down, the boat started slowly rocking, the sun was warm, I was tired....and I struggled to keep my eyes open for the entire time.  Let alone actually see or learn anything.  If I went back to Amsterdam, I would totally want to redo the tour, but when I'm fully awake.  You really see a ton if you're not sleeping!

{five} bring good, good, good walking shoes.

While the tram and subway systems are totally amazing here, you will still be walking lots.  I decided to be cool and only bring my Toms, some dressy flats, and flipflops.  I managed...but ouch.

{six} there is no normal iced tea.

Well, except at American restaurants, that is (above is the only real iced tea we had, courtesy of Hard Rock Cafe--ha!).  If you order an iced tea anywhere else, they give you this little glass bottle. You'll pour it into your glass, take a sip, grimace, and a few minutes later notice that the bottle says "sparkling" on it.  Carbonated iced tea, folks, is basically all that they have.  It's the weirdest stuff ever, in my opinion.

(But of course, that's if you're me.  If you're anyone else you would have read "sparkling" on the bottle before you drank it.  Ahem.)
{seven} if you come after the 20th or so of May (I can't remember the exactly date), tulip season is over.

It should be noted that I arrived in Amsterdam on the 25th of May.  Sigh.  But there are still flowers and tulip bulbs for sale in the city, including this beautiful flower market, right up against a canal.  Love.

{eight} buy your museum tickets online before you go.

{i now get chills whenever i look at pictures of the anne frank house.  just wow.}

We heard this from everyone we talked to.  Make a reservation to avoid the crazy-long queue, they said.  I also learned that, unless you're on a flexible schedule, this should be done much in advance online.  For the Anne Frank house, we bought our tickets on website a couple days before we went, but most spaces were filled...meaning that we had to make ours for 8:30pm or so.  This website has links to many places in Amsterdam, and from there you can go right ahead and make your reservation...to avoid the queue, friends.  Not line, queue.

{nine} if you're in need of a quick meal, a restaurant is not the way to go.

The Netherlands--really, Europe in general--has incredibly slow, relaxed service in sit-down restaurants, and you have to ask a couple of times before they'll bring your bill or give you menus.  So, if you're super-hungry and in need of something fast, try McDonalds.  Or, more original, get hotdogs from one of the many little stands on the street.  I had much fun sitting right by the Van Gogh museum, munching on chips and peach iced tea (which was not sparkling!) for lunch one day.

{ten} you need to spend some time outside of the city, too.  seeing windmills and such.

My favorite part of my trip to Amsterdam was the day I spent away from it--does that sound bad?  Really, I'm not much of a city person at all.  And you cannot to go Holland without seeing some windmills, sampling homemade cheese, and watching Dutch clogs being made.

My dad's incredibly kind friend Gerard (who had put on the whole conference and made me feel at home) took us and some other people to Vereniging Zaanse Molen one day--so much fun.  From what I saw, it was like a Dutch version of Colonial Williamsburg.  Meaning that I loved it, and now totally wish I could have spent some more time there.  Definitely recommending it...

So there you are, friends.  Ten quirky, maybe-possibly-helpful that I learned while visiting Amsterdam and thought I'd share.  You are welcome.

Happy July!

love,

hannah