amsterdam
A day in Amsterdam
It is said that Amsterdam is one of the most attractive cities in Europe. More so, it is classified one of the most tolerant cities in Europe.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1811; 116 years after, in 1927 followed the first gay bar. They are many disputes as to which bar it could have been; but based on my research, i’m pretty sure it was the Café ‘t Mandje. Owned and founded by Bet van Beeren: A member of the LGBTQ+ community herself, Bet’s Café was a place of refuge for marginalised groups back in the days.
It was however no surprise that in 2001 Holland became the first country in the world to legalize same sex marriages. Also the first gay rights organization, the C.O.C (Cultuur- en Ontspanningscentrum), was founded in 1946 in Amsterdam.
If you are traveling as a tourist in Amsterdam, it’s probably best that you don’t forget to get that GVB app. We travelled with bus and train without any problems. For 48 hours we paid € 15,- pp. This was very convenient because we didn’t stay in the city center.
When entering the bus or train, you can scan your bank card; ouch, that must be expensive. But you know what they say: when in Rome, do as the romans do. So you better scan.In combination with the GVB ticket, you could get the Hop on, Hop off bus ticket for € 27,50,- for 24H. Meh, a bit expensive, but with this ticket you get discounted tickets to go to “Body Worlds”, Amsterdam Icebar”, “Madam Tussauds”, “Believe It or Not!”, “The Amsterdam Dungeon”, “Red Lights Secrets” and “The Ultimate 5D Flight Experience”.
Unfortunately for us, we found that out after we had already visited Madam Tussauds, so that’s on the bucket list for the next visit.
In the city of the Dam Square, near the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, which we also didn’t get a chance to visit, you will find Madam Tussauds Amsterdam, the wax museum. Entrance is € 26,- pp. and TRUST and BELIEVE, it was worth it.
I will attach some of the pictures below of the “wax stars” that I met. My top three are Lady Gaga, Marilyn Morow and Angela Merkel.
I think it was worth the € 26,- euros, what you thing? I even met the Mona Lisa and J.Lo’s butt🫣
Amsterdam has a total of 165 canals. When combined together they have a total length from 75km with a depth of 2,6m.
Out of the 1281 bridges, I found the Oudekennissteeg bridge in the inner city very appealing. In the middle of the streets you can find such bikes as the one seen on my photo to the right; I also just love the background view. If you are ever in Amsterdam, that’s a “DO”.
The Amsterdam bridges go way back to 1385. So I guess they knew what they were doing. The canals and bridges turned out to be a place of comfort and refuge to the locals. As a substitute for their lack of gardens, they would normally buy boats and take a ride through the canals now and again. Just imagine it like the opposite of buying a new car and rolling through the hood with hydraulics. It was pretty fancy back in the days to have a boat and now almost everyone seems to have one. And if you don’t; well, you can rent one.
As soon as you get out of the main station, you get to the Stationsplein street and there should be a set of stairs that allows you to go down to the bike parking that has space for around 7,000 bikes.
Ah, almost forgot, if you need to pee, safe it for the tolet: peeing in the canal will bless you with a beautiful fine of around €150,- 🫢 So, guys unless money comes out of your pee… squeeze it.
There is a good amount of water traffic going on, whereby that’s not the most crowded we have seen the canal.
According to our boat guide there are a number of cars that tend to find themselves in the canal. However, not only cars, but bikes as well.
In the city of Amsterdam it has been reported that there are more bikes than there are people. Every year there are around 12,000 and 15,000 bikes that are fished from the canals. To help with this situation the government decided to build a parking facility underwater. Stationsplein is located under the Havenfront (Port).