Well, groeten van Amsterdam! (greetings from Amsterdam!) Yes, I have now left London and am reporting from Amsterdam! I like to think that phase II of my research has commenced. Whereas in London, my focus was on the intelligence aspects of Market Garden, in Holland, I will be focusing on the literal invasion and the military aspects of my research topic. Right, but before I get into the nitty gritty and tell you about what Hanna Holborn related activity I accomplished, I thought I would use this post to talk about Amsterdam!
Now, those reading may be confused by my blog title. There is a very specific reason behind my title selection. Towards the end of my time in London, my parents decided to join me in Europe. Although my main purpose in Europe is for research, they are using this as a convenient excuse to tag-a-long and vacation. Right. So my parents and I left London for Amsterdam. After a long day of awkward travel; the travel agent booked my parents and myself on different flights to Amsterdam from London, but thankfully on the same day, we finally arrived at our hotel. Our hotel, situated right in the center of Amsterdam in Dam Square, was rather grand. Literally, very Victorian and opulent, in my opinion. We checked in and made our way up to our rooms. At this point, it was around 7 pm and we began to discuss our evening plans. My father whipped out his used Amsterdam guidebook.
It was a standard DK guidebook, but rather than buy a new one, my father opted to purchase a used copy on Amazon. Considering we spend all this money on guidebooks that we never look at again, it seemed reasonable. While my father was reading about places to eat dinner, he said something like….“and the meal will only cost you about 50 guilders (or something like that)”. We all gasped and scratched our heads. GUILDERS? What the hell is a guilder? Surely they mean Euros. It seems that this book was not only inexpensive, but ten years old! (Published in 2000). We laughed nonstop and this has become a long running joke on the trip. So now that I have explained that, let me move.
I have never been to Amsterdam, but based on it’s rather…let’s say “liberal” reputation, I have always been curious. I must say, physically, the architecture of the city and the canals are beautiful, but sadly, the incredible amount of litter covering the streets is a bit distracting! Rather than admire the scenery, I was too busy watching where I walk in an attempt to avoid walking into garbage and dog poo. Oh well. The evening was relatively warm (high 60s) and I was feeling adventurous. My parents and I walked along a major canal and decided to go into a quiet side street. This street led to a very quiet and isolated bridge and canal. Sounds perfect right? If only we knew of what lay ahead!
dad and I posing in front of one of Amsterdam’s many canals/bridges
We found ourselves in a very classic looking area adjacent to Amsterdam University. We thought, “oh this is nice! Let’s stroll here”. For about five minutes, it was indeed nice, but then things got interesting. Suddenly we noticed huge throngs of people and colored lights. I was then taken by surprised when I glanced to my right. Starring back at me was a very plastic appearing scantily clad female mannequin, or so I initially thought. Then Yikes, she blinked! We had inadvertently stumbled into Amsterdam’s infamous red-light district. As you may or may not know, in this neighborhood, prostitutes attempt to seduce customers from within their electrically lit glass window cubicles. Also, you can find many cannabis/drug shops, seedy strip clubs, pornography shops…I mean the list goes on. (If you are familiar with Manhattan and Christopher St. downtown, the red light district made Christopher St. look PG and family oriented!)
While the unexpected appearance of “hot sex glowing in the window” (taken from A Christmas Story) was entertaining, it was eye opening. I probably shouldn’t elaborate anymore, but let’s just say, it was a really out of the ordinary way to start our exploration of Amsterdam. I should emphasize that I did other things besides the Red Light District. I very much wanted to visit the Anne Frank house/museum, but was unable to overcome the 6-block queue with my limited time (How tragic). I did however overcome this disappointment and produce a positive outcome. My parents and I walked around the older and more elegant areas of Amsterdam, stumbling upon little shops and side streets. Really lovely. We also visited a giant plant street market. (My parents, especially my mother, are avid gardeners.) 2 days in Holland (1 day in Amsterdam and 1 day in Arnhem/Oosterbeek) was indeed short, but it was a fascinating trip!
the gift that keeps giving…
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