Wednesday, August 8, 2001
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Wednesday, August 8, 2001 |
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Goin' Dutch
By MICHAEL BOYLAN I'm back The wedding went great, but I feel like I've told or heard all of the stories a thousand times since it occurred. Instead I think I'll share some thoughts on Amsterdam and Koblenz, the two cities we spent time in on our honeymoon. Amsterdam is a great city, albeit a little intimidating at first. One of the first sights you see in the city is an enormous banner warning you about pickpockets. The warning is written in a number of different languages and will only increase your paranoia if you are a paranoid person, which I kind of am. I started to believe that everybody was out to lift my wallet or mug Sabine and me and take our fabulous new digital camera. I continually scanned the perimeter, looking at everybody approaching us from every direction and they all seemed to look like the henchmen of Bond villains. I kept varying my walking pace and direction in an attempt to foil their plans. It must have worked because we didn't get robbed. Perhaps they thought I was a mental patient who was probably broke anyway or that I was a pickpocket myself, trying very hard to look like a paranoid tourist. If you are careful and aware of your surroundings, there is no danger in being robbed in Amsterdam. The real danger is bicycles. Amsterdam is a walking city and people are expected to walk on the sidewalks. The problem is that the city is filled with outdoor cafes which take up much of the space on the sidewalk. People are then forced to walk around the cafes by stepping on the bike paths. This is a mistake. There are bicycles everywhere and many of them must have faulty brakes because very few of the bikes I saw slowed down when a human entered their path. They may not have a choice. If bicycles swerve to miss a pedestrian, they may get hit by a car or a tram. Getting hit by a car wouldn't be so bad, considering the majority of cars are called Smart Cars and look like mini hatchbacks. Trams on the other hand could hurt a bit. Both the cars and trams share the same road and both can be found swerving to avoid each other as they speed through the city. We survived the terrors of transportation, but just barely. Other than the pickpockets and the out-of-control bicycles, Amsterdam is a world class city. People from every nationality have made their homes there and, though Dutch is the native tongue, English is spoken almost everywhere. In fact most signs have an English translation underneath the Dutch words. One of the things I liked best was that there was cuisine from all over the world available throughout the city. While we were there we ate Greek, Indian, German and Argentinian cuisine. The meals were inexpensive and the portions were enormous. Amsterdam is also very beautiful. There are cobblestone bridges over canals and buildings on every side that have been around for hundreds of years. It is a city that inspired many artists including Rembrandt and Van Gogh. I was familiar with many of Van Gogh's paintings, but being close to the originals was an entirely new experience. Next week, I'll tell you all about Koblenz, which is a city on the Rhein and Mosel rivers in Germany.
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