Every city, especially the older ones with some history, has a unique vibe and feel. Amsterdam is one of my favorites.
The canals cris cross the narrow streets, and the buildings tilt this way and that due to their having been constructed on giant pilons driven down into the sand (very similar to Venice).
The cafe life is thriving, from coffee shops to beer halls, and the beer... is... AMAZING.
I’ve always been a fan of Belgian beer (and I’ll do a post on that soon), and it’s gewat because the Dutch beers are very influenced by the Belgian region. If you want a nice refreshing, slightly tart farmhouse ale, they can accommodate you here. The bartenders will gladly sit and talk beer with you for as long as you want.
The bike culture is thriving here, and has been for years. The reason being, it’s a small, ancient city, as most cities in the Netherlands are, and the practice of moving goods around via barge and canal means that there can be very little widening of roads. So back in the 60’s the Dutch made the decision to embrace the bicycle and create infrastructure for safer biking. Today in Amsterdam, you will see more bikes than you have ever seen in your life. If there is a plece where it’s possible to lock a bike, there WILL be a bike there. One guy told me that many people have two bikes, one to leave in the city and one to take home. He said that there are a million bikes and 900 thousand residents.
So EVERY street looks like this.
The canals of course are beautiful In waaya that only the light dancing on water can yield. They are beautiful for photographs but the plethora of boats and badges give the city a playful feel.
Oh and by the way, the food is amazing! Everything I had was great, from a simple plate of meats and cheeses to a fancy restaurant with stake and escargot, I was blown away by the flavor.
Here’s to Amsterdam, and to another trip back someday!
Justin is a documentarian and writer. You can follow him on instagram at @justinsmorningcoffee, where he takes a photo of his coffee every morning to show where he is in the world at that time. And @Onejwells on Twitter, where he tweets about his upcoming book on documentary film.
