Trip to Holland - October 2003

When I first met Eric in the mid 90's, he told me there were three things he always gets asked about his home country (The Netherlands), and that the answers are Yes, Yes, and No.

Is prostitution really legal there? Yes. A stroll through Amsterdam's Red Light District is a jaw dropper to say the least. It's a great tourist attraction.

Is marijuana really legal? Yes. Well kind of. There are hundreds of "Coffee Shops" in Amsterdam and other cities that sell pot legally. You are allowed to possess up to 3 to 5 grams (I'm not sure which). If you try to buy more than the legal limit, they'll probably tell you to put the excess in a different pocket. The Dutch distinguish between soft drugs and hard drugs, and claim much lower usage, addiction, and crime rates than we have in the U.S.

Do the Dutch wear wooden shoes? No, but they sell a lot of them to tourists.

I have a routine down where I spend a couple of days (one night) in Amsterdam to recover from the jet lag, and then spend several days working in Rotterdam.

The Netherlands is the most bike friendly place on the planet. I read somewhere that something like 30% of commuter trips in Amsterdam were via bicycle. Bike paths go everywhere, and in the cities there are special traffic signals just for bikes.

Amsterdam

Below are some random street scenes from Amsterdam. I could spend all day, just wandering around the city, soaking in the architecture and the unique culture. I discovered a few years ago when my wife joined me on a trip that Amsterdam actually has museums, historical churches, and the Anne Frank house. Then more recently when my daughter joined me, I learned that there were huge numbers of stores and shops.

Bike parking garage near Amsterdam Central Train station. The downside of so much bike ridership is finding a place to park your bike!	Don't bother to use maps to get around the city. Most intersections have signs that point which way to go to get to key places. All roads lead to Central Station, eventually. If you do pull out a map, it's the same as holding up a sign that says, "I'm a tourist, please ask me for money."
I think it took me three years before I realized that the street names are posted on the sides of buildings. In this photo, the name of the street is a spec in the center of the picture on the second floor. I spent a lot of time wandering around lost in the early days.	With the price of gas in Europe over $4 per gallon, you see a lot of little cars.
The standard architectural style of house along the canals is tall and narrow. The protruding beams at the top of each building have hooks which are used to attach ropes and pulleys to move furniture in and out through the windows.	There is some funky architecture in the city.

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is known for its huge port facilities. The city was bombed out during World War II, so most of the buildings you see are relatively new. One thing I really like about the area is the way industrial, residential, urban, and agricultural areas are in close proximity - and of course all accessible by bike.

But never too far from the harbor are	If Rotterdam is not the busiest container port in the world, it is certainly in the top 2 or 3.
This was about 15 minutes by bike away from the industrial area above.	In the countryside, you often see bikes and cars share the one lane dike roads. There seem to be canals everywhere.
The bike signs are great - you just need to look at a map in advance to get a general idea of where you want to go.	I still get a kick out of traffic lights for bike paths.
Heinenoord Tunnel: This is an elevator that takes you down to the bike tunnel. As you can see, no horses allowed.	Heinenoord Tunnel: many of the tunnels and bridges have bike-only sections.
Here are some bikers going up the escalator at the Maas Tunnel in central Rotterdam while I was going down.	Erasmabrug - my favorite bridge.