History, Haarlem, and Hookers- Day 1 and 2 in The Netherlands

Day 1- Amsterdam

I arrived early around 8am.  I was very pleased to have a quick and calm visit to customs officers.  It was a sharp contrast to my 2 hours of chaotic lines in Kuwait's airport the night before.  I dropped my bags off at my hostel and set off for a walking tour.  In case you are wondering, a hostel is a low priced hotel in which you share accommodation with others.  I stayed in a four person dorm with 3 people from Brazil who were traveling together.  The four of us shared a room and a bathroom.  I found my new Brazilian acquaintances to be friendly and it certainly didn't hurt that guy (there were 2 girls and 1 guy) was quite a hottie :) I chose to try a hostel in an effort to keep my budget low because the cost was about half the price of other hotels in the area.

After dropping my luggage off in a locker at the hostel,  I walked a few blocks to find Dam Square, a major gathering place in Amsterdam.  In this area, I joined other tourist who were gathering for a free walking tour.  If you are ever visiting a new city, I suggest checking to see if they offer a free walking tour.  I am learning that they give a lot of the same information you would get on tours that you pay for.  It's nice to give the guide a good tip after.  The guide for my tour gave a good history of Amsterdam's government.  He talked in detail about Dutch Imperialism and influence throughout the world.  A huge influence of this can be seen in New York City, which was originally settled by the Dutch and was previously called New Amsterdam.  I am spending part of my visit in Haarlem, which is the what Harlem, New York is named after.  

The white Umbrella says "Free Walking Tour" and helps tourist to find the tour guide

The walking tour took us through the Red Light District.  The Red Light District in a historic part of the city that has lots of charming shop, canals, and beautiful buildings. Oh, and hookers.  Lots and lots of hookers.  Amsterdam chose to legalize prostitution.  Our tour guide said this was to end the problem of women being abused by pimps.  He said that the prostitutes are "self-employed".  We know that prostitution is one of the oldest professions in history, so Amsterdam chose legalize it rather than continue to prosecute its prostitutes.  I had heard about the Red Light District and assumed it would be a couple of dark alleys that the tour guide would point to as we walked by.  I was a bit surprised to realize that the cute cobblestone alleys we were walking through were a part of this district.  My tour was at 10:30am and the ladies were already standing in the windows wearing bikinis or lingerie awaiting customers.  We learned that open curtains means they are open for business, while closed curtains mean they are already "busy".  There are red lights on above the doors of the shops. We also learned that a blue light means you are likely in the company of a transvestite. 

you will have to guess. I can't tell you what marijuana soda taste like

nobody goes to this coffee shop for coffee 

The Red light district is also notorious for drugs.  Our guide explained that Amsterdam has not legalized marijuana.  It has however, chosen to ignore this "soft drug" use.  The result is that there is a distinct smell of weed in the air coming from the many "coffee shops" that are present.  

The streets are lined with lovely cafes and businesses

if you live along the canal, this pizza place will deliver to you via boat

The walking tour gave me a great view of historic Amsterdam.  I was surprised by how large the Red Light District was, and by the fact that the girls in windows are right next door to cafes and small business.  During the tour, I met a girl from New Zealand, and we walked around together for a couple of hours after the tour sightseeing and grabbing lunch.  As a solo traveler, I find that I am much more likely to meet new people than when I am traveling with a group and only speak to those in my group.  

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I visited the Anne Frank House Museum as well.  The home where Anne Frank and her family hid to escape Nazi persecution has been transformed into a museum.  I found this to be a very touching experience.  I remember studying this while in school, but being in the house solidifies the fact that this was a real family who remained indoors for over 2 years to protect themselves.  Ultimately, the family was killed in a Jewish concentration camp with the exception of Anne's father, who fulfilled her wish to have her writing published.  I do not have photos to share because photos are not permitted inside the museum.  However, I would recommend this experience to anyone visiting Amsterdam. If you do plan to visit the museum, make a reservation online a few weeks in advance to secure an admission time.  If not, you will wait in a very long line without a guarantee to even be able to get in.

this is just one third of the line waiting to enter the museum. I could skip this line because I had a reservation

I choose to end my busy touring day with a canal tour.  Amsterdam is famous for its beautiful canals and buildings.  In retrospect, this was probably not the greatest idea after walking miles around the city and only getting a few hours of sleep the night before on my 2am flight from Kuwait.  The canals soothed me into a peaceful nap after about 35 minutes of the hour long tour.   I found it interesting to see how closely cars park to the canals.  Apparently, about 1 car a week drives into the canal in spite of guard rails. 

Day 2- Haarlem 

I booked a stay at an Airbnb home in the city of Haarlem which is a short 20 minute train ride from Amsterdam.  I choose to do this because it is more affordable than staying in Amsterdam, and because I find big city life to be too overwhelming and chaotic for my taste.  AirBnB stands for Air bed and breakfast.  It is an alternative to regular hotel stays.  I am staying with a Dutch woman in her small home.  She was kind enough to pick me up from the train station, provide me with lots of brochures, and give me guidance about how to get around town.  This stay is costing me less than $45 per night. 

I choose to allow myself to relax a bit more today.  I have plenty of time to return to Amsterdam for more touring.  Today I went to the beach.  After my host explained the transportation system, I chose to face my fear of getting lost and venture out.  I took a bus to the train station and then took a train to the beach.  I asked strangers for help along the way.  Although the national language here is Dutch and most signs are printed in Dutch, most people also speak English.  People here have been very friendly and willing to help.  I was successful in finding the beach.  It was nice, but a bit too cold for me to sit outside and enjoy.  I found a restaurant with huge picture window so that I could see the beach while staying warm.  After being in temperatures over 110F in Kuwait, a 65F day at the beach was chilly.  I relaxed with a tasty grilled salmon salad and a good book. 

I ventured back to my temporary home with a slight detour.  Slight detour is my fancy way of saying that I got lost.  The cool part is that I found my way eventually.  A tool that I forgot to use when I got lost has been pretty helpful to me during this trip.  I use the app "RometoRio".   It tells me the modes of transportation that are best to get around a city and gives turn by turn walking directions.  This has been a great asset to me this week.