Spring Break: Amsterdam March 20-22

After exams ended we had a two week spring break. We decided to visit a few places in Northern and Eastern Europe. We decided to start in Amsterdam, then go to Berlin, then Prague, and lastly Budapest. We would be flying budget airlines so we wouldn’t have any checked bags. This means that we had to fit two weeks of clothes in one backpack.

We boarded and plane and we made it to Amsterdam, Netherlands. When we got there it was a bit dark. We tried to find our way to our hostel but we got lost. Amsterdam is like a labyrinth. There are a bunch of canals in a U- shape in the city. We would be given directions that told us where our hostel was in relation to a canal and get messed up because all the canals look the same. Also in Amsterdam many of the houses look similar. 

One of the Canals

The next day we took a Sandeman tour. We started the tour outside of the Royal Palace. The Palace is interesting because at one point Napolean's brother ruled the Netherlands and stayed there. Then we went to the Red light district. You could see a few girls in the windows of the buildings here. The funny thing about the Red Light District is that in the middle of the district there is the “Old Church”. The church was in a prime location because when sailors came to Amsterdam and enjoyed the women they would not want to get back on their ships as sinners because it could bring bad luck to the ship. Because of this the sailors would go to the Old Church in the center of the district and ask for forgiveness. If they didn’t have time to talk to a priest they would buy indulgences. 

Royal Palace

After this we went and visited the old headquarters of the Dutch East India Company. This was a multinational company that took care of colonies in Asia. Although the company ended up bankrupt, at one point they had a monopoly on spices. After this we saw the Jordaan district where the painter Rembrandt had lived. We also walked along the canals and saw the widest bridge in Amsterdam and the narrowest house. 

Houses on the Canal

The reason why houses in Amsterdam are extremely tall and skinny is because the wider the building, the more taxes you had to pay on it. Because of this you could tell which houses were wealthier because they would be the widest houses. The houses lean in towards the canals and have a hook on the top. This is because the canals would flood sometimes so you couldn’t store goods in your basement. Ships would come in with goods and the house owners would hoist up the items using the hook on top of their house and store the items in their attic. The reason the houses lean in towards the canals is so that when the items are hoisted up they don’t hit the house next door if the wind starts to blow.

Next we visited the Begijnhof Convent. The convent is on a little island that used to be encircled by water. Inside the convent there are beautiful gardens and the oldest wood house. Afterwards we heard the story of the Miracle of Holland. A man was dying and was given a host during his last rights. He puked up the host and it ended up in the fire. The nun was surprised to find that the host did not burn up. She reached into the fire and was not burned and grabbed the host. The host was placed in a holy room in the church. The church set fire but curiously the host did not burn. You can no longer find this magic host because a thief broke into the church and stole the fancy box that contained the host. He didn’t know the host was magic and ended up throwing it into one of the canals.

We learned about how the Dutch people have always been tolerant. At one point the protestant religion took over. The Catholics were told that they would not be able to practice their religion. The people began to hold services in hidden churches in the attics of houses. Everyone knew what was going on but decided to leave them alone because they weren’t hurting anyone. The same tolerance is applied with Marijuana in Amsterdam. Smoking marijuana is actually illegal; but no one has been arrested for smoking it in over 30 years. Certain places called “Coffee Shops” can apply for a permit that lets them sell marijuana.

We ended the tour with a visit to the Jewish district, and afterwards we saw the Anne Frank house. After our tour we got the “best pancakes in Amsterdam”. They were actually more like giant crepes but they were still pretty good.

Overall Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities that I’ve visited during my time in Europe. The city is beautiful. The streets are skinny and there are people riding bikes everywhere.