Canals and bicycles

Canal

the concert hall - my hostel was down this street

a "smart shop" - where they sell mushrooms.  How does that make them smart?

the Condomerie... enough said

a sex shop in the Red Light district

souvenir wooden shoes - everywhere

wooden tulips

Poezenboot- a house boat for stray cats - all spayed and neutered ready for adoption.

Michael Jackson lives

Canals

deluxe bicycle

interesting storage area on this bike

canal

weird iguana statues in a flower garden.  Really weird.

I spent my first night in Amsterdam wandering through the Van Gogh museum.  It was really interesting.  They put it together chronologically, with the very beginning of his works through his death.  I found it to be quite an appealing way to approach the display of art.  I'd never seen a museum that was dedicated solely to one artist.  I have seen many major art museums, but they are usually dedicated to a time period, region of the world, or a school of art.  There are various artists scattered through the rooms that are of the same theme.  Here, they put his earliest works and discussed his influences.  He spent some time in Paris, and you could see a notable change in his work based on his experiences in Paris.  There were dramatic shifts in his work - (at least in my opinion... so take that for it's two cents) he was influenced by Japanese art, which played a role in several of his pieces.  He also used self-portraits to experiment with colors, and you can detect a significant maturation in his ability as an artist from the earlier self-portraits to the later ones.  It was really interesting.  Unfortunately, there weren't any pictures allowed, but for another souvenir, I bought the guide to the museum.  

The next day I spent wandering up and down the canals of Amsterdam.  I found the "Chinatown" the "Red-Light district" the museum area - basically all the major neighborhoods of the city.  I did a lot of wandering, in and out of hemp shops, "smart shops" and sex shops- in addition to H & M and other retail shops.  I set out this morning in search of the marijuana experience; not of actually smoking it, but to see how this subculture operated in Amsterdam. Admittedly, one needs more than a Monday to do this, because other than the occasional whif of pot in the street and the coffee shops that were weed friendly, I didn't find much evidence of drugs.  I went into a couple of these shops, but I have no idea what to do with weed, so I looked like a rookie tourist who was seeing pot for the first time.  That wasn't that far off as it was probably only the second or third time I'd seen pot in my life.  At any rate, I came out of the weed shops and the sex shops empty handed, but a little more uneasy then I had left the hostel.  

I did a lot of meandering to get the feel for Amsterdam, and though the open windows of the Red Light district were a little distracting (scantily clad women knocking on the glass to get your attention) it wasn't that bad.  Having said that, I'm not sure how "red" the district is at noon on a Monday.  BUT, I felt more uncomfortable with some of the gift shops and the crude things they sold.  I understand, because it's what makes money, but yeesh.  

As I sit in my hostel common area typing this, I am surrounded by back-pack toting, couch-surfing dreadlocked norwegians.  (if you don't know what couch surfing is, look it up- that's my next adventure... maybe not).  As I look at the others sitting here, twenty-somethings eager to get out and hit the real Amsterdam (that which comes out at night), who use their parents credit card to fund their "gap year" by purchasing the aforementioned souvenirs I wonder if I have truly experienced Amsterdam.  Granted, I am not spending enough time in any of these cities that I am visiting, but can I say that I've really been to the Netherlands?  I didn't see one windmill or anyone truly sporting clogs, didn't smoke any pot or take up a scantily clad woman up on her offer for a lap dance.  All I did was eat McDonalds and shop at the other chain stores that line the streets.  But, in doing this and taking the day slowly following my own schedule, I got a taste of the city.  Maybe I'm too old or conservative for this city, but it was an interesting stop in my Benelux conquest.