Curiouser and Curiouser

“Why is raven like a writing desk?” ~Mad Hatter, Lewis Carol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

April 13, 2013
People were in and out of my hostel room all night. I’ve certainly become a much deeper sleeper since coming to Europe, and find that even when noises (such as parties in the dorms or drunks in a hostel) do wake me up, I am able to get back to sleep within seconds. Last night was no different; however the various languages I heard coming and going from my quarters did cause me to perk up a little more than usual. I don’t know for sure, but I’d guess I heard German and French as well as several languages I didn’t recognize flow in and out.

When I got up in the morning, it was a little after 9am. We were supposed to meet Andy at 10:30ish, so I decided to get dressed and go get the continental breakfast out in the bar.

The bar was nearly empty, with just a few glassy-eyed folks sitting quietly and staring at cups of coffee. The breakfast was set up on the actual bar. It consisted of hardboiled eggs, bread, and Nutella. The eggs were still in their shell, but had one single crack in them to start the peeling. And I have to admit, while I was never a huge Nutella fan back home, I’m starting to think they lace that stuff with cocaine…it is amazing!

I saw a few of the girls sitting at a table in the smoking room. Smoking is not allowed during breakfast so I went in to join them. We had a great conversation as we shared stories about where we were studying and what they’d seen in Europe so far. We also watched a bit of the motorbike race that was on the television, with each of us rooting for our own respective home team.

Peeling the hard boiled eggs was an impossible process. I have to admit, when I peel a clementine orange, I always get a great deal of satisfaction when the peel comes off in one piece. I would have loved the same satisfaction in peeling these two eggs. Instead, the peel just fragmented off into little shards that were impossible to see and pull off. Either way, I hadn’t had eggs in a while. They were still warm and tasted really good.

By 10:30 everyone had shown up in the bar. Andy and Jen showed up about 10 minutes late. They are staying with a couple across town who rent out their couch to travelers. It’s a 30 minute bike ride from where we are sleeping, so they were sufficiently winded by the time they got to us.

They grabbed some snacks and then we headed out into the streets. It was raining again, and several of the girls pulled out umbrellas. My little nylon jacket proved to be more water resistant than I expected and I felt fine walking through the rain.

We started the tour today going the opposite direction we had last night. As Andy explained, one route out of our Hostel took us into the heart of the Red Light District, while the other way took us outside of it and into the more traditional neighborhoods. The crowds had certainly dissipated—or perhaps they weren’t awake yet—and the rain seemed to keep the various smells at bay.

Walking through the streets in day light, I realized the city was beautiful. The entire thing is built on a grid of canals. It’s almost as hard to describe as the Red Light District. Since the city is essentially below sea level, for hundreds of years the Dutch have devised ways to keep the water contained and use it for transportation. The result is a beautiful web of roads and canals that crisscross every few feet. We walked over footbridge after footbridge and looked at beautiful buildings and ornate architecture.

Andy pointed out the original Dutch Stock Exchange. The idea of a stock exchange originated in Holland he explained. The original idea was a place to literally exchange stock yard animals. Overtime, papers were traded and the value of those papers was determined by the price of various commodities they could be traded for…originally animals, later precious metals, and eventually ownership of companies.

Andy also pointed out the difference between a “Coffee Shop” and a “Café.” The coffee shops of course were the touristy marijuana dens I’d seen last night. The cafés on the other hand were places to enjoy coffee, tea, and pastries. Andy explained that the Dutch will sit in the wood panels, shag carpeting lounges for hours and hours, just enjoying the company of their friends. It is very much a cultural activity for them and a frequent pass time.

The rain gradually subsided as we stopped on one bridge to take a photo of the narrowest house in Amsterdam. Andy explained that in old Amsterdam, your tax rate was determined by the square footage of your house. The loophole here was that only the ground floor was taken into account. As a result, families started building tall narrow houses along the canals. The result is very unique and beautiful!

I asked a question—for the life of me, I can’t remember what it was—but it reminded Andy that I had missed the tour the day before. He backtracked a little and explained that Amsterdam was in the providence of Holland in the Netherlands. Holland was the capital of the trade world back in its day. Because of the canals all of Central Europe would send goods to Amsterdam to be shipped out to trade routes with Britain, India, China, and America. Goods from each of those countries would be funneled back in through the canals and transported around the continent.

Since merchant ships were constantly sailing up and down the canals, most of the houses actually had an “anchor” built in to their roofs. He pointed out the hooks that extended from the top of all of the homes along the canals. Boats could be tied to each house while the crew took residence in town.  

On the bridge next to the skinniest house was a monument to Multatuli. Multatuli was the pen name of writer Eduard Douwes Dekker. Having travelled through the Dutch colonies (modern day Indonesia) early in his life, he devoted himself to writing about the hardships of life there. His writings were fairly satirical and aimed to criticize the Nederland’s government and their treatment of both the colonists and the locals.

Heading into the down town part of Amsterdam, Andy pointed out a coffee shop called The Grey Area. He said that the name is a spoof on the marijuana laws themselves. Marijuana and LSD are not actually “legal” in Amsterdam, they are just decriminalized. In other words, it’s illegal to sell, poses, smoke, or use any of these drugs, but there is absolutely no punishment if you do. In other rods, it’s illegal on paper, but legal in practice…so there is a bit of a gray area.

The Gray Area is also unique to Andy. I don’t know if I have mentioned it before but Andy is the son of Rick Steves (who hosts travel specials about Europe on PBS.) The Gray Area is Rick Steves’ favorite coffee shop to visit when he is in Amsterdam.

Around a corner from there, we stopped in front of North Church. Andy explained that nothing in Amsterdam has a fancy name. There is North church in North town, West Church in West town, etc.

Outside of North Church is the Homomonument. It is to commemorate homosexuals who have been persecuted for their orientation. Made up of three marble triangles—one below the pavement just above the water of the canal, one at street level, and one elevated about two feet off the ground—whose sides can actually be connected via an imaginary line to form one large triangle. The lower one represents the oppression of the past. The street level one represents the progress of the present. The elevated one represents hope for the future.

Turning our attention back to North Church, Andy pointed to the red face of the clock tower. He explained that this was the clock tower whose bell Anne Frank would listen to every hour for the two years she and her family were in hiding.

“What are all those people line up for in front of the church?” one of the girls asked.

“They’re in line for the Anne Frank house,” Andy said.

With that, we knew what our next stop was.