Exploring Amsterdam: The Ultimate City of Freedom


Over Thanksgiving break, my mom and I went to Amsterdam, located in the Netherlands. You may be asking yourself, "Why did you travel over one of the most important holidays of the year?"

Simple: 1). I don't give a #%!@ about Thanksgiving or eating all that food.

and

2). You get the best deals over Thanksgiving because no one wants to travel abroad.

Armed with a trusty guidebook and 60 euros in my pocket, I went off to explore the streets of the "Ultimate City of Freedom." While my photography skills are nothing compared to Clegg's, I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures I took. Feel free to use one as your desktop background if you want. I'm not publishing this egg to receive points, but to enlighten those interested about the 400-year-old city on the banks of the Amstel River.


When we first got to the hotel, I looked out the window and saw a seed-growing shop. That's when I realized that, although Americans pride themselves on being free and whatnot, the Netherlands is the place to go if you want to do whatever you want.

Marijuana, prostitutes, and hash brownies are legal. The drinking age is 16. The smoking age is 16. The age of consent is 16. It was a mind blowing experience



Here we go. The captions will be ON TOP of the picture they describe.


The seed-growing shop as seen from my hotel room:



I walked over to it, and guess what I saw growing outside? Yep, you guessed it:



A view of the houses along the canal I took from the boat:



Another view of the houses:



Swans, as seen from the boat:



Boat trip:



Down the canal:





















Standing on a bridge overlooking the canal:



A sweet-ass Lambo I saw parked along the canal:



I forget what this is:









The Royal Palace (although Queen Beatrix doesn't live there anymore):



Another shot:



The square where the palace is located:



Canal shot:









Would you believe that this is a shopping mall?



Vondelpark (Amsterdam's answer to New York City's Central Park) (and yes, it is one word)












The Rijksmuseum (pronounced "Rikes Museum"):






An open field behind the Rijksmuseum:









Back of the Rijksmuseum:



Alley leading to the Red Light District:



Another shot of the Royal Palace:



Dam Square in the morning:



I took this shot as we were crossing the street:






Amsterdam is a biking city. I'll bet there are more bikes than cars:



The Bulldog. Oldest coffeshop in Amsterdam:











I like this shot even though it's blurry:








Now, pictures of the things Holland is famous for! Windmills! Yay!
















A house in some "living museum" we went to. The whole town was a museum:



A view of the Holland countryside out of the bus window. Sorry for the glare:



Cheese at a cheese factory we went to:



The rest of the pictures are taken in a village named Volendam, which is about 17 kilometres from Amsterdam.



























Back in Amsterdam, on the way to the Albert Cuypmarkt, the largest market in Amsterdam:















Centraal Station. Amsterdam's train station:



My favorite coffeshop. Look closely at the bottom of the window. I just had to take a picture of it. This picture is actually my desktop background right now:



And, lastly, what 30 euros bought me in the cigar shops:





So there you have it. My trip to Amsterdam, chronicled in these pictures and in this egg. I hope you enjoyed reading this egg as much as I enjoyed going to Amsterdam and taking these pictures. Feel free to leave comments and ask questions.


© l3L00cl, 2006.