Amsterdam

I was only in Amsterdam for 3 days and it was a mixed experience, perhaps because I was tired and perhaps because I was expecting too much of myself. Spending 5 months living in Europe is very different from a two-week holiday. I may not see all the sights, but I have the opportunity to participate, at least to some degree, in the local way of life.

I really enjoyed being located in the suburbs and seeing something more of the city than the central tourist areas. I was staying in a 6-storey apartment overlooking a canal and I loved watching hundreds of gulls circle above the water outside my window and the lights coming on at dusk in the apartments and canalboats. Living in a canalboat must be very different from living in a house or apartment.

There was a very multicultural population and a huge market on the Saturday where I picked up all sorts of fresh vegetables – okra, green beans, and broad beans.

I went for a walk on my first afternoon along a series of waterways and arrived at a large lake and park. There is so much water in Amsterdam!

I really struggled with not being able to speak the language. It’s not a problem in the downtown core, but I had no idea what the signs meant in the local supermarket (this till is closed or credit card payments only, for example). I had forgotten how fortunate I am to speak the language when I’m in France or Spain.

I found the crowds of tourists in central Amsterdam overwhelming, and I can appreciate how frustrating it must be for the locals. I enjoyed the paintings in the Van Gogh Museum, but the rooms were wall-to-wall tourists.

I did manage to get off the beaten track a little bit by following some walks that a local had written up and posted online. Waterways lined with tall Dutch houses are a delight.