"Amsterdam, a city with two faces" a Amsterdam Travel Page by OlafS

Warning: these pages contain personal opinions that may be different from yours. Read no further if you have a problem with that.

When you're in Amsterdam there are four things you absolutely must do:

1. Go to a coffeeshop;
2. Walk through the Red Lightdistrict;
3. Visit the Anne Frankhouse;
4. Go to another coffeeshop;
5. Find a place to get drunk.

When you've done all that, go to Volendam to get a picture of yourself in local costume and eat a raw herring. Then go home.

So, I've done my duty. Yep, that's it, Amsterdam for beginners. Sorry if you don't like it. This is all what most tourists want to know about. It strikes me that many people ask others about what they should do in Amsterdam anyway. They have decided they want to go, but apparently they have no idea why. What is it with this place?

OK, I see you're still there. So, just for you, I will tell a bit more about Amsterdam. Because, to be fair, there's more to this city. What's more, you don't have to do any of those things if you don't want to. Hey, guess what? If it's only canabis you're after, you might as well go to ANY other city or town in the Netherlands! It's probably cheaper too and the quality might be better as well. I'm not an expert on drugs but I do know that Amsterdam's reputation of "the most liberal city in the world" has more to do with PR than with reality. Try parking your car for a couple of minutes longer than you pay for, you may find out just how "liberal" this city is. Dress up as an orthodox jew and take a walk through one of the neighbourhoods to the west of the centre and discover some local "tolerance". Actually I strongly advice you not to do this, you will be in real danger.

My relationship with Amsterdam is one of love and hate, which makes it a bit complicated. Nice buildings, and so many of them. But mass-tourism has really spoiled the place. Sex, drugs and cheap commercial crap everywhere. Amsterdam looks as if it's there for masstourism only, and drug tourists and stag parties shape the atmosphere.

I wonder, are there still people interested to know that Amsterdam has one of the best preserved historical town centres in the world? One of the biggest too? Or has it already been spoiled so badly that no one really cares anymore? Filthy though it may be, when the sun shines it is a lovely place! Sadly, most tourists seem only interested in the few cliches that I mentioned at the start of this page. Who can blame them? It's exactly with these cliches that Amsterdam presents itself to the world, and tourism promotion of the Netherlands as a whole is even worse. But please allow me to look at Amsterdam under a different angle! These pages show you Amsterdam the way I see it. I'll show you places that I like. Don't expect completeness, don't even expect balance or objectivity. This is my page, with my preferences and opinions. A page of love and hate. See some pages by other members to get a completer image.

Amsterdam really is one of those places you can love and hate at the same time. I know I do. Personally I love many of its historical buildings, especially the many churches. To see all those buildings I have to make very long walks outside the center as well. Which I don't really mind, as the centre always gives me the feeling that it's only there for the tourists. I find the whole atmosphere a bit artificial, especially in the summer. As a foreigner perhaps you won't notice this or you may enjoy actually enjoy it. But as a native, to be adressed in English in about every second shop you enter is annoying at least. I don't mind being spoken to in English by tourists, not at all, but by Dutch who simply assume I'm foreign, no way!

Outside the centre the atmosphere is much more relaxed. People are more themselves here, not what they think the average tourist wants them to be. Which is not always a good thing though. Amsterdam suffers from a disease called arrogance. Amsterdammers are notorious for their intolerance towards people from other parts of the country. They're proud of their local sense of humour, which is basically nothing more than ridiculing and humiliating other people. They probably don't mean it that bad, but nobody likes to be called a "backward peasant", right? And definitely not in a city that claims to be tolerant. Apparently you need to be foreign to enjoy this tolerance. Don't confuse tolerance with indifference though. Amsterdam's reputation as a tolerant city isn't well-deserved. I know, I'm generalising, they're not all that bad. But it's part of the local culture, and there's no denying that.

Although Amsterdam will never be one of my favourite holiday destinations, I like to visit it once a year or so. That's enjoyable enough. There's plenty to see, especially when you're interested in architecture. There are a few good shops (books, records) and I really should visit some of the museums. But apart from that, this city has little to offer that I can't find elsewhere, and some things that are unique to Amsterdam I can well do without.

And remember: if you really want to get to know a country, ignore its capital. A capital is never representative of a country. This is very true for the Netherlands. Contrary to what I've seen other people write here on VT, you perfectly well can visit the Netherlands without seeing Amsterdam. I think there are better places. Ever thought about a visit to Maastricht? Now there's a fabulous city!