2014 in the Netherlands (Amsterdam)
On August 27, 2014, the Europe bus tour brought me from Waterloo, Belgium to Amsterdam, Holland, a province in The Netherlands, resulting in the visit of my 16th unique country:
This made it my:
- 9th country in 10 days
- more than doubling my lifetime country count in that time!
- 2nd Dutch-speaking country
- after visiting Belgium, just a few hours earlier
Visit
The bus tour initially went to some diamond "museum" in suburban Amsterdam (obviously, the tour company got some kickbacks from this place). The visit there ran for at least a couple of hours on the afternoon of the 27th.
I really just wanted to visit the city!
Finally, we arrived in the evening and got to see the:
- Koninklijk Paleis (King's palace)
- De Nieuw Kerk (the new church)
- Dam Square
- Nationaal Monument
I also walked along the canals and bought some "lollipops" to go! Spent the night at a suburban hotel with those tasty treats...
The next morning, we had a canal cruise:
Then, we would leave the city and head off to Brussels!
Reflection
I wanted to visit more museums such as the Stedelijk, the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum. Of course, being on a sampler of a rushed bus tour around Western Europe, I had to save them for another visit.
Oddly enough, marijuana was still officially illegal in The Netherlands. However, consumption for personal use is decriminalized and tolerated. In 2014, Uruguay was the only country (since 2013), in which cannabis was fully legal.
As more countries legalize the plant, Amsterdam will probably become less celebrated for its speakeasy coffeeshop weed culture. I envision a future Amsterdam as a place that celebrates their heritage in art, architecture (what with their canals), cycling and seafaring.