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April 29, 2007
Where are the windmills and Tulips? |
| Amsterdam is an unusual
city in that it has all the advantages of a big city – culture, history, food,
entertainment, good transport – with relatively few of the disadvantages: it
is physically small, beautiful, relatively quiet, and largely thanks to the canals,
has relatively little traffic. Central Amsterdam is very small: most distances are walkable, and walking is pleasurable, giving the best chance to appreciate the Amsterdam architecture. Beware of walking on bike paths, which are distinguished by their reddish colour: cyclists will show no mercy. Also take care when crossing roads, even at a green pedestrian light. Cyclists consider themselves pedestrians in Amsterdam, and so tend to ignore traffic lights.
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Just about everyone speaks English
in Amsterdam, and is proud of the fact. Many speak German and French too. If you are English
speaking, speak English (unless you speak Dutch too): you are more likely to offend than do
anyone a favour by trying out your French or German. A common misconception is that Dutch is very close to German. In truth they are not mutually intelligible: Dutch people have to learn German at school, and in general they speak better English than German. German and Dutch are similar in the same sort of way that French and Italian are similar. |
| Amsterdam is a safe city, and there
is nothing to fear from walking in any part of the city. Even in the red-light district
around the Oude Kerk, there are always lots of tourists wandering around. As in any large
city you should beware of pick pockets. Don't try to photograph the women
in the red-light district though: that would be risky! Amsterdam has a policy of tolerating the sale and use of soft drugs. This activity is centred around so-called smoking cafes or "Coffeeshops" as the Dutch euphemistically call them. Whether you wish to avoid them or patronise them, they are easy to recognise: they are usually dark, have a characteristic smell, and tend to use words like free, high, happy, dreams, and space in the name of the cafe. They typically have a menu of the products they have on sale. |
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TRAVEL PICTURES
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EUROPE - 2007
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