![\"amsterdam\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/amsterdam1.jpeg\")
<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s raining as we (“we” is wife Linda<\/strong> and me along with long-time friends and traveling companions, Mark & Kathy Johnson<\/strong>) arrive and complete the stringent requirements for passage into the wild and crazy city of Amsterdam<\/strong>, which consists of a stamp on the passport and a pat down to insure you have enough Euros to enjoy all that this \u2018Venice of the North\u2019<\/strong> has to offer.\u00a0 Actually there aren\u2019t enough Euros to enjoy ALL that this city has to offer, but we enjoyed the pat down. \u00a0The rain doesn\u2019t dampen our spirits, which have been buoyed by a sampling of that famous Amsterdam spirit \u2013 Heineken beer<\/strong>. \u00a0OK, perhaps more than a sampling, but we were just trying to be good guests and help erase that \u2018ugly American\u2019 image.<\/p>\n<\/a>Lines around the block we avoided<\/p><\/div>\n
\u00a0 Our train from the airport arrived at busy Central Station<\/strong>, which sits at the north end of town and right next to the busy \u2018Red Light District\u2019<\/strong>, but since we\u2019d just come from the \u2018Red Eye District\u2019<\/strong> \u2013 our 7\u00bd-hour overnight flight from Chicago<\/strong> \u2013 we thought we should be a little more rested before we tackle \u2018the meat\u2019 of the city, so to speak.<\/p>\n \u00a0 First stop is the Ann Frank House<\/strong>. As instructed, we got there early to avoid the lines to get in that extend around the block. \u00a0Reading \u2018The Diary of Ann Frank\u2019<\/strong> before going will enhance your experience, but the tour through their living quarters does an excellent job of telling this amazing story.\u00a0 I can\u2019t imagine doing this in the heat of summer, as the rooms are small and the stairways are narrow, so being herded through the house shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of tourists in need of a shower could alter the experience significantly.<\/p>\n Don’t look for this in the Van Gogh Museum<\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s a short walk along a canal from the Ann Frank House<\/strong> to the Van Gogh Museum.<\/strong>\u00a0 Van Gogh was many things \u2013 hard to understand as an artist, hard to categorize as a post-impressionist painter, hard to understand his relationship with Gauguin<\/strong> and hard of hearing \u2013 what with that cutting off of the ear incident and all. \u00a0The museum is great, but don\u2019t go there expecting to see one of Van Gogh\u2019s most famous paintings, Starry Night<\/i>, as it is owned by the Museum Of Modern Art in New York<\/strong>.\u00a0 You couldn\u2019t even buy a replica of that painting, as all rights are owned by MOMA.\u00a0 I almost got thrown out of the place for even mentioning the painting.<\/p>\n \u00a0 It was another short walk from there to the Heineken Brewery<\/strong> \u2013 where the highlight of the tour is at the end \u2013 not only is it over, but that\u2019s where you get to drink a few Heineken beers, which we could have done at home.\u00a0 The low-light of the tour was a Disney-like \u2018ride\u2019<\/strong> where you are an imaginary grain of barley or a hop or some yeast or something and they put you through the beer brewing process.\u00a0 We might have been better off and certainly many Euros ahead if we\u2019d just gone to a caf\u00e9 next door and ordered a Heineken<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Sorry, no photos were allowed<\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0 The \u2018Red Light District\u2019<\/strong> made up for it.\u00a0 All this time I thought Las Vegas<\/strong> was the \u2018Disneyland for adults\u2019<\/strong>.\u00a0 Goodbye Vegas, hello Amsterdam. \u00a0Prostitution is not only legal, but also quite uniquely advertised.\u00a0 We walked down the street and there in store window after store window are attractive young ladies dressed rather scantily just standing there \u2018selling there wears\u2019. \u00a0I did feel a journalistic obligation to stop and interview a few of these working girls<\/strong>, but Linda failed to see the literary value in that pursuit. \u00a0Between shop windows there might be a drug store \u2013 no, not the kind of drug store we\u2019re used to, but a place to buy a sampling of various cannabis<\/strong> leaves, without a doctor\u2019s prescription.\u00a0 The reality is that you really don\u2019t have to buy it, just walk down the street and inhale deeply.<\/p>\n A couple of not-so-famous Dutch painters<\/p><\/div>\n I know we did some other things over that three day period, like canal rides, other museum visits, visits to great restaurants and bars, but it\u2019s all a little foggy right now, perhaps I was inhaling too deeply as I wandered through Amsterdam.<\/p>\n Next post: Viking River Cruise \u2013 Part 2\u00a0\u00a0 Rollin\u2019 on the River<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s raining as we (“we” is wife Linda and me along with long-time friends and traveling companions, Mark & Kathy Johnson) arrive and complete the stringent requirements for passage into the wild and crazy city … read more<\/a><\/a><\/a>