When: 16th to 18th August 2013                                                                                  Where: Amsterdam                                                                                                      Stayed: The HIlton

Much to our delight, Amsterdam was a city full of surprises. Prior to actually going there, images of seedy backstreets and the notorious red light district were what sprang to mind. Yes, scantily clad ladies parading in doorways with young men blotto from a stag do leering at them is still a big part of the culture – but it turns out there’s a heck of a lot more to the city.

We stayed at the Hilton which was around 15mins tram ride from the heart of the city and only a few minutes walk from Vondelpark. Surprise number 1 – there are a huge number of parks and green spaces scattered throughout the city (about 40!). The location ended up being ideal with the surrounding streets a lovely leafy green, boutique shops scattered throughout and one of the 165 canals humming quietly out the front of our hotel.

That was until we returned to the hotel after a long day of trotting around the city to be greeted by thumping music and a heavy base – making our bones reverberate about 3 blocks from the hotel… long story short; we complained and unashamedly played the pregnancy card which ultimately resulted in an upgrade….to the John Lennon Honeymoon suite! Jackpot! Decked out in the traditional 60’s style complete with shag-pile carpet and retro green colour scheme, the suite was the room that John and Yoko honeymooned in and wrote a number of songs from. 360 degree views across the city and enough space to house a small family simply added to the ‘wow’ factor.

With my feet starting to drag a little with pregnancy exhaustion, we didn’t run ourselves ragged as is our usual style for weekend city breaks. Though we did ensure a few of the necessary touristy boxes were ticked. A Blue Boat canal cruise gave us a packaged up view of the best of Amsterdam. With around 2500 houseboats gracing the city waterways, hundreds of bridges to marvel at and beautiful canal houses with gabled facades just crying out to be photographed, the city is certainly a sight to be seen. Interestingly, most houses have a hook out the front that enables residents to hoist up heavy items rather than take on the narrow winding staircases that are typically inside. To aid the ‘hoisting’ process, the clever Dutch also built many of their houses on a lean – not the result of poor craftsmanship as many people hypothesize! All of this simply adds to the novelty and charming appearance of the city.

Waterside cafes and restaurants are plentiful and with the sun shining, we made the best of what Amsterdam had to offer. Café Het Molenpad was a hit with its simple yet tasty sandwiches – the novelty of knowing our table could tip into the canal at any point also added to the experience. Love it. From the boat we oohed and aahed at the quaint yet trendy appearance of the Jordaan area; and hot-footed it back over there to have a proper squiz on foot. Boutique shops and lovely cafes with independent charm, spread out across leafy cobblestone streets. Fantastic people watching too.

The people in Amsterdam were extremely friendly and helpful – like a breath of fresh air to not be ostracized simply because you’re a tourist. Turns out there are around 180 different cultures within Amsterdam – this acceptance and tolerance of other cultures extends right back to the early days where the importance of building relationships abroad was critical to survival of their trade industry.

Bikes are King in Amsterdam – to the point where it is not a relaxing experience to try and cross the road. We decided in the end, the only way to ensure safety was to look at least 10 times in the space of around 5 seconds. More often than not this gives you a degree of whiplash however bikes just seemed to materialize out of nowhere if you hesitate. The stats show there are around 880K bikes in the city (there are only around 800K residents so figure that out…!)  and about 60% of locals ride everyday. So you can imagine the sheer volume of two wheeler people movers this creates. A healthy lifestyle – as long as you’re not on foot!

Of course it’d be remiss to talk about Amsterdam and not indulge in the Red Light district for a few sentences. After an interesting meal for Justin’s birthday at Greitch – famous for authentic Dutch food – we took a tour through a world that we’d previously only seen in documentaries. Although an extraordinary sight to be seen and very much feeling like a Hollywood movie set; I felt a real sense of sadness looking at the girls in the doorways. Most of them are gorgeous young things and you can’t help but wonder what their story is. What has driven them to this point of degradation and humiliation? At around 120 euro per client there’s some quick money to be made but it’d have to be on pretty desperate terms looking at the state of the clientele they deal with. Interestingly, there appeared to be a linear relationship with quality of the girls and the proximity to the main hub. Justin quipped that some of the girls should be paying the clients for some action instead… not funny… well just a bit.  I was quite happy to leave the RLD and it’s intoxicating smell of mull and sweaty men behind after only a short visit.

Overall Amsterdam proved to be far more than it’s reputation had led us to believe. Although it will probably always have a seedy side to it due to its liberal attitude to drugs and prostitution; the city is also full of charm, character and beauty. Outside the pulsing heart beat of the city center, it’s an absolute delight to mosey around in peace and quiet of the backstreets….just watch out for the bikes!