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Cheap Flight to Amsterdam
Amster- dam there is a lot of pot there. Who hasn’t heard that Amsterdam is a pot-smoker’s paradise? The myth is true. The socialist government extends to the people of Holland and their liberal lifestyle. Not only that, but Amsterdam is home to dykes, bikes and Anne Frank. Not all in that order of course.
There are plenty of misinterpreted truths about Amsterdam but one thing is for sure, while visiting you are guaranteed a good time. There are less than a million people in the city, but the number of bikes would lead you to guess there is more. The main mode of transportation is by bicycle, and that could potentially be a good thing if you are planning to visit Amsterdam for more than just their waterways and Van Gogh museums. Amsterdam also has a bike share system that they use. You pick up a bike in one location, ride it around the city, and you can drop if off again at another location when you don’t need it. How great is that for the cheap student?
If you happen to be visiting Amsterdam in the winter, or at least when the canals freeze over, it is an annual tradition to ice skate on the frozen canals. If they aren’t frozen then there is no other way to see the city of Amsterdam than by renting a boat or going on a guided tour. The Dutch also enjoy their share of cycling, sailing and wind surfing, although if it is history and art you want to see Amsterdam has that too.
Like all European cities Amsterdam has its share of museums. The Van Gogh Museum hosts about 200 paintings by Vincent, including a few of his most famous works you will have to see to appreciate.
Forget the tulips and clogs, 500,000 people every year visit the Anne Frank House, where she and her family tried to hide out during the Nazi occupation of Holland. While in hiding for almost two years in the upstairs annex of the apartment (now the museum) Anne kept a diary of her life and what it was like hiding from Jewish persecution. It has since been translated into 55 languages and is a truly amazing account of life during Hitler’s reign in Europe. This is definitely a worthwhile visit, but make sure to get there early because the wait could be very long.
The last museum worth mention (I think) is the Hash and Marijuana Museum. What would a city like Amsterdam do without an avenue to celebrate the educational importance of their liberal lifestyle? The amusing part of this museum is not that it celebrates this drug we Yanks consider illegal, but that this museum is located in the red-light district of the city.
Even better, the red-light district is said to be a very beautiful part of town, minus the fact that the brothels, prostitutes and all-around sketchy behavior has a negative connotation. The red-light district is aptly named in Amsterdam. Prostitutes really sit in the windows of the street under red lights, displaying themselves and leaving little to the imagination. Just imagine not going there, unless that is your bag baby. This part of town has a gallimaufry of strange things happening that tourists just can see or avoid, depending on what you want to do. For all you ladies out there, don’t worry about being mistaken for soliciting sex, as streetwalking is illegal.
So if you’re planning on spending some time and money in the red-light district or elsewhere in the city you might want to budget a hefty sum. “Cheap” and “Amsterdam” don’t go hand in hand, and don’t offer to go Dutch with someone, as that’s just not a funny joke in Amsterdam. Average about $10-$20 a day for food, and $50-$80 a night for lodging. The Dutch aren’t big bargainers, so stay away from fighting it out for your favorite pair of clogs or souvenirs.
To leave you on a somewhat strange note, the Dutch are quite perplexing yes, and their liberal, socialist, pot-smoking, sex-everywhere lifestyle leaves you thinking at times, “is this real?” But not to worry: a serious Dutch pastime called Wadlopen has everyone really stumped. This sport, if you want to call it that, involves long walks in low-tide mud that can come up to your thighs and at times be very tiring and dangerous. So please visit Amsterdam and find out if the Dutch are really as strange as this sport seems.
