I live in Canada, in Toronto. I've never been to Europe. So one day I decided to go to Holland. Why exactly here? I don't know. It was my decision. Of course, the mention of the city of Amsterdam leaves us with vague and vague knowledge about coffeeshops and of course the "red-light district".
And so, with the help of Air France, I flew with a stopover at New York's JFK Airport and finally arrived, after 12 hours, at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, which is one of the five busiest airports in Europe and is a major traffic hub in Europe.
And don't be surprised if after landing, you'll have to drive quite a long time on the runway to the airport building. I even thought we were going to take a plane to the city! The airport area is incredibly large. I thought everything in Holland was small.
There are trains to Amsterdam, and the ride into town takes about 20 minutes. That's very convenient, because the station is within walking distance of the historic centre.
It is interesting - Amsterdam is 4.5 metres below sea level. The lowest point of the country is 7 meters below sea level! Many houses here are surrounded by water. They are kept in 10-20 meter stacks. One of the most outstanding architectural monuments of the city - the Royal Palace stands on 13,659 piles!
The Dutch were not only able to build a unique city here, build a system of canals, but also enlarge the territory, dry and desalinate the bay where possible for agricultural activities and tulip cultivation.
The marina of Amsterdam is located near the railway station. From here ships leave for a walk along the city's canals. In the 13th century the construction of dams and a system of canals was started, the city was actually lying in a swamp.
Today, the main square of the city, the embankment, is located directly at this dam. This fact was the name of the town. "Amsterdam" was formed from the two words "Amstel" - the river that flows in the city centre, and "Dam" - the embankment.
The dams protect Amsterdam from flooding. And the famous canals are the trademark of Amsterdam. Excursion boats on the canals of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam has been awarded the title "North Venice" for a large number of canals, bridges and islands. There are about 1200 bridges in the city (1281 bridges to be precise). That is more than Venice. There are more than 150 canals and about 90 islands.
Curves and narrow structures are a characteristic of Amsterdam. Time and local swamps also played a role. Wooden piles eventually rotted in brackish mud, and neat houses began to sit and fall sideways. The appearance of the city was saved by the dense development. Since then, entire streets and neighborhoods have been crooked.
And the narrow structures... Yes, because in the XV-XVIII. centuries, the property tax in Amsterdam was very high, and the economic Dutch were built upwards. Maximum width of the house - 3 windows! Or you can find houses that are one window wide.
Already in the design phase the houses were tilted. Let's go! And there is no reason for that. The width of the staircase is fifty centimetres, and it is extremely cumbersome to unload supplies and goods. What should I do? The right thing to do is to load through a window. Under the roof and now on the houses you can see a beam with a rope hook. Comfortable and easy!
Sightseeing tours only open the veil of life in this amazing city! And on days off, tourists immerse themselves in the everyday atmosphere of Amsterdam, visit museums with different themes, numerous bars and restaurants, historical sights and simply stroll along the canals.
To be honest, I have never seen so many bikes with my own eyes. They are everywhere, and the Dutch ride the most common bikes, there are rarely pontoon bikes. There are 400 km of cycle paths in the city!
Due to the fact that Amsterdam looks like a toy city and the parking spaces in the city are small and very expensive, the bicycle is a comfortable, popular mobile vehicle for the Dutch. In the past I used to ride my bicycle here. The cost of renting a bicycle for a day varies between 5 and 13 euros, depending on the company to which the bicycle is brought.
There are many coffee shops and you can smoke grass here, I will probably not describe it. I just want to say that Dutch grass does not stick out at all. It is much better Canadian. Well, not only did I go to a sex museum, I went to the "red-light district".
I've also been to a place that was very unusual for me. I went to a sex dolls brothel. I once saw on a website that sex dolls aren't scary inflatable bags with terrible stitches. The dolls now look like they're in real life.
So this is a real brothel where you can make love to a sex doll. There is a big choice and they are of very good quality. There are a lot of people who want to know how they told me that. And they come from other countries. As I know, there are brothels like this in Barcelona, and I can't remember where else
In fact, there are a lot of interesting places and events for culture and art lovers. Amsterdam is ready to welcome visitors at any time of the year, so it is never too late to get to these places: New people are always welcome here.
To get a taste of the whole country, not just the capital, you can take an excursion to the Dutch villages Zaanse Schans and Zaandam: Visit the mill museum, a clog factory and a cheese factory, and buy souvenirs.
As you have already understood, not all the pictures are of me. I don't like to take pictures on the phone, so I took all pictures with my Canon. The ones he left in his big bag that he checked in with his luggage.
Didn't find the bag when I got here. They're still looking for it. There were a lot of interesting pictures. I even tried to take some secret photos in the "red-light district". So while I'm posting photos from the free photo stokes. I'm sorry about that.