I haven’t been to Amsterdam for 20 years, when I was all eyes and ears as a young back packer. And here I am, still all eyes and ears, for a weekend with a great buddy. Amsterdam is an immensely strollable city – small enough to get lost in, gorgeous cafes and bars to pass the time, and a cacophony of sights and sounds for the senses. `And when your feet get sore or your nerves too jangled from avoiding the faster-than-a-speeding-bullet cyclists who own the city, you can just jump on a canal bus and see the city from water’s level. Even in the water it’s more than a slightly mad pace – hundreds of boats – pleasure cruisers, working barges, pedalos, private tubs, sleek little numbers carrying a couple of friends and more than a couple of drinks, even dinghies shaped like yellow clogs (I kid you not), and house boats lining every canal – all seem to mostly avoid collisions as they weave under the low bridges, and while there doesn’t seem much order to it all, it somehow works!
Organised chaos on the Princes Canal in Amsterdam
Tomorrow is Kings Day, so all the houseboats have put out buoyant floating barriers, to help prevent damage from the hundred of boats fuelled by fun and the colour orange, who will bump along the canals tomorrow as the town goes mad. Can’t wait!
Melbourne Walks 
Thanks for the post Julie, interesting as always. Are you going to be at the dog lovers show?
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I think we must have all been young, bright-eyed, & bushy-tailed first time we saw Amsterdam but it sounds still very much the same vibe! Enjoy!
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I was reading recently that Amsterdam has been gentrified. The Red Light district is more discreet, the hash houses have been closed down and the canals cleaned and dredged. I will have to go back and see if anything is as I remember it!
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Hi Andrew – My visit was after a 20 year break as well. As far as I can see, there are still plenty of ‘coffee houses’ in and around the red light district. I stayed in Jordaana, which used to be quite a run down, working class area, west of Princes Canal, but it has certainly been tidied up and gentrified – and is full of urban hipsters and their young kids. I guess there is a cycle and a rhythm to all these things. There are certainly a lot more tourists in the city than I recall, but previously I have only been there in autumn and winter, so perhaps that was the main factor? Regardless it’s a pretty interesting and lovely city to wander in – just the right size!
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Everything changes. I have just been to Malta after a twenty year absence. They have cleaned it up, restored and modernised it and I rather liked it the old way!
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I’m with you Andrew – I have deliberately chosen not to go back to some countries and destinations I really loved, as I want my character-filled and slightly grungy memories to stay in tact!
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