Amsterdam: Like Night and Day

By Monica Pocelujko - To most people who have traveled to Holland's capital city, one thing is undeniable: Amsterdam is a city with a split personality - a more demure one during the day, and an astonishingly different one at night. Combined together, they have earned it the right to be referred to as one of the most colorful cities in the world.

Amsterdam Canal View, by Monica Pocelujko

While daylight reigns, the largest city in Holland sits sedately on the Amstel River, which feeds the intricate system of canals running through the Centrum area making up the city's downtown. You can walk through the narrow sidewalks and streets, rent a bicycle, visit the Van Gogh or Anne Frank museum, or take a water taxi. Want an ideal way to view Amsterdam on your own and keep fit at the same time? Why not try out a Canal Bike which enables you to cycle right on the water. Perhaps you can even race the Canal Bus as it goes through another busy day of carrying people to and from the city's many attractions. Looking to expend a little less effort? Undoubtedly a canal cruise is the most original way of seeing Amsterdam. It allows you to float leisurely through the city and absorb the sights and sounds, untouched by mundane worries or cares.

Several areas of the city perfectly embody the dual personalities that overtake Amsterdam depending on the time of day. And they are all within a short cab ride of each other.

Dam Square attracts daytime sightseers and souvenir hunters to its festivals, open markets, and always popular Magna Plaza shopping mall. In spring there may even be a carnival, and in the summer months, mimes and other street performers are a common sight. Several elegant hotels are located there, in addition to the Royal Palace and the Amsterdam Diamond centre. Just a five-minute walk down Damrak Street from Centraal Station, the appropriately named Dam Square was created in the 13th century when a dam was built around the river Amstel to prevent the Zuiderzee sea from overflowing and destroying the city.

But beware when the sun goes down because then the partying begins; in the mega clubs, in the infamous Red Light district, and in coffee shops where marijuana users and curious tourists hang out, engaging in lively debates about world politics and smoke. The drug is semi-legal here.

A word about marijuana: smoking it is technically illegal here in most situations. However, individuals are allowed to possess several grams for personal use. It can be smoked in coffee shops or at some bars, but it cannot be used on the streets, sold from person to person, or taken out of the country. Harder drugs are illegal and carry stiff penalties.

Nevertheless, there are soft drugs available in coffee shops for people who are over 18. Since there are plenty of coffee shops around, if drugs are your thing, there's no need to buy them illegally on the street. So don't do it!

As evening falls over Dam Square, the party people dressed to the nines swarm over the Leidseplein neighborhood, and the sounds of house music pouring from Club Paradiso, or hip hop or funk at the Melkweg fill the air. These are two of the most popular clubs in Europe and between them offer enough musical variety to please any music connoisseur. There's rock, pop, rap, hip hop or funk, so if you come, be ready to have a great time and dance, dance, dance.

For those of you looking for a less well-known place to sway to the music, The Dam, as it is fondly known, has many dance clubs. In fact, going out for the evening here can be a 24-hour experience for serious clubbers. So don't say you haven't been warned. Make sure to get back to your hotel in time to catch some sleep before your next daytime adventure.

Incidentally, if you're curious about marijuana, but not anxious to participate in its use, there's the Hash Marihuana Hemp Museum in the Red Light District to better educate you. It's relatively small and recounts the history of the cannabis plant. There are some live plants grown here and explanations of hash production. This museum is next-door to and owned by the Sensi Seed Bank, where you can buy top quality cannabis seeds (for medical purposes, naturally).

Of course, the Red Light District is always a curiosity, so if you're looking for a bit of adventure why not stop by and pay a visit? And yes, it really is lit up with red lights in the apartment windows of available hoertjes or prostitutes.

Prostitution has been legal in the Netherlands since 1815, but it wasn't until 1996 that the Dutch government started to tax it. The women are actually regulated by the government, and even have a loosely organized union. The canals and streets in the Red Light District are lined with sex shops and live sex shows that make it quite a sight to see, but be warned: taking a camera into the area is a no-no! There are absolutely no cameras allowed here, and the security crew will confiscate your film if you are caught snapping photos.

After a night of fun, you might sleep through breakfast the next morning and wake up with one thought on your mind: food. And the Dutch have some special treats in store for you. Try the frites (french fries) dipped in mayonnaise. Frites shops are everywhere and most of them sell broodjes (sandwiches), too.

Another popular dish is Rijstafel, a smorgasbord rooted in Indonesia's Dutch colonial heritage, and just about every restaurant serves a variety of thick pannekoeken (Dutch pancakes).

With so much to see and do, all too soon it will be time to head to Schipol Airport for the flight back home.

The most inexpensive ways to tour the city:

There are the tramlines, which run in each direction from Centraal Station, all the way to the outskirts of the city. They charge by distance, but a ticket that costs $8 or $9 will go a long way. You'll notice that half the people in the street are on bicycles. They can be rented for $17 to $20 per day. Amsterdam has an elaborate canal system. For $9.50 to $20, you can use the canal bus or a water taxi to cruise the city while taking in the picturesque views.

For useful specific information go to www.Holland.com or call (888) GO-HOLLAND.