"Can I get some Matjes With My Marijuana?"

“You can’t judge something after only one time,” said Bill, the owner of our bed and breakfast. He was referring to a restaurant in the neighborhood, but his comment succinctly summed up the guiding principle of Europe's Bangkok– Live and Let Live.

As soon as we arrived in Amsterdam we were engulfed by a torrent of bicycles. Everywhere we looked there were bikes. If they weren’t being ridden, they were parked in massive piles that littered every corner of every street. We eventually made it out of the main shopping district and headed towards our hotel. As we rode past the canals, we noticed that the homes didn’t quite look right. In fact, they all appeared to be leaning. Because Amsterdam is built on water, many of the old houses are sinking. With all of the warped and curved buildings Amsterdam looks as though it has just fallen out of a comic book (see above picture).

We ended up staying in a person’s house who uses the attic as a hotel. Since our room was on the 4th floor, we needed to climb a set of stairs that were steeper than any I had ever seen. Dani was carrying her hiking bag and I thought she was going to tip over. Actually, this morning I heard someone go crashing down the staircase.

The hotel was a outside of the tourist area which made our stay especially interesting since we were able to go to a local morning bazaar that sold everything from chocolate breasts to foreign made t-shirts to Gouda cheese. There was even a stand that sold herring with a side of raw onions and pickles…yum. And I thought the Germans enjoyed their Matjes.

At one point, Dani and I were struggling with a Dutch sign when a woman approached offering us help. We began a conversation with her and she turned out to be from Guyana (most South American immigrants are from Suriname – a former Dutch colony) and began telling us how much she loved George Bush and Israel. We were blown away since it was the first time we had heard the words “Good” and “Bush” in the same sentence in at least two years.

The Red Light District was…ummm…interesting? There were really women posing behind glass waiting for customers. Very odd. At every corner there were coffee shops. None of them specialized in brewing cocoa beans.

With clouds of marijuana filling the crisp evening air, Dani and I took part in a tour of the area organized by the Prostitution Information Center. Our guide received her degree in Prostitution Studies at the University of Amsterdam. The highlight of the tour was viewing the inside of one of the sex rooms (sans prostitute). It looked like a bathroom which was kind of gross. When we were inside, she told us that 15 minutes costs 50 Euros (plain sex) and that the sex workers have anywhere from 3 to 30 customers per day.

About 50% of the customers were Dutch which surprised us. When we asked about this high number, our guide claimed that 80% of Dutch women don’t feel that visiting a prostitute constitutes adultery… Okay.

You can view our pictures online.