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| Amsterdam |
| Animation |
| Holland |
| Accomodation |
| Excursions |
| Canals |
| Coffeeshops |
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A great destination!! Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, 15 minutes from the Central Station and Damrak by train. Shipol Airport website and links schiphol.nl have lots of information on arrivals and departures, etc. Can you have a good time in Amsterdam? Hey, is the Pope Catholic? Amsterdam is the undisputed fun capital of the world. You can bet your sweet bippy on that. So much fun is packed into a relatively small area. The City of Amsterdam itself is small, although the suburbs add significantly to the total area. The tourist center near and around Central Station is small enough so that in theory if one were to start early in the morning could walk across its diameter in time for lunch and a tall glass of milk at the other side. In practice of course there are so many shops, department stores, pubs, restaurants, museums, churches, historical points, interesting friendly people and interesting sights that it winds up taking a week or more. At night? Certain areas are even more jam-packed with wall-to-wall people. The Central Station is the center of a semi-circular hub from which the streets and canals fan out. The Damrak is the main street in the heart of Amsterdam, right downtown in the middle of everything. The Damrak is a relatively short street. Beginning at the station and crossing over a bridge, it is just a few blocks to the end where it becomes a round plaza with a tall central monument. Buddycom buddies, kind, gentle people: Glenn, from Surinam, Linda , from Switzerland, or Andre, from Amsterdam knew everything. We did not find the uncharacteristic mild sunny weather monotonous at all, even though it lasted for a month and a half. Amsterdam, a city of traditional beauty and style is otherwise known as the Venice of the North. Sure it has the infamous coffeeshops, but to go there just for the thrill of drinking coffee out in the open air is just a little bit short sighted. Amsterdam has so many things for attracting visitors. Whenever the rest of Europe struggles with economic adversity, Amsterdam is a tourist destination which is constantly booming. Shopping? Retail sales? The plebes are able to shop till they drop at very affordable prices and the creme de la creme can have their effeminate fancies catered to and fussed over as well. Anybody with a couple of bucks can use Mercedes Benz taxis to go from point A to point B. Everybody or their mothers and fathers are coming to Amsterdam to check it out and see if it is really true. College students make pilgrimages to this Mecca of free thought and expression. Baby boomer couples in their fifties and sixties arrive by the planeload to gawk at the red light district and to crowd the parks and sidewalk cafes in groups of twenty to fifty to the extent that the narrow streets along the canals are at times literally shoulder to shoulder. Museums, historical venues, and sightseeing attractions abound, both during the day and after the sun goes down. Japanese tourists? They arrive by the planeload, too. Many Japanese visit Holland, a popular destination. The average hotel or restaurant worker knows only simple greetings and such to make the visitors feel at home. Sometimes people need directions or need to explain a small tempest- in-a-teapot crisis. We acted as de facto translator for so many Japanese tourists in restaurants and hotels, we lost count. And for homogenous bands of camera carrying Japanese tourists roaming safely thoughout Amsterdam capturing every possible image by still camera and on video for the folks back home. Japanese media has almost daily documentaries about various facets of life in Holland. It can be said of many Japanese attitudes concerning issues which confront modern societies, such as health care and personal freedom, that Japan has chosen the freedom liberty and harmony exemplified by northern European models such as Sweden, Denmark, and in particular, the Netherlands rather than some of the ill concieved, authoritarian, undemocratic, unworkable, and just plain dumb American alternatives. For example denial of emergency medical care is unheard of, dental care costs are extremely low, and violence is very low as is the use of guns since all guns are illegal. The reason is simple enough. Japanese realize that for all cultures Tate Mae is important. Japanese have a knack for recognizing civic stupidity and avoiding it. There is a need to temper Tate Mae with the concept of Wa. Wa is roughly translated as harmony. Amsterdam has created a tolerant harmonious atmosphere so pervasive it's almost palpable, which is the perfect embodyment of democratic ideals in thought, behavior, expression and pursuit of pleasure and personal freedom. Americans like to play make-believe about such ideas, but are far from actually turning them into reality. Jesse the Body enjoyed Amsterdam, he has said, and we can see why. When it comes to real fun, Amsterdam lacks the pathos, and the cloak of puritanism, so popular in the other western societies, particularly in Britain and America, which stifle expression and the enjoyment of freedom like a big wet blanket. The result is that in Amsterdam, everybody can relax, have fun and feel good in a wholesome atmosphere, and without the cgi, caviling guilt induction. Compare Amsterdam to America's capitol city, Washington, D.C., where approximately 90% of black males have an arrest record, largely for drugs. Heck we don't need them voting anyway, do we? Or New York where a black man can be legally shot by groups of that city's finest 41 times before he can show his wallet ID. In effect, shoot for sport. Compare Holland to George's stomping ground(sic) in Texas where taxi drivers have a saying, "Come to Texas on vacation. Leave Texas on probation." Heck there's a huge billboard up on the Stemmons freeway that says, "If it ain't Texas, it ain't sheet." Which automatically makes the converse true, doesn't it? Or compare any midsize to large city with a fear of the city's finest, especially but not limited to persons of color or persons with unusual hair styles/tattoos. Then there's the gang violence, drive by shootings, robberies, assaults, car theft, road rage, guns, guns, and more guns, etc. Freedom? Love it or leave it? Who needs that nonsense? Yuck.
Amsterdam is a great place to work, live and
visit. This site offers practical information about Amsterdam, the capital
of inspiration. Amsterdam Hotspots, amsterdamhotspots.nl/core.html All about Amsterdam, the CHANNELS,
channels.nl |
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Candy Dulfer is from Amsterdam.
Candy Dulfer is the best there is. Period.
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"Take me back to Texas, I'm too young to marry!" Do you suffer under the misconception that Texas is a cool place ??
There is a sign on the Stemmons Freeway between Dallas and Ft. Worth.
It reads "If it ain't Texas, It ain't shit."
Which automatically makes the converse true, "If it is Texas, it is shit."
The evidence to back this up is everywhere and abundant.
Not enough money to keep Texas from placing dead last in education and so many other statistical measurements but enough money to fund undercover agents to root out obscenity?
You're talking deep in the heart of Texas, dude. Obscenity Charge Vs. Texas Woman Dropped |
