I AMsterdam

This pas weekend I had the pleasure of traveling to Amsterdam. One of my best friends here in Belgium met some kids from Holland on her vacation to Egypt and they invited her and two friends to come and stay with them. So off we went the three musketeers, Riley, Claire and Eliza to Amsterdam for a short jaunt.

When I think about Amsterdam there are certain things that come to my mind and I think the minds of many people I know. For a lot of folks, Amsterdam is the city of prostitutes in the Red Light District and marijuana in the coffee shops. However, the city is so much more than that and was a beautiful place to visit. At the same time it is not as if these perceived elements and ideas are completely false.

Drug laws in Amsterdam, Holland are based on the idea that every human being may decide upon the matters of his or her own health.  This is one of the reasons why euthanasia for terminally ill patients is legal. One of the first steps that Holland took was to split drug use into two sections. Hard drugs which include cocaine, LSD, morphine, and heroin are illegal. Soft drugs which including cannabis in all its forms and hallucinogenic mushrooms are legal under conditions of personal use. The drug code has four main objectives:

1. To prevent recreational drug use and to treat and rehabilitate recreational drug users.
2. To reduce harm to users.
3. To diminish public nuisance by drug users (the disturbance of public order and safety in the neighborhood).
4. To combat the production and trafficking of recreational drugs

According to an article in the New York Times:

The de facto legalization policy in the Netherlands did not, in itself, affect rates of marijuana use among adults or young people. But rates of use among young people increased when the number of coffee shops increased and the age of legal access was 16. Then these rates declined when the numbers of coffee shops was reduced and the age of legal access became 18.

That being said it is obvious that marijuana is a presence in the city, but not an overwhelming aspect and the same is true of the hookers that one finds in the infamous Red Light District. When I asked our host what he thought about this aspect of his culture he said that it was not even something that he thought about. One Saturday evening him and his family (including his grandparents) took an evening stroll down the narrow alleys lined with windows and illuminated with red or blue lights displaying the scantily clad young women and men. As an American, I found this incredibly shocking that he found that to be such a normal thing. When I tried to explain to him why I found it so strange, it was clear that he could not comprehend why I felt the way I did. He understood the words I was saying, but could not wrap his head around the feeling. That was definitely a big difference between our cultures.

Another great difference that I as not anticipating in Holland was the number of people engaged in activities outdoors. As we drove to our home for the weekend, we passed several runners, bikers, hikers, roller skiers, people rowing crew, and people just out walking. This is not something that I have become accustomed to because that is not a normal occurrence where I am living in Belgium. It is rare that I see people out for walks with their friends or family or even out running. In my opinion the people in Holland were much more health conscious than the people I have encountered in Belgium. There was a plethora of people engaged in exercise both for their health and as recreation. Another thing that I noticed was the number of people seen smoking cigarettes was significantly less. It was something that reminded me of the United States because I have found that there are fewer smokers in my area of America than in Belgium (however, more than in Amsterdam)

The most shocking thing that I saw were bikes. When our host (Auke) picked us up from the train station and began driving he mentioned that it's said if you can drive in Amsterdam, you can drive anywhere. I quickly learned why. It is a law in Amsterdam that if a biker is hit by your automobile, it is you who is responsible no matter who is at fault. Bikes were EVERYWHERE. They were in the street, on the sidewalk, in the city squares, everywhere. Note the bikes in the following picture:

I thought this was such a great thing to see. It was clear that bikes were a much easier way to travel through Amsterdam. I think that if I am returning to State College for higher education, I will invest in one. It was inspiringly prevalent in the lives of the Hollandais.