"You People Are Crazy"

Our Amsterdam walking tour guide, Bart, exclaimed, “You people are crazy,” probably some point more than five hours into our four hour walking tour of the city.  

Honestly, thanks to jet lag, I don’t remember the specific circumstances of his uttering it, but I think it had something to do with our willingness to press on and see more of Amsterdam than most people would be willing to on less than two hours of fitful sleep.

Bart was a fabulous tour guide, taking all through the Old City and out to other parts of Amsterdam.

The trip itself was a late, impromptu addition to our travel schedule.  We had gotten an amazing deal on a hotel suite alongside Lake Maggiore in Italy.  We could only do it for five nights, so we needed somewhere else to visit.  

Well, our flight to Milan went through Amsterdam, so we added one day on the front to this gem of a city we had never been before, and still have three nights on the back end, before returning to the U.S.  So we’ll be back to Amsterdam at the end of the week to see more of it.

After the Machu Picchu/Galapagos trip ended in April, I was mourning the idea that we would not be traveling overseas for a long time when it hit me!  (Ow!).  Carol and I could travel to Europe, sightsee in the morning, and then I could work in the afternoon while she lounges by the hotel pool.  We were able to get the hotel suite for a song, and then the Amsterdam add-on.

So, here we are in Europe for the first time ever after April, trying to squeeze in a trip whilst working around work.  So, how’s it going?  Well, we are on day four of the trip, it’s early Monday morning, and so far we have walked 7.5 miles through Amsterdam, gone to the Duomo and been thrilled by the Last Supper in Milan, and escaped the heat wave in Northern Italy by driving up a mountain and traipsing around the top of it.  So far so good.  I was squeezing in work in Amsterdam, but today marks the real test, as work was relatively quiet over the weekend.

Anyhow, back to Amsterdam.  Bart, a very genial fellow, and quite tall, is formerly in finance, but switched careers a few years ago to do something different. . .guiding.  We have become big fans of Tours by Locals, a website that allows you to connect with local guides (hence it is  “Tours by Locals” and not “Tours by Outsiders”).  Bart had lived and worked in Charlotte, NC about twenty years ago, so his English was excellent and he has some feel for Americans.

He gave a great tour, as we looped around Amsterdam, explaining the history of various parts of the city as well as a history lesson about the factors that drove the Netherlands to be the first modern, capitalistic country in the world, starting in the 1500s.  Bart is quite proud of all the things the Dutch either invented or gave rise to.  

It’s impressive just how much the Netherlands punched, and still punches, above its weight in terms of small size to impact.  Even today, Amsterdam is only 900,000 people.  When the rise started, Amsterdam was only 3,000 people, but it quickly, thanks to both capitalism and religious tolerance.

We walked all over the city, covering Dam Square, crossing countless canals (I wish I had the presence of mind to have counted the number of canals), walking (relatively quickly) through the red light district, and past countless cafes, bars, and coffee shops.  I’m looking forward to going back to Amsterdam in a few days and spending time on the canals.