General Observations
Getting There from Germany
...Via train from Werne, Germany took about four hours and three
different
trains. I was excited to take this route as I am a bit of a World
War II historian. We traveled via Arnhem and we passed the
high dikes and narrow roads like those encountered in the battle.
The book,
A
Bridge Too Far, mentioned how our armor would have been
silhouetted against the sky and a was perfect target. I could now
see for myself why Montgomery's Market Garden attack was doomed to
failure in 1944. Bernhard, the Prince of the Netherlands bitterly
told Cornelius Ryan, the author of
A
Bridge Too Far, "My country can never again afford the luxury of
another Montgomery success". We could
easily be saying the same, just substituting "Bush" for
"Montgomery". Moving past Arnhem, we saw the postcard perfect
views of dikes, tulips and windmills on the way to Amsterdam..
Weather and Climate
If you find the typical weather in the Highlands of Scotland to your
liking or have had an instance of skin cancer and do not want exposure
to the sun, you will LOVE Amsterdam's weather. Well, that is my
observation from my two trips there. Yes, the sun actually did
come out for one full day out of six days. This is what Fodor's
Pocket Amsterdam has to say: "Amsterdam has a mild maritime
climate, with bright, clear summers and damp, overcast winters."
They claim that the driest months are from February to May.
Both my visits were during the dry period. How much rain DO they
get in the rainy period? (Fodor's is silent on that question; Top 10
Amsterdam does not mention climate at all!) To be
fair, there was a cold front moving through Europe when I arrived this
time and most of Europe was wet. In any case, I would not
let a little water dampen your enthusiasm for the city.
Watch Out For
- Dog Poop - "It is a
strange paradox that the famously house proud Dutch should put up with
fouled streets in their capital city (other towns and cities are much
cleaner). A few years ago the problem was dire; it's much better
now, but you still need to look where you walk" Top 10 Amsterdam I used to
think of Rome as the Dog Poop capital of the world but Amsterdam has it
beat. I can't image what the dire situation was like, as it is
really a crappy situation right now. At one point, I thought that
they might just train the dogs to poop in the canals as sanitation
boats cruise up and down and pick up anything in the water. It
probably has been tried but I must assume that the boat owners probably
felt they were being unfairly dumped on.
- Cyclists - "Try not to
annoy cyclists by walking in the cycle lanes". Top 10 Amsterdam It
should read "Try NOT TO GET RUN OVER by the cyclists as ONLY cyclists
are allowed in the cycle lanes." Naples gets my vote for
the most aggressive automobile drivers. However, Amsterdam gets
my vote for the most aggressive bicyclists. Not that they are as
dangerous as being hit by a Vespa or car while you are crossing the
street in Naples but you do have to watch out (much like remembering to
look the correct way when first stepping off the curb into the
street in London).
- Trams - a very effective
and efficient way to move about town (so are water taxis) but one where
I have seen more than one car lose a bumper (or worse) when they were
not clear of the tracks. So, if a car can lose a bumper, make
sure that your personal rear end is not in their path either.
- Pickpockets - All the
tour books warn about them but, so far, I have been either lucky or
vigilant. Rome still has my vote for the Pickpocket Capital of
the World. Gypsies thrive on the Roman subway system and I now
better understand the European bias against the Gypsies. In Rome,
I caught one small Gypsy woman in the act with her hand in my FRONT
pocket, trying to lift my wallet. The next day in the crush
entering the subway, they again tried...this time getting my wallet
half way out of my pocket. In Amsterdam, I had no problems.
I guess just be careful if you go to the Red Light District at night
(which I did not) or when there are more people jostling about.
