Riding Bikes in Amsterdam!

Silvery sightings dipped and rose above the hedges as we headed towards Amsterdam. Trees flaunted the shape of their branches left white by Jack Frost's silver kiss.  An early morning pink sun danced across the crisp sky, as the world was waking from slumber deep. En route to Amsterdam from Lille and the debate had begun.. Is Amsterdam the capital of Holland or the Hague?

Tulips,clogs, bikes,Van Gough, prostitutes and brownies! Is there more to Amsterdam than this? I believe so! Amsterdam is a quirky fairytale city with a village feel, wonderful architecture and hundreds of narrow canals at every turn. To our disappointment our boat trip was cancelled,the canals were frozen over to become a lovers playground and a rink for skating enthusiasts! A clear bright day made us forget about the plummeting temperatures. Our bodies went into shock as we set foot on Amsterdam soil, the driver of the bus had the heat on really high, so -17 was a little shock to the system. Swans and ducks were confined in small areas due to the frozen river, not even enough room for them to spread their wings!

One of Amsterdam's main attractions is the Anne Frank's house which boasts over a million visitors annually!A huge queue greeted us at Anne Frank's House or Anne Frank Huis. It was well worth the wait as we got to travel through time and explore a not so pleasant past. It was the father's wish to leave the house unfurnished however pin ups and cut outs from magazines lined Anne Frank's wall, the faded cut outs of the Beyonce and Lady Gaga of her day were staring back at me. A shiver ran down my spin at that moment. Extracts from her diary lined the wall and acted as a tour guide as one explored the house from room to room. One memorable quote from the diary was about how horrid kale smells as it's been left there for months. Anne was a prisoner in her own home, they couldn't even flush the toilet even in fear that the workers down below might hear. Anne longed for the simple things in life like sunlight or to ride a bike. How much we take for granted these days. A short interview with Anne Frank's dad Otto was really interesting, he explained how no parent truly knows their children at all! On discovering her diary he was shocked to see Anne's deep inner thoughts and feelings on paper!

After moments of debating what to do next the red light district got the green light and off we trekked! The smell of hash was overpowering and filled the air. It was like a mini lads town with sleazy pubs,hash cafés, and prostitutes at every turn! The lads in the town were like carbon copies of each other, nike air max runners, thick silver chain and a hat tilted at approximately a 45 degree angle.Theses clones staggered through the town like sleazy old men that had been just released from prison! Walking by the prostitutes in the windows was surreal to say the last, they looked like hynotised robots pressed up against the window of phone boxes. Each one one of these lady's of the night made direct eye contact which scared the BEJAYZUS out of me to say the least! On passing every window the song 'Roxanne' by the Police entered my head- "Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light.Those days are over.You don't have to sell your body to the night.Roxanne, you don't have to wear that dress tonight.Walk the streets for money.You don't care if it's wrong or if it's right" Then I started to think of the amount of  times we had got pretty merry on the Roxanne drinking game, i.e drink everytime you hear Roxanne/Red light (I really have such a short attention span,don't I!) To finish off the day we visited LETTERLAND. (Or giant letters spelling I Amsterdam!) Frustration levels were high as we urged herds of Italian students to move out of the way so we could actually caputre all the letter in our photos!The braver tourists opted to pose on top of the letters in mid air!

So forget the night life and sleazy red light district. Go discover the true gems of Amsterdam, a beautiful city who's image is oftern tarnished by a few sleazy lads high on weed!

I'll finish on a motivational quote from Anne Frank..

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be."

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