Amsterdam!

What a trip. Probably the best one yet. It was a lot of fun. Lots of partying. Lots of drinking. Learned a lot as well! Lots of interesting stories came out of this trip that I'll reserve at a later time! Our trip included a 4 hour bike ride around the city, visiting a cheesefarm and clog factory, and nearby countryside where I saw this windmill. We also checked out the Van Gogh museum and finally saw popular pieces such as 'The Bedroom' and 'Self-Portrait as an Artist.'

Walking around the city reminded me of my trip 6 years back. Its funny walking around a city you visited a while back and having flashbacks of the time you spent there.

Amsterdam was founded in the 13th century as a fishing village. The damming of the Amstel river gave it its name. Once the dam was up, put the words together, replace the 'l' with an 'r' and there you have it: Amsterdam!

Beer
Heineken is soooo good in Amsterdam. It's like having Guinness in Dublin. I'm not a fan of Heineken, but now that I've had it fresh from the city where it all started, its pretty good. Maybe its because its not from the bottle but off the tap, I'm not sure. But I do have a new found appreciation for the beer. It was funny seeing it in aluminum cans instead of glass bottles!

Bikes
Bikes are everywhere in Amsterdam. I've never seen so many bikes. And I mean pedal bikes! What's so funny about this is that a lot of people ride their bike to the pubs and 'coffee shops.' After a night of drinking or visiting a 'coffee shop' you'll see people jump on their bike to ride home! We'd come back from a night of partying and you'll see all these people riding their bikes in the middle of the night!

Cannabis
Yes, it is legal to smoke and carry (up to 30g) in Amsterdam. But the coffee shops have to obtain the proper licence to sell it. There are about 250-260 of these 'coffee shops' around Amsterdam. The proper shops are indicated with a Green and White label outside each shop. Its very similar to obtaining a liquor licence. I also learned (from the bike tour) that you don't have to buy and smoke it all in one coffee shop. You can take what you didn't finish and bring it somewhere else!

Red Light District
The women in this area that work the windows are known as self-registered independent business women to the government! Because of this they can 'expense' all the tools they need to perform their job as a tax writeoff! I thought this was quite interesting. Since prostitution is legal in Amsterdam, you'll see police officers walking through the district with prostitution happening, cannabis in the air, and one of the worst offenses they can charge you with is riding your bike without proper lighting! The area is pretty safe and the government want to keep it that way for reasons I shall state below. Its a very popular tourist attraction and the worst thing that could happen is for it to obtain a bad reputation and have business decline!

Taxes
But with these 'freedoms' available in Amsterdam, it all comes with a price. All the revenue for these 'products' and 'services' are taxed at 17%, and all go to the government!