Amsterdam

Our flight plans were originally to fly from Beijing to Athens, spending June in southern Europe and July in Northern. The flight went through Amsterdam, without getting off. But here we are. What happened!

Well, it came from some detailed pencil sharpening on the cost of travel in Europe. Trains are the way to go for most travelers, and we planned to get two passes. But the cost is not cheap, and for many trips you also have to pay reservation fees or other extra fees. We also kept wondering how well the train lines would line up with our desire for more outdoor camping and hiking. And we learned from traveling in Asia that making bookings takes time--often you need to go to the train station a day early to make a reservation, and that getting impacts your overall time. Since Europe is expensive, we want to maximize use of our time here and not spend it chasing down logistics.

The spark was when we were talking with two Germans on the boat trip down the Three Gorges. They suggested that the best way for two people to see Europe, especially if camping, is by car. We hadn't really priced it out, assuming it was much higher than the train. Later, when looking up long-term car rental we found a Renault program that fit perfectly. They lease brand new cars for any period of time over 17 days, and this becomes cost competitive for the two months we are here. The program is quite complete: it includes roadside assistance in any European country, full warranty and repair with no cost, and insurance with no deductible. You just drive off with a brand new car, and then return it weeks or months later with no potential extra costs or worries, except fuel and tolls. It is still expensive (so was the train) but we hope it will reduce the cost of accommodations since we will camp in the tent more.

But what does that have to do with Amsterdam? Well, the cars are available on short notice and with no delivery charge in France, or on longer notice and with a hefty delivery charge in Greece. We decided to hope off the plane in Amsterdam, catch a quick train to Paris, pick up the car, and then head south.

Except we hadn't really counted on liking Amsterdam. It has a reputation for drugs and sex, so we hadn't really even considered including the city on our itinerary, and hadn't looked to see what else it might offer. Boy, were we surprised. We spent two delightful days in Amsterdam!

Getting off the train, we immediately found ourselves downtown on a nice boulevard facing a canal, with shops and restaurants and European charm. Hey, the signs were even in an alphabet that we could recognize!

First we wasted a little time with American Express (supposedly they offer travel services to members, but so far they have failed us at every attempt. This time we were still trying to complete the fax for the car, but we eventually found the hostel to be more helpful. Our advice: if you have an American Express card, burn it. The card and the company are useless when traveling.)

Once we got our business affairs done and had checked into the hostel, we went out to explore. This town is really cute! Each street goes only a few blocks before veering off in another direction, with many side streets and alleys down which you can also only see a block or two. The buildings are generally just two stories, facing right up to the narrow street, interspersed with little plazas with tables and chairs for a cafe. In many regions of the city, every few blocks the street hops over a small canal on an old bridge, or follows the canal a few blocks before wending away.

The atmosphere is casual. Shopkeepers post very lazy hours, opening a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon. People who are working are not working very hard. As we will see in Europe repeatedly over the next few weeks, by American standards you really do not have to work very hard in Europe. And by some Asian standards, even Americans are laggards, so the culture shock coming from Asia is pretty severe. The difference in the wealth of Asia and Europe is just numbing. We saw people working seven days a week, 14 hours a day in Asia and feeling very good because they were achieving a level of prosperity that allowed them or their children to gain an education, and they had housing and food. In Europe, the norm is less than 40-hour work weeks, with 6-7 weeks of holidays during the summer. And some countries (like France) are considering reducing the work week further!

I don't understand the global economic structure that allows this, but I know that, for example, both Europe and America spend billions of dollars a year to support local farmers, since more efficient foreign competitors threaten the local agriculture. We block import of many goods from the developing world, allowing primarily raw materials (oil, metals, lumber...). The exceptions are notable, such as textiles and electronics, and the result has been a nearly complete extinction of manufacturing of those industries in the West. From the prices we have seen in Asia of many other goods, it is clear that the West has managed to restrict imports and protect Western industry. It is interesting that despite the popular American theme of "free trade", African countries are now arguing that the West should stop providing sustenance aid and instead should just reduce trade barriers to let Africans raise their own standard of living.

Enough musing about that... suffice it to say that we are in shock at the wealth of the west. We are sure glad that we were born where we were! While we are fortunate enough to travel around the world for 20 months, we also realize that the majority of people on the planet will never get any further from their home than they can walk or bicycle in one day.

Anyway this is about Amsterdam. Really it is!

Amsterdam is a great city for getting around. The bus and trolley is easy. We spend one night in a hostel and one in a municipal campground just a five-minute bus ride from city center. We quickly get oriented, and discover that Amsterdam has great city walks. We do need umbrellas (remember, we were planning to go to southern Europe in June...) but it is pleasant.

Amsterdam also has a ton of museums. Fran has always liked Van Gogh, and there is an entire museum dedicated just to him! There is also a Rembrandt museum. Rod has no culture, but what the heck; a day in a museum can't hurt too badly. When we arrive at the Van Gogh museum, it turns out that there is a special exhibition going on, focusing in the nearly two years of collaboration (and antagonism) of Van Gogh and Gauguin. For this exhibit, the museum has collected a sizable portion of all of the works of both artists during this period from both public and private owners worldwide. It is fascinating to see for example three paintings made in succession, each the same composition but each one further developed. Normally these might hang separately in America, Amsterdam and Tokyo but here they are together, and as we read about the life events of the artists during these successive paintings, we can see the subtle differences as they each encourage each other, and dabble in different techniques. They had fundamentally very different styles, but enough respect for each other that they both tried to incorporate the other’s concepts into their own. Even Rod enjoys the exhibit!

Later, we find the Rembrandt museum is closed while they set up the next special exhibition. We continue pleasant walks in this cute and comfortable town.

The narrow, winding streets remind us of Asia. Perhaps Asia does not seem as exotic to Europeans? As west coast Americans, we are used to cities pretty much laid out in a grid, with roads accommodating cars, and people living in suburbs. Both Asian and Europe have a more compact city with people living and working within walking distance, with roadways that change names every few blocks, cobblestone streets, narrow alleys, and roadside cafes. These cities evolved over many centuries, instead of being planned from the outset, and in particular evolved well before the introduction of the automobile. We are struck by the lack of history that we have as west coast Americans. We don't have cities with centuries of tradition, stories and myths. We just have new housing developments.

Well, this was about Amsterdam. Did I say we liked it? Oh, the fact that we ate bread and cheese for every meal, had a good beer, and devoured chocolate had nothing to do with it either. Fran even got to eat peanut butter and yogurt. Okay, they might not be your staples, but to Fran these are foods from heaven. And the fresh bread dipped in olive oil...

And that's Amsterdam!