Amsterdam.

I really don't need a witty or clever or cute title for Amsterdam. I think "Amsterdam." serves just perfectly. I'm not going to lie, I had a decent amount of stereotypes about Amsterdam, Holland, and The Netherlands in general, and almost all of them did not pan out at all the way I thought they would. 

For starters, I apologize for my ignorance, and was unaware (as I'm sure all of my literate and learn-ed readers were already well aware) that Amsterdam, like Venice, is a canal city. In fact, it has more bridges than Venice (nearly two-to-one) and isn't that much bigger. The difference is that there are still cars and bikeways in Amsterdam (whereas Venice is strictly boats). 

I also thought Amsterdam was just a popular red light district and a bunch of bars where you can smoke marijuana. I was wrong. It is not only that, but it is actually by far and away the most beautiful city we have seen in Europe, no questions asked.

There it is. I said it. If the BCS rankings came out today, Amsterdam supplants Lucerne or Dubrovnik (also taking in to account Amsterdam is about 700,000 people). Really, I had no idea that Amsterdam is drop dead gorgeous:

It is also considerably cleaner than Rome or any other major city, but that is the one regard where Lucerne still has its bragging rights. Nonetheless, I cannot begin to describe how taken aback I was by the fact that Amsterdam is so easy on the eye. For those of you who are familiar with Chicago, picture a really big Lincoln Park with nicer people. It's just townhouse after townhouse, all of which in a beautiful brick style... it's just amazing.

And of course I cannot forget to mention that the character of the city is just utterly unique in a way that's almost hard to describe. For example, there are a lot of churches in Amsterdam. 3 out of 10 churches are actually a place to go pray. The other 7/10 are all either dance clubs, bazaars, shops, homeless shelters, etc. How rad is that? Anyway, we made a point to do our favorite thing while going out on the town, and that is to purposely get lost (which we successfully did). While lost, we stumbled upon this hidden gem, St. Francis Xavier, aka my customary church update per post:

Above, St. Francis Xavier from the outside. Looks pretty simple. But the inside was absolutely amazing, and it was another isntance of an image that I just quite can't capture on film. Its columns were painted in a myriad of colors, but there was still a symmetrical pattern noticeable with the greens, blues, yellows, purples, etc. It was an excellent display of Jesuit awesome-ness. But I assure you I did not come to Amsterdam for its churches (below is the inside of SFX)...

...I came to visit the home of the greatest beer on planet Earth:

Yes, Amsterdam contains the Heineken Brewery, which might as well be heaven on earth for me. Look at this entrance sign below. Can you imagine how giddy I got seeing that? I nearly hyperventilated form sheer enjoyment. 

It's cool that they don't call it the "Heineken Museum," it's the "Heineken Experience." And it is very appropriately titled. You walk through the whole history of Heineken in a number of interactive exhibits, one of which being an animated ride (like the ones in Pier 39) where you go through the Heineken brewing process. 

Above, at the entrance to the Experience.

Above, the enormous brewing vats where liquid gold is always in the process of being created.

I really enjoyed the Heineken Experience. I suppose it's easier to walk through a museum-type-atmosphere when you're learning about your favorite brew. It was just one of the many, many highlights of Amsterdam.

After a few Heinekens at the Heineken Brewery, I was ready to embark on a more somber journey, and we ended up at a place that's just a step below Dachau in that regard. It was the Anne Frank House (below):

We arrived early and luckily did not wait in the on-average-two-hour-queue. As you might imagine, it is the house where Anne Frank and her family took refuge during the Nazi regime until they were ultimately betrayed and turned in to the Nazi police. The house is still kept perfectly intact (although unfurnished, as requested by Anne Frank's father, the sole survivor of those whom were kept in hiding). It was a remarkable museum. The thought of not seeing daylight for some 24 months was scary enough, to imagine the other hardships the family went through during the time was just about unbearable.

Fortunately, it's easier to be happy in Amsterdam than it is to be brought down by anything. I was thinking of my dad (which made me happy, surprising as it may seem) as we walked through the enormous open air flower market on Singel street. It was just stand after stand (like the one pictured below) of every flower variety imaginable, particularly tulips (the Dutch staple).

At this point, I realize that I could go on for another fifty photors or so about some of the more liberal activities one may engage in while in Amsterdam. I suppose I should also mention that I am going to keep this post as clean as politically correct as possible, but I can assure you that the rumors you hear about the nightlife in Amsterdam are mostly true. You'd have to try really, really hard not to have a good time there. I think one of the coolest things about it is that you can wander around the Red Light District at 3am feeling less than sober and perhaps lost, but you still feel just as safe as if it were 3pm in broad daylight. If I were on Broadway street in SF past 2am, I'm hailing the next cab I see. It's just not like that in Amsterdam. People are there to have a good time, and it's impossible not to.

In any event, as I mentioned before Amsterdam is remarkably beautiful, whether you see it by boat in the canals or by foot while strolling around, casually getting lost gazing at the brick splendor of the city. Here are just a few more teasers and then I will move on, sadly.

Above, a shot of Prinsengracht from the canal. We did a boat tour of the city, which is basically an hour long ride of having your mouth agape.

Above, a cool warehouse with red shutters. You'd have to see it I guess for there to be any justice involved in how pretty so many of the buildings are. Really, though. Amsterdam is pretty. I'm not kidding. Look at its train station:

It looks like an over-the-top king's palace. It probably was at one point. That's just the character of Amsterdam. We seriously did not want to leave. 

If you're planning on coming to Europe any time soon and are not sure where you want to go, get on the next flight to Amsterdam. You won't be disappointed.