Looking back over the city as we fly towards Munich I can see all the multi-coloured canal houses lined up in rows next to the canals and it makes me think that will miss Amsterdam - I already do a little bit and we've only just taken off.
This morning as we were walking to Amsterdam Centraal at 5am, there were a few people out and about. The majority were slightly seedy looking guys checking out the hookers and I thought "this is the underbelly of Amsterdam," as if it were hidden and i hadn't seen it before. Now, as we leave, I don't think this thought was entirely correct; I don't think Amsterdam tries to hide much of what I'd consider to be the underbelly of a city. Pretty much everything is exposed and embraced (as seen on some fantastically tacky tourist t-shirts).
It's not even just the fact that you know where hookers are because of a red light or that you know that a green light means you can get high legally that makes me think this. When we were exploring the city, especially when we were out in Apledoorn and more "suburban" towns, we noticed that residents don't hide anything either. In fact, there's a dutch word "gezellig" that means comfortable, homely etc., and the Dutch people like to show how "gezellig" their home is so they leave the curtains open. This means you can see inside their homes and see their decorations, their live spread out in front of you. They are open about everything and unashamed, which I love.
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