A
red and white mass converged upon Amsterdam filling its coffeeshops, bars and
every available open space. The chants
started early: Ole oohhh Ajax Amsterdam, Oohhh
Ajax Amsterdam, Oohhh Ajax Amsterdam ole ole, and were punctuated through a fog
of hash and the salute of proost with Heineken and Amstel cans. Welcome to Amsterdam where football is the
game played in heaven and the Ajax players become demigods fighting against the
evil beast Manchester United for a chance to win the Europa League
Championship. Flares and fireworks
turn the skin of the succubus’ of the Red-Light district into a neon-light
glow. Mobile phones in hand with legs akimbo, and dressed micro-fabric lingerie that enabled the window-shopper to discern what they
ate for lunch; negotiations were concluded in doorways for services rendered
and punters disappeared into a clandestine of rooms. It is interesting to note that there are
about three hundred studio
cabins(kamers) in which succubus’ sell their sexual
services.
It is hard to comprehend in a society based
upon tolerance and freedoms; a young girl, her family and others lived in
hiding, persecuted because of a faith system that was deemed by a regime to be abhorrent. When one steps into the Frank’s abode a sense
of sorrow grips vice like and an acknowledgement that here innocence and hope were
lost and that betrayal stained the attic stairs. There is a poignant image that has etched
itself into our minds-eye of Otto Frank (the sole survivor) leaning against a
support beam caught between the past, the present and the future. People murmur that such sites reek of
black-tourism, where voyeurs come to play and selfie-sticks stain the reverence
of the place. In fact, such places
provide a lesson in the inhumanity of mankind and that the obscene behaviour of
the past should not be forgotten because it is unpalatable. In fact, education is the most powerful
weapon we can use to change the world and that is exactly what a visit to Anne
Frank’s house does.
Green spaces are bountiful in Amsterdam and the humble
bicycle reigns supreme along with its symphony of bells. Pedestrians leap to escape a horde of
cyclists streaming in every direction and a chaos theorem seems to determine
who has right of way.
One hundred and sixty-five canals split the city centre of
Amsterdam with over 1,200 bridges providing the bipeds an ability to roam at
will. Canal barges provide transport
opportunities, converted warehouses from the golden age lean asymmetrically and Van
Gogh’s narcissism beckons where ‘Sunflowers’ glisten in three shades of yellow. Church spirals call to be climbed and buskers’
melodies float ethereal like across Vondelpark whilst we eat bitterballen, stroopwafel
and gelato as the sun drenches us.
Amsterdam is a multi-cultural sphere that provides the
traveller with a myriad of opportunities: to contemplate history, to
acknowledge that social freedoms provide tolerance and acceptance and to
embrace a culture of diversity.
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