I remember canals interwoven into the infrastructure, and the quaint, picturesque bridges connecting the city cobblestone streets. Grachten, which means canals in Dutch, are waterways that run in a horseshoe shape and criss-cross throughout the city itself. Traveling these canals by boat is a relaxing experience, and a lovely way to see the city, especially at night when many of the houses and bridges themselves are lit up. Very enchanting and romantic indeed!

I spent a short time actually living on a houseboat on the canals. I have two memories of this time. The first is that my guinea pig, Rose, whom I adoringly carried around everywhere with me in a bag over my shoulder, was allowed to run free on the houseboat. My second memory is that I feared falling into the canal, stemming from my lack of swimming skills. I admit that despite this dreaded fear of toppling in and drowning, my love and fascination for these canals would lead me to their edge, where I would precariously perch on their banks to peer into them. Ahhh, yes, an adventurous spirit from a very young age!

Many summer days were spent in the largest city park, Vondelpark, which is popular with both tourists and locals alike. Designed as an English landscape, the park has vistas, ponds, and pathways to create an illusion of a natural area. There is a statue of Dutch poet Joost van den Vondel, for whom the park was named, the cast iron music dome, and six playgrounds for children. I recall many hours spent on both the playgrounds and the vast lawns that stretch across the park. I also have memories of the musicians performing free concerts. But what I remember most vividly are the many Krishna devotees, in their orangey-shaded robes and shaved heads, dancing about, banging tambourines and singing, “Hari Krishna, Krishna, Krishna…” Ohh, yes. I remember the song all of these years later!

There are so many beautiful buildings, museums, churches and squares in Amsterdam. My love for the Dutch architecture is divided between some of its most famous structures, like the famous Rijksmuseum, Centraal Station, or the Oude Kerk, a famous church with a Gothic-renaissance style octagon bell tower, and the Dam Square with its hundreds of resident pigeons. One of my favorite photos of myself as a child was taken in Dam Square, and depicts a small girl with pigtails surrounded and covered with pigeons. I must also mention the beautiful, neo-renaissance building, Stadsschouwburg (say that three times fast!), where I attended many fine performances with my mother, including a performance by Rudolf Nureyev! But I also love the architecture in general. Amsterdam has managed to efficiently pack many people into its small city by building narrowly and upward. This came to be when, in its formative years, property owners paid taxes based upon the width of their structures. The buildings are so narrow, the stairs so skinny, steep and sometimes winding, they had to build hooks into the tops of buildings in order to lift furniture up and in through windows. I have many memories of walking beneath a piece of furniture being hoisted to its new home and hoping it wouldn’t fall, squishing me!

I would be remiss if I didn’t share images of the colorful and fragrant flower mart spread out for blocks, with far more than the tulips for which the Netherlands is known. The Bloemenmarkt (Dutch for Flowermarket), is the only floating flower mart in the world, as the flower stalls stand on permanently moored barges and houseboats along the Singel canal. Hundreds of flower merchants sell every imaginable variety of plants, flowers, seeds, cacti and bulbs from all over the world from these floating shops. How cool is that? While I guarantee it to be a floral playground for adults, as a child it was a magical dreamland of color and scent.

And speaking of fragrant, all I need do is walk into a produce shop to be transported back in time. And I’ve tried to recreate this years later in the states by visiting Farmer’s Markets, which, as wonderful as they are, just aren’t the same. Something about that fresh produce brought indoors? I’ve yet to figure it out.

I’ve often heard that Holland has more bicycles than people, and more bikes per capita than any other European country. The typical Amsterdam street, bar those canal-side lanes that are only about thirteen feet wide, has a bicycle lane on each side (usually red or yellow). Bike racks can be found all over the city, often filled to capacity. You’ll find bikes securely latched on to all kinds of odd fixtures; anything cemented to the ground or bolted to a building is fair game. My bike growing up was yellow, and I loved it dearly. I learned a love of cycling which, sadly, seems to have been lost to this vast wasteland of cars and freeways in which I now reside. Unless…do you suppose the stationary bike I ride 3-4 times a week counts??

Well, I do hope that I’ve been able to give you a different perspective on the Amsterdam I know and love! That’s a taste of the international view through my lens. More to come I assure you.