Riding a bike around Amsterdam can be daunting at first as one learns the basic road rules. Then it becomes exhilarating. You can get anywhere quickly without delays. The basic road rules, as outsiders say, is “there are no rules”. … Continue reading
Where are the traffic jams in Amsterdam? Amsterdam is the densest city in the European union, the financial capital of the Netherlands and part of an extended metropolis of 7 million people. Amsterdam proper has about 800,000 inhabitants—and 1.2 million … Continue reading
Amsterdam features a special segment of Dutch engineering. To build a city in a swamp, the Dutch had to figure out a way to keep buildings upright. Initially, they built one and two story wood buildings on cowhides. The cowhides … Continue reading
The sea defines the Dutch. The earliest occupants of “The Lowlands” were seafarers who owed their survival to the sea. Later, they would band together to build dikes to move back the sea edge and establish more land to farm. … Continue reading
Amsterdam is wondrous. It is a hub of 21st century human activity taking place in buildings old and new. As the densest city in the EU, it feels remarkably spacious because of the generous amounts of public space—largely canals—and … Continue reading