Amsterdamnit I Lost My Camera

I took some of the best pictures I have ever taken in Amsterdam, but I lost my camera so I can’t show them to you. At least I was able to pull some from a friend’s camera. The first thing I did when I noticed it was missing was check my bag and my coat repeatedly. I think it’s funny how when you lose something you keep looking in the same places over and over again.

Not having a camera on a trip is unsettling. When I arrive at a historic landmark I don’t know what to do. I suppose I could just enjoy the view, but I don’t get the same sense of accomplishment without the picture. Pictures are like stamps on a passport in that way. You don’t need them to enjoy a new place, but it’s nice having the proof.

The Bulldog Hotel is the 3rd best hostel in the world and my home base for 3 days. The atmosphere is boisterous, with throngs of party-minded tourists coming and going at all hours. There is a bar/lounge with a pool table and TV next to the lobby where most people congregate before hitting the town. There are 12 people per room and of those 12, 2 are going to be very loud snorers. 4 won’t come home until 5 AM and 2 will get up at 7AM. 1 will have caught some travel bug and cough, sneeze, sniffle, hock and spit all night. 1 will walk around in underwear and 1 you will never see. The other person is you. Going to bed very late and very tired is almost the only way to get a decent night of sleep. But everybody is friendly and approachable and if you are traveling alone and want to make friends it will never be easier.

I’ve written three paragraphs about Amsterdam without mentioning pot or prostitution, but these trademark associations are integral to the city’s culture. It’s fascinating to see a society that not only accepts, but also embraces the two. In the famed Red Light District, bikini-clad women stand in front of glass windows and beckon passer-byers to come in. On nearly every corner you will find coffee shops where pot purveyors can purchase several strands of marijuana, with descriptions of what type of “high” you can expect. Of course it gets abused by tourists acting like college freshman on their first weekend away, consuming anything they can get their hands on just because they can. But the city functions just fine despite its “sinful” ways. It’s too bad, I think, because Amsterdam has so much more to offer than sex and drugs.

There are lovely canals that snake throughout the city with cobblestone bridges from which to stand and watch the gondolas passing by. There are remarkable plazas with renaissance-style buildings and cathedrals scattered throughout the city center. The Vincent Van Gogh museum tells a wonderful story of his life, starting with an exhibit of the artists he was influenced by, followed by a collection of most of his work, and finishing with works from the artists that he influenced. Of the 200 or so Van Gogh works on display, my favorite was the Bedroom, which was originally created as an exercise in color selection.

Van Gogh had ample inspiration growing up in Amsterdam. Canals and renaissance architecture aside, the people of Amsterdam move about whimsically, dressed colorfully, wearing eccentric hats and shoes, riding bicycles with baskets filled with fruit and bread loaves. The graffiti is world class: never crowded, matching in color and design to the buildings they live on. Amsterdam is one of those places where you have to remind yourself that real people live here. That’s how capricious it is.

Above all, Amsterdam is a social place. Nobody goes to Amsterdam for a quiet and relaxing weekend. The city has 2 of the top 10 hostels in the world and most people I met were on their own soul-searching, epiphany begging world-gallivanting expedition. Conversations generally follow the same path: where are you from, where are you going, how are you in a position in life to do this? Most people, like me, found themselves without a job, a lease, or a girlfriend and just decided to hit the road. As far as the unemployed go, we are the luckiest in the world.

My last day in Amsterdam I was eating breakfast and a guy I met told me that somebody had found my camera at a nearby bakery. Unfortunately, he had left that morning and did not leave the camera at the front desk. It got me thinking about whether the criminal makes the opportunity, or the opportunity the criminal. Here’s a guy who found himself in a situation where theft is easier than not thieving – it’s easier to keep the camera than to mail it back. However, that camera has all my Europe pictures and is far more valuable to me than to him. I sure hope he takes the high road.

See the rest of my Amsterdam pictures at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2567795&id=6016496&l=00f23f2cb2