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Great for Gays, Gadabouts and GinAnd, That's Just for Starters in the NetherlandsBy Marguerite Jordan
In this small country twice the size of New Jersey, a warm easy welcome, great sights and some rare pleasures await you. Many of the people you meet here speak English and most genuinely like Americans. As a destination, it has everything a cultural traveler demands. But, what really sets the Netherlands apart from other places is its accommodation to visitors with alternative lifestyles. If you are gay, you will feel at home. If you want to smoke pot, you can. The Dutch are known for their tolerance. In fact, both the police department and the military services openly recruit gays. Amsterdam is the first city in Europe with a Lesbian mayor, and one of the rare places where you can smoke pot openly. CONVENIENT START FOR A EUROPEAN VACATIONArriving at Amsterdam’s Schiphol (SKIP-pole) Airport, you quickly realize that this is a great stepping off point. For gadabouts, it is THE European hub that has the fastest interconnect time (they claim you can change planes in less than 45 minutes) of any airport on the Continent. Nearly all international carriers fly out of here. Long recognized by seasoned travelers for its convenience, Schipohl was the first airport I ever went to that had showers and massages available. Lively restaurants, bars and great stores make it a comfortable place to while away your stopover time.
RED LIGHT DISTRICT, LIVELIER THAN REALITY TVI grew up in Boston at a time when the sidewalks were rolled up by eight o’clock in the evening, where very house’s windows were covered with curtains of Irish lace. So, for me the most striking thing about visiting Amsterdam (second to the canals, of course!), is a walk through the Red Light district. There you see nearly naked women, framed by their un-curtained picture windows, looking for all the world like magazine underwear ads. Call it curiosity, call it prurience, call it anything you want, but, you cannot visit this town without wandering through the streets where the prostitutes are. There they are, singly or chatting in small groups on the first floor of their buildings, at eye-level with the passers-by. Wearing a bra and underpants, they wait for customers to come along and chat through the windows. Once negotiations take place, the customer enters and follows his date to another floor. The Dutch figure that sex is a human need. Some people will pay for sex, the authorities reason, and if they do, they wouldn’t want to catch a disease. So prostitution is legal, medically supervised and considered a fact of life. It is no coincidence that the first of the Reality TV show (Big Brother) started here in The Netherlands. So, go, take a look, you know you want to. But don’t think you can take a photograph; it isn’t done. APPRECIATE THE CULTURE IN ALL ITS VARIETY
Frommer’s Irreverent Guide of Amsterdam lists these and other places of interest, including both a Sex Museum and an Erotic Museum. The city proper, which would fit on the tip of Manhattan has more than 1400 bars and cafes, of all styles and all persuasions. The liberal attitudes of the country make both homo- and hetero-sexual people feel welcome.
Amsterdam is known also for its gay bars, parties and special events, including their upcoming annual Gay Pride Festival (August 2 – 4, 2002). It is said to rival San Francisco as a comfortable place for celebrating your lifestyle in an exuberant fashion. At the foot of the Westerkerk, study the Homomonument, composed of three pink granite triangles that symbolize the persecuted past, the liberating present and the vigilant future of homosexual emancipation. >From the quay here, you can take a gay-themed cruise from the Keisersgracht Canal for about 20 euros. On the first day of August, four years ago, 300 boats filled Amsterdam’s canals for a gay parade, to signal the opening of the International Gay Games V, in which 15,000 athletes competed. Amsterdam was the first city outside North America to host this now famous international event, which takes place every four years, much like the Olympics. More than a quarter of a million visitors attended the Gay Games, which included 29 sports (swimming, track and field, martial arts, etc.), choral competitions, bands, parties, dinners, open-air film festival, etc. GIN, BEER, DRUGS AND ‘SIN’In the Middle Ages at the University of Leyden, a medical professor was working on a remedy for tropical diseases. He found that the berry of the juniper tree, suspended in alcohol, was great for insomnia and stomach ailments, and even lowered blood pressure. Some time later, when the English fought the Thirty Years War, the soldiers were given gin, which they called "Dutch Courage." Dutch gin quickly became a sought-after drink, exported around the world. Nowadays, the Dutch still stand by the great effects of the drink, the most notable version being the martini. Or, try something new. In Maastricht, for instance, at the Golden Tulip Barbizon Hotel, ask the barman to make a sloe gin fizz or even a Bunny Hug (gin, whiskey and Pernod). In Amsterdam, enjoy drinks at the Jolly Bar. Both hotels are conveniently located for sightseeing. MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY GIN ALONE
Then, there are the "smoking coffee shops", where you can enjoy the mind-altering substances that the city is known for. It’s legal to own up to five ounces of pot. You can order it straight or made into brownies, or you can rent a bubble pipe. If you care to experiment further, "smart drug" shops offer herbs, mushrooms and natural concoctions, which usually come with a piece of paper that tells you what mind-altering effects you may experience. SPECIAL PLACES OUTSIDE THE CAPITAL CITYBecause train/tram/bus service is so convenient, it is easy to get out to see the attractions of the countryside. Some favorite places to visit are Muiden, a village seemingly plucked out of the Middle Ages. Or, you can see authentic working windmills (there really are not many any more) at Zaanse Schans, a short train ride from Amsterdam.
George Maduro was a young Dutch soldier who lost his life in the war. His parents wanted to create a special way to remember him, and so they worked with a woman who wanted to raise money for deserving children. They used the model of Beaconsfield in England to help them plan the park, which receives more than a million visitors a year.
Helpful Sources for planning your trip Netherlands Board of Tourism: go2holland@aol.com Jolly Hotels Reserve through Hotelbook 800 448.8355 Text and Images (Copyright) Marguerite Jordan |
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TM
Which
beautiful European country is known for its openness, its convenience, and
its modern attitudes toward sex, booze, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll? You’d be
right if you guessed The Netherlands. 
The
airport also has a modern train station located beneath it that connects you
to countless European cities and within The Netherlands to Delft, Rotterdam,
The Hague, Maastricht and other interesting cities.
What’s more, you can transfer to Centraal
Station, the center of downtown Amsterdam, in twenty minutes, where abundant
public transport is available for getting around the compact city: busses,
trains, trams, taxis, etc. Even bikes are part of the municipal mix to keep
people from driving private cars. Naturally, you can also rent sightseeing
boats, kayaks and canoes on the extensive canals, which are perhaps the
city’s premier symbol and sight. 
The Netherlands, like nearly all other countries in
Europe, is a haven for travelers in search of ancient culture, great art,
beautiful cities, lovely flower gardens, fascinating museums, good bike
paths, fine restaurants, etc., etc., all the things we love to find on
vacation. (See Janice Rossen’s article about Dutch museums and
traditions, this issue.) 
Traditional charms are well known, but what many
visitors may not have seen yet are some of The Netherlands’s more unusual
sites, such as the Tattoo Museum, the Tropical Museum and the Torture
Museum. 
If
you are looking for unusual gifts, there are countless sex shops, unusual
clothing stores, and offbeat items on almost every street. Don’t settle for
a pair of clogs or a bottle of perfume to bring home for your loved ones, if
what you really want to bring them is rhinestone underwear. Relax and enjoy
the "Live and Let Live" attitude that makes this city so much fun. 
If gin isn’t your sin, choose among the country’s other
famous liquid offerings. Curacao is a popular drink from the days when the
Dutch had their Caribbean colonies. The Dutch have always produced very fine
beers, such as Heinekin and Amstel, which you might want to consume at the
so-called Brown Cafes, named because the walls of these comfortable old
traditional places with walls of dark wood that have been stained over the
years by cigarette smoke.
A very special place to visit, which shows you the
entire country in a nutshell, is a theme park called Madurodam in The Hague.
After the Second World War, two families got together to plan this wonderful
park, which is probably one of the world’s most unusual memorials and fund
raisers. 
Here you can see, in a scale of 1:25., the geographic
and architectural features that make The Netherlands so interesting. Don’t
have time to get to the town of Alkemaar to see the Friday cheese markets?
Want to see the white-suited porters with their red, white or blue hats
(depending on which guild they belong to)? (P# 10) Miniature stacks of
cheeses piled on sleds fill the market place beside the ornate town hall.
It’s great fun to watch the Dutch families who come to enjoy their heritage. 
By walking around the park, you get a sense of the
country’s small villages, its cities, the tulips and the great canals. This
June marks the fiftieth anniversary, and the Queen, who is also the
unofficial Madurodam mayor, and other members of the royal family will
celebrate this uniquely Dutch institution with festive ceremonies.