Johanna K Photography: Amsterdam

The city of culture, thousands of canals and famous for it's tolerance and liberal views. Amsterdam is known for interesting architecture and history, but also for it's coffee shops that do not sell coffee. You want coffee, you go to a café.
To me it seemed that Amsterdam is a city of problem solvers. They see a problem like not having enough apartments and fix it with house boats in the canals. Or at least that's how our guide book explained it. If it's true or not - I have no idea. I also found controversy in some of their problem solving. Prostitution is legal and so is cannabis (though there a restrictions: you need to be an adult meaning 18 years old and coffee shops give these club cards apparently). Some of the things I saw concerning the sex business though made me think that just because it's legal, does not mean there are no problems. Some of the girls in the windows of the red district seemed very, very young and I could not help but think that maybe it's not all voluntary. I saw movie theaters advertising "teen sex movies" and to me that is far from ok. Nothing against the sex industry, but it needs to be for adults by adults only. I'm thinking some of the boundaries were stretched a bit too far. I also got a huge headache from the smell of cannabis which was quite strong in some areas in the city. I'm not a fan of it at all.
Now, having stated some of the negatives, I have to say I found the city itself very beautiful. People are friendly, they speak excellent English (which is nice for tourists) and there's a lot of great interior design tips for those who love to DIY their own homes. I got the impression that the people in Amsterdam take pride in their homes and decor. I got a few good ideas myself from this trip! And of course I have mention the flowers! They are everywhere! There's something beautiful to look at wherever you turn.
The people do cycle a lot and they do it fast, so be careful if you are like me and you like walking everywhere. You need to keep an eye on the cyclists :D If you hear a bell ringing behind you, step aside quickly.
We also visited the zoo. This one is probably one of the last ones I've visited. Zoos in general just make me sad. I know there's a lot of good things done in terms of studies because of zoos but I'd much rather explore the animals in their own environment than in captivity. After seeing how an elephant or a gorilla take care of their young and realizing how that young animal will never experience freedom, it made me even more sad. I'm sure the zoo in Amsterdam takes good care of their animals, at least I hope they do, but that's not the point. The animals just do not belong there. I think we've learned enough of animals in captivity. The focus on learning and studies should be more on how they behave in the wild.
Despite the controversy and pretty deep thoughts :D, Amsterdam is a lovely city to visit and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Here are some photos I took. I hope you like them.