When people are confused, unengaged or dubious, it's probably because you haven't answered a very simple question to their satisfaction.
The answer doesn't have to be direct (quid pro quo doesn't scale very well) but it must be clear enough to be understood.
Marketing is often the craft of using symbols and inferences to make it very clear to people what they're going to get.
Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in the world. I love its brick buildings, open skyline, rich history, and relaxed, easy going attitude towards life. Over the years, I’ve visited Amsterdam more times than I can count (I’m bad at math) and have spent countless hours walking the city, making friends with locals, and getting under its skin.
Amsterdam has so much to do that, even after so many visits, I still find new things to do and see. The city deserves more than just the few (and often smoke filled) days travelers give it, but if a few days is all you have and you want to make the most of it, this is the itinerary I would give to someone looking to get a good overview and feel for what makes Amsterdam so special:
Free walking tour
A great way to orient yourself to the city is with a walking tour. You’ll learn some history, find out where the major sites are, and explore all those winding canals. Free walking tours are a wonderful first activity in any city. I recommend the free New Europe walking tour. It covers a lot of ground and gives you a general overview of the city and landmarks. The tour meets in the main square and lasts about 2-3 hours. (Be sure to tip your guide though!)
Canal tour
Amsterdam is a city tied to the water – it grew around its canals and the taming of the Amstel River. The canals of Amsterdam are incredibly beautiful, and there’s nothing like seeing the city from a boat. Skip the big canal boat tours you see around the city — they’re overpriced. You can often hire a private boat tour for about 20 Euros an hour (look for guides around the Red Light District). Moreover, you can also take the open-air Canal Hopper Small Boat. This is the company I use when I run group tours to the city — the boats are small, the tours more intimate, and your driver will give you a good personalized tour. The tours last about an hour. It leaves from Pier 6.
Van Gogh Museum
This may be one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city, but don’t let the crowds deter you. The museum features many of Van Gogh’s best works of art alongside an excellent biography of his life and is laid out in chronological order, starting with his earliest works. Though not a huge museum, I can spend hours just staring at the paintings as Van Gogh is one of my favorite painters. The museums also has paintings by other famous artists of the period, like Monet, Manet, and Matisse. Try to come late in the late afternoon when the crowds subside.
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum is located right next to the Van Gogh Museum, and after years of renovation, it’s now beautifully remodeled. The museum still features an extensive Rembrandt collection, and you’ll be able to see the famous painting “The Night Watch.” Besides Rembrandt, there’s also an incredible and robust collection of other classic Dutch painters, like Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. Over one million works of art, craftworks, and historical objects are kept in the collection, and around 8,000 objects are on display in the museum so be sure to budget a few hours!
Anne Frank House
In all honesty, I don’t like this place. I found it to be anticlimactic. You basically do a slow walk through the house as the crowds pack the place. You don’t get to let everything soak in as you’re being pushed from behind by the endless crowds. It’s maddening! But, if you don’t mind waiting in line and you’re curious about Anne (I think the Jewish History Museum does a more thorough job of relating the events in Anne Frank’s life to the Holocaust), it might be worth the visit for you. You can book tickets online up to two months in advance, which lets you skip the line. If you don’t do this, get there very early in the morning to avoid the long queue that develops over the course of the day!
The Jordaan area
This heavily residential area (an old working-class neighborhood turned hip) is probably the most missed part of Amsterdam. Although it’s right near the city center, hardly any tourists enter this maze of restaurants, cafes, and shops. It’s peaceful and a great place to wander while avoiding the mass of tourists crowding the main streets just a few blocks away. While in the area, be sure to eat at Moeders (traditional Dutch food) and Winkel 43 (apple pie).
The Tulip Museum
Located in a room inside a tulip shop, this little basement museum does a wonderful job of telling the history of tulips in Holland and the infamous tulip craze. It’s one of the best off-the-beaten-path attractions in Amsterdam. You’ll never find a crowd, and it’s only 5 euros (3 euros for students)!
Amsterdam History Museum
This museum features a very thorough history of Amsterdam. It’s big, and you’ll need 3–4 hours to really go through it in detail. There are a lot of relics, maps, paintings, and audiovisual displays throughout the museum. My favorite is the computer graphic at the entrance showing the growth and construction of the city over time. I can’t recommend this museum enough. It’s one of the best history museums I’ve ever visited.
Red Light District
Though much tamer than in previous years, the Red Light District manages to balance sex and seediness with being a major tourist attraction. During the day, it’s a quiet place. If it wasn’t for the red lights and sex signs everywhere, it would look like any other part of the city. But, at night, the area becomes awash with drunk, gawking tourists moving slowly down the street as they stare at the girls in the window while going from bar to bar and coffeeshop to coffeeshop. It’s a place to see and experience for a very brief time.
Do a bike tour
Bikes are to Amsterdam like wine is to Bordeaux. The city loves bikes, and there are supposedly more bikes than people in Amsterdam. In fact, forget about keeping a lookout for cars — it’s the bikes that will run you over. Seeing Amsterdam and its surroundings from a bike is something I definitely encourage you to do. Mike’s Bike Tours is the best company to use, whether for a tour or to rent a bike on your own.
FOAM
This photography museum houses wonderful pictures and sees few crowds despite being in the main part of the city. It’s a must for any photography lover. The exhibitions are constantly changing so you never know what you might see! They have a beautiful outdoor garden too. It’s a small museum and doesn’t take long to see.
Jewish Historical Museum
Often overlooked in favor of The Anne Frank House, the Jewish Historical Museum tells the history of the Jews’ prominent and influential position in Amsterdam. The exhibit on World War II does a great job of highlighting Dutch complacency, resistance, and guilt over the Holocaust.
Oosterpark
Everyone goes to Vondelpark to sit around, bike, or get high, but east of the main city center is a beautiful park with fewer people and green space that is just as relaxing. It’s about a 30-minute walk from the city center, but the walk takes you through residential areas of the city not often seen and way off the tourist map. I enjoy coming here because it’s far quieter and more peaceful than Vondelpark. If you wanted a quiet park experience, this is it!
Museum Amstelkring
Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder (“Our Lord in the Attic”) is one of the most interesting churches in the city. Hidden inside a 17th-century canal house, the clandestine Catholic church was built during Protestant rule. It was never really a secret but it was out of sight and out of mind for the authorities. The drawing room here is quite beautiful and the furnishings make it one of the most best 17th-century rooms left.
The Rembrandt House Museum
Rembrandt lived and worked in this house between 1639 and 1658. Daily demonstrations show modern visitors how he worked and you can also explore the house and see a recreation of how it was decorated during Rembrandt’s time. I wasn’t too impressed, but Rembrandt enthusiasts shouldn’t overlook it.
Museum Van Loon
The Museum Van Loon is a double-sized canal house (built in 1672) located on the Keizersgracht canal in Amsterdam. The house was owned by the wealthy Van Loon merchant family who set up a beautiful art collection. Now it’s a museum with period furniture, art, and family portraits. There’s a beautiful garden here too. This is definitely a place not to miss.
Vondelpark
Amsterdam’s largest and most popular park is a great place to walk, bike, people-watch, or relax, especially after a visit to a local coffee shop. There’s a playground as well as places to play sports, and numerous areas for kicking back. During the summer, Vondelpark is filled with people, especially locals who hang out at the café ‘t Blauwe Theehuis for drinks in the center.
The Heineken Experience
This museum used to be a lot better when it was cheaper and they offered more beer. It’s not a working brewery, and in comparison to the Guinness Museum in Dublin, it’s lame. But the price of admission buys you three beers and you’ll learn a bit of the history of Heineken (which I enjoyed since I drink a lot of their beer). It’s not a must-see, but it’s not a must-avoid either.
Don’t like the above? No problem! Below are some of my other favorite activities to do in Amsterdam
ONE LAST AMSTERDAM TIP: Be sure to visit the city tourism office near central station. They have lots of information on free things to do, current events and activities, and discount passes and tickets you can use to save money! They are an underused resource by travelers!
Four days in any city is never enough time to really see it, but given Amsterdam’s compact nature, it’s definitely enough time to hit all the “major” attractions here. This four day Amsterdam itinerary will help you make the most of your stay in Amsterdam while getting you on and off the beaten path.
Want to plan the perfect trip to Amsterdam? Check out my comprehensive guide to Amsterdam written for budget travelers like yourself! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money in one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world. You’ll find suggested itineraries tips budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, and my favorite non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars, and much more!! Click here to learn more and get started.
Photo Credits: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
The post How to Spend 4 Days in Amsterdam appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.
Vehicles with drivers seeking an early start to the weekend jammed the intersection. I gingerly approached the mayhem, weaved through traffic and took a sharp, two-wheeled left onto the sidewalk. I left the bottleneck behind; however, I still can’t steer clear of criticism for not owning a car in Zimbabwe, an apparent affront to the social order.
After accepting my first teaching assignment in Africa in 2016, I received an email from the school, outlining some of the necessities: lightweight clothing, generous amounts of sunscreen and above all, a car, preferably an air-conditioned SUV.
I wasn’t surprised a vehicle topped the list because I was moving to Harare, a metropolitan city of 1.6 million people with a five-month rainy season. I understood why parents with children might require a car, but as a bachelor, I didn’t consider it essential. I wouldn’t conform. I’d buy a bicycle instead.
My rationale was simple. With the unemployment rate in Zimbabwe hovering around 90 percent, it’s safe to say most people don’t own a car or ever will. The public transportation system — consisting mainly of mini-vans — is overcrowded, unreliable and some say, unsafe, but it exists. Bicycles are readily available and of course, there’s always walking. If everyone else managed, I could too.
Using a bicycle as my sole mode of transportation has proven to be easier than I imagined. My commute takes 10 minutes. A trip to the nearest grocery store is just down the block, a chore facilitated by a rack enabling me to haul all my purchases. I’m able to hit most of the social spots, although I do rely on friends for lifts to distant destinations.
Considering the country’s long history of fuel shortages, I anticipated praise as I peddled down the road less traveled on my zero-emissions vehicle but it’s been quite the opposite.
“What will you do during the rainy season?”
My customary response: “Get wet.”
Riding through downpours isn’t my idea of paradise but nylon rain gear keeps me mostly dry, an option economically inaccessible for a lot of African cyclists.
“You won’t be able to see many places in Zimbabwe without driving a car.”
True, I lose the ability to drive to any game reserve I want, when I want, but there are buses — even luxury buses — crisscrossing the country, and friends have invited me on out-of-town excursions.
I suspect there’s a deeper, underlying cause for the negativity: expats are expected to buy cars. Though Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980, the country remains largely segregated racially and economically, clinging to strictly defined norms of behavior for each social strata. Domestic workers walk or, if they’re lucky enough to afford them, ride bicycles. Members of the middle and upper classes, including expats, drive cars.
There are unspoken racial assumptions as well.
During my first week in Harare, I was walking home from school when an elderly, white Zimbabwean woman stopped unexpectedly and offered me a ride. The next day I mentioned it to a black Zimbabwean colleague, saying the gesture was quite thoughtful. “You don’t understand,” she replied, “White people (less than one percent of the population) don’t walk in Zimbabwe,” insisting I was only picked up because of my skin color and the driver’s conclusion something must be wrong.
The societal script even dictates the type of bicycle a person of my status should own. When shopping for my new ride, the salesman kept pointing me in the direction of a $1,500 racing bike and a $700 mountain bike, but I had my eye on a basic, $200 street bike, manufactured with a durable and steel frame, puncture-resistant tires, fenders to minimize the impact of puddles and a rack supporting up to 220 pounds and a small black bell.
Finally, the salesman pulled me aside and, seemingly to spare me the embarrassment of other customers hearing, whispered to me, “You don’t want that bike. It’s for domestics.”
Sold! I figured anyone on the lower rung of the economic ladder in a country with a per capita GDP of about $1,000 would know which vehicles to purchase that last.
I realize I’m unintentionally challenging the status quo, which I believe is the main reason colleagues continue asking when I plan to buy a car.
Cars reinforce the gulf between rich and poor, creating instant autonomy, and thus, isolation. How can a driver get to know those around him if he’s whizzing by with the windows rolled up and the radio blaring? Worse, a car removes expats from the daily reality of most Zimbabweans.
I’m not so naive as to think that by riding a bicycle — as an American working temporarily in Africa — I can even remotely connect with or understand the life of someone surviving on two or three dollars a day. At the very least, I’m able to interact with those in my environment and hopefully dispel the stereotype of the expat who rarely leaves his gated, walled and residential compound, except to drive to his fortified place of business and a few upscale, specialty shops.
I’ve also learned I can easily function without an automobile.
As Westerners, we’re conditioned to the idea that owning a car is as indispensable as the food we eat. Public transportation is out of the question. Alternative transportation, such as a bicycle or a scooter, is impractical. Yet, most of humanity will never get behind the wheel of a car. Most of humanity is inconvenienced. Somehow, individuals carry on.
However, I’ll admit I’ve faced challenges as I limit myself to two wheels. As a developing country, some of Zimbabwe’s potholes are large enough to swallow buses. My bones ache when I think of the number of times I’ve struck one, especially after dark on the plethora of roads without street lights.
There’s also the danger of drunk drivers. Drinking is a huge part of the culture, but the absence of police at night barely deters alcohol overindulgence. I’m often nervous plodding along at midnight, even if I’m clad in a goofy, bright-red helmet and a pair of rain pants, while my Mary Poppins bike is outfitted with reflectors and two flashing lights.
As for dating, I haven’t met any woman willing to go out to dinner aboard my bike, straddling the rack over the back tire. So far, just one person fit the bill.
Today, almost two years later, a bicycle is still my only means of transport. Yes, it’s not as handy as a car, but I’ve got thighs that would make Jack LaLanne proud. It’s also hard to describe the satisfaction of admiring the sunrise as I glide through a crisp Harare winter morning and being greeted with a chorus of “Hello” and “How are you, Mark?”, or the smiles of fellow bicyclists and pedestrians as I pedal by, along with the daily sound of laughter emanating from a group of three school children, donning maroon blazers, always rushing to beat the morning bell.
I’ll continue to happily embrace this lifestyle if the trade-off is arriving a few minutes later than my motorist friends and not always fitting in with the expat community.
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Mark Dickinson is an international teacher currently working in Zimbabwe. Before beginning his career in the classroom 16 years ago, he worked for almost a decade as both a television and newspaper reporter. Mark has visited more than 60 countries. He’s written for several publications, including the Matador Network, and published a travel memoir Sleeping in the Homes of Strangers: A Month-Long Journey of Trust available on Amazon. You can also read his blog, The Traveling Teacher..
The post Pedaling Around Expat Expectations in Zimbabwe appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.
Math’s important. It’s elegant. It’s a magical way to deal with abstract concepts on your way to finding out the provable truth. There's not enough math in the world.
Math isn’t the same as arithmetic. Basic arithmetic is necessary, but everything beyond that is simply easily-graded compliance disguised as busy-work.
A high school principal told me that there’s a high correlation between students who fail to complete algebra and those that drop out of school before graduation. It’s not surprising if you think about it—factoring polynomials is a totally useless activity that only demonstrates that you’re good at school.
What would happen if we introduced variables and intuitive algebra and then immediately switched gears to probabilities (gambling and decision making) and statistics (sports, predictions and understanding the world as it is and it might be.)
What would a year of hands-on truth-finding do for a class of freshman? What mathematical and vocational doors would it open?
Every day we spend teaching hand factoring of binomials to non-math majors is another day we raise mathematically illiterate kids. What are we waiting for?
Fear. It’s what often keeps us from living our lives and achieving our dreams.
And it is one of the most common reasons why people don’t travel.
Whenever I talk to people about long-term travel, so many tell me they wish they could do what I do. They tell me all their travel dreams and grand plans then when asked why they don’t pursue them, they come up with a plethora of excuses:
They fear not being able to afford the trip.
They fear they have too many responsibilities at home.
They fear they won’t be able to make friends on the road.
They fear not having the ability to handle it.
They fear something will happen to them.
With all that fear, it’s much easier to stay at home in our comfort zones than to break out and travel.
It’s a big thing to step out your door, away from your safety net, and into the known.
You may want to but the devil you know is always better than the devil you don’t.
Yes, travel is a privilege and there are real money issues that keep people at home.
But one of the most common emails I get is from people asking about “the mental issues” of travel. “The mindset stuff.” Do they quit their job and go for it? Are they in the right stage of life? Will everything be OK if they leave? Will they get a job when they return?
These emails are peppered with nervous excitement over travel’s endless possibilities, but there is also always one underlying tone to the emails: “Matt, I want to go, but I’m also afraid and I’m not sure what to do.”
While many people claim “real world responsibilities” are the reason for not traveling, I think fear of the unknown is really what holds people back the majority of people back. When you get rid of your fears and decide “Yes, I’m going to do this!”, you begin to find ways to scrape, save, find work, and do whatever it is that gets you on the road.
You become a person on a mission. You become driven. Nothing will get in your way.
But first, you need to get over any fear you might have. I was on a podcast recently discussing this subject and so it has come to the forefront of my mind again. Here is my advice on dealing with fear:
You aren’t the first person to travel abroad.
One of the things that comforted me when I began traveling was knowing that lots of other people traveled the world before me and ended up just fine. If some 18-year-old from England on a gap year came home in one piece, there was no reason I wouldn’t too. You aren’t the first person to leave home and explore the jungles of Asia. Columbus and Magellan had a reason to be afraid. You don’t.
There is a well-worn tourist trail out there. There are people to help you. There are people to travel with. You aren’t going to be alone.
And you aren’t venturing into the true unknown.
You made it this far.
If you already have one foot out the door, why turn back now? What will you regret later in life: that you let your fears keep you home, or that you went traveling? Sometimes you just have to go for it. Everything works out in the end. Don’t turn back halfway. You can do this!
You are just as capable as everyone else.
I’m smart, I’m capable, and I have common sense. If other people can travel the world, why can’t I? What makes me think I lack the skills? I realized that there was no reason I couldn’t do what these other people did. I was just as good as everyone else.
Don’t doubt yourself. You got by in your life just fine now. The same will be true when you travel. Moreover, now has never been an easier time to travel thanks to all the resources available online and all the sharing economy websites that help connect you with other travelers.
Responsibilities can vanish in a flash.
Everyone uses “responsibility” as the main reason to avoid travel. But that is just your fear telling you that you have things at home that can’t be let go of. However, those responsibilities are simply chains that hold you down. When I quit my job, I didn’t have to work anymore. When I canceled my bills, they disappeared. When I sold my car, the payments were gone. When I sold my stuff, I didn’t have any. We think this is all very complicated, but with a few phone calls, everything that held me back was gone, taken care of. Suddenly, my responsibilities disappeared. Vaporized. It is easier to cut the cord than you think.
You will find a job when you get home.
Another reason people get held back is the belief that when they go overseas, they will become unemployable. They worry that employers will see a gap in their résumé and not want to hire them. But in this globalized world, having experience with foreign cultures and people is a real asset. So is showing that you are independent, courageous, and capable. After all, no one makes it around the world without learning these skills. Employers realize this and now look at travel as a positive thing that teaches intangible personal skills no business school ever could.
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You will make friends.
People always ask me how I make friends on the road. They tell me that they’re not very social and that it’s hard for them to meet strangers. The truth is that when you travel, you are never alone. There are many solo travelers out there in the same boat as you. You’ll find people who will come up and talk to you, even if you are too scared to go up to them. I used to be nervous talking to strangers, but the fear subsides as you eventually realize that everyone wants to make new friends. And one of those friends is you.
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You can always come back.
If you make it three months into your trip and decide that long-term travel isn’t for you, it’s perfectly OK to go home. There’s no shame in cutting your trip short. Maybe traveling isn’t for you, but you would never have known if you didn’t try. There’s no such thing as failure in the world of travel. Travel teaches us many things including, that sometimes, we don’t like to travel. Getting up and going is more than most people do, and if it isn’t for you, at least you tried. That in itself is a major accomplishment.
Fear is an element that affects everything we do. Yes, fear is a healthy biological response designed to make sure we don’t do foolish things. But, in many ways, fear is the reason why we never succeed. It’s scary leaving everything you know and heading off into the unknown. However, once you look at why you are afraid of doing it, you’ll realize there’s no reason to be. You can travel. You are capable. It’s not as hard as you think.
Don’t let fear win.
Note: This article was originally published in 2011 but redone and updated with new tips and links in 2018.
The post How to Overcome Your Travel Fears appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.
