With this being my first trip out of the US in 11 years, I would say my ten days in the Amsterdam were an easy transition between America and Europe. This I propose with confidence as Amsterdam as a city caters to tourists with a great degree of homage to American ways with its neon lights, plentiful souvenir shops, and never ending night life to name a few. That is not to say that such things are exclusively American, nor characteristic of the typical American city. The fact of the matter is that Amsterdam is not the authentic European experience in the traditional sense of medieval cities with unique and historic cultures. But then again, that may be my own stereotypical image of Europe that I had before actually experiencing it firsthand.
Going along with the theme of expectations, with our final full day in the Netherlands we visited Zaandam, a city that reflects the often imagined vision of the country as a land of windmills, wetlands, cows, and clogs. Although I enjoyed the rural experience of Holland, I found it strange that such a place was so commodified into another tourist attraction. Everything consisted of souvenir shops that made the whole atmosphere seem too inauthentic. To add to this slight disappointment, there was even a photo taken of each of us upon entering the open air museum. I found it not too different than what we see at amusement parks back in the US.
To sum up these thoughts, there is obviously a large discrepancy between our expectations and the actual reality of the situation. Of course, we had a limited scope of the Netherlands -- and I did in fact find Leiden and Haarlem to meet my imaginations of Europe. But what we have in our minds are influenced by many inauthentic sources that combine to form an intriguing and believable image of foreign, exotic lands. It may be best to moderate these thoughts as we continue on our tour of the Low Countries.
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