Amsterdam is the capital and major city of the Netherlands, a country barely half the size of the state of Maine. Today, this sophisticated international city has a multicultural population of 740,000 (and 600,000 bicycles), a busy harbor, multistory apartment communities, and elevated highways -- all hallmarks of a modern urban center. The modernization process has had its pluses and minuses: Much tranquility has been lost along the way, but has been replaced with an increased vibrancy. Despite it all, Amsterdam remains a kind of big village, retaining a human scale that at least affords the illusion of simplicity.
More and more people from Holland, Europe, and farther afield are making tracks toward the city. Footloose young Hollanders seem to have no other ambition than to live here -- and who can blame them when you consider the "excitement" of growing up in a squeaky-clean Dutch village?
Young Americans and Europeans still see Amsterdam as a kind of mecca of youth rebellion to which a pilgrimage must be made. Immigrants find social support systems and a relative absence of the discrimination they face in many other European cities, though some immigrant-heavy areas, like Amsterdam East and the Bijlmermeer housing project, are experiencing growing social problems. A 2003 survey projected that by 2010, white native Amsterdammers would for the first time be the minority.
Although flowers gleam in window boxes on gabled houses, and shopkeepers keep their portals tidy, and a few homemakers still wash their steps each morning, graffiti, grime, and other problems of city life inhabit Amsterdam as much as any other urban center. (The ubiquitous mounds of dog poop on the sidewalks have become something of a symbol of the city.)
But maybe you just want to know what to expect from the person in the street and behind the shop counter. Amsterdammers can be both the most infuriating and the most endearing people in the world. One minute, they treat you like a naughty child (surely you've heard the expression about someone talking to you like a Dutch uncle), and the next, they're ready for a laugh and a beer. They can be rude or cordial (it may depend on the weather), domineering, or ready to please (it may depend on you). In a shop, they may get annoyed with you if you don't accept what they have, or get mad at themselves if they don't have what you want.
Fortunately, it's easy to overlook all shortcomings. The city's historic heart is still there to beguile you with its tree-lined canals, gabled houses, and graceful bridges. The National Monument Care Office has exercised great foresight in working to preserve the 17th-century feel along the canals. You'll have no problem finding the legacy of the city's Golden Age, 400 years ago, in the new Amsterdam. Fuming traffic, power drills, pay phones, bicycles, tour boats, and souvenir stores have dulled some of the luster, yes, but a moment always arrives when a window in time opens and Amsterdam's lustrous heritage peeks out.
