The Canals

Amsterdam would not be the same without its canals. There might still be Golden Age architecture, trams, "brown cafes," and museums, and maybe locals would retain their iconoclastic outlook on life -- but without a mirror of water to reflect its soul, the city would be a shrunken glory.

I once lived aside an Amsterdam canal. Not one of the Golden Age canals, but still an honest-to-goodness Amsterdam canal. Barges, powerboats, Frisian skûtsjes, and rowboats all glided past my window. In winter, I could step out my front door, jump down onto the frozen water, strap on long-bladed Noren, and skate all the way to the North Sea if I wanted to.

I've happily played captain of my own water bike while Amsterdam friends I had lured aboard hid their faces for shame at being seen on such a "tourist trap." I even love the glass-topped canal boats, with their view of Amsterdam from the finest vantage point of all -- you just sit back and let the city flow around and through you. I never tire of seeing what is, to me, quite simply the finest cityscape in the world.