by Jeroen M. A. Vogel

Created on: November 25, 2009   Last Updated: November 26, 2009

You know what's really hard? Being from Amsterdam! As a visitor in New York City, I was forced to smoke marihuana once. Refusing was not an option. "You are from AMSTERDAM!" the dude said. "You are used to it! Come on man, have a drag!"

Ladies and gentlemen, if all these kind of prejudices were true, the Dutch would live in windmills, walk around on wooden shoes and water their tulips while having a joint hanging between their lips. The truth is quite the opposite and it's a great feeling that most folks know better than that. All prejudices exist for reason and it's no different with the image of Amsterdam. Amsterdam has 243 coffeeshops and yes, it is tolerated to smoke marihuana. This means that smoking joints has become part of the Dutch - not just Amsterdam - culture and it's a reason why many youngsters come to the city and enjoy the freedom that is hard to find elsewhere in the world. As for the other prejudices: there are two or three windmills left in Amsterdam (more can be found outside of the city), nobody walks around on wooden shoes anymore and tulips are only to be seen in flower shops or outside the city in spring time.

Amsterdam got its name from the river Amstel, on which some fishermen built a dam. The village that evolved around the dam, was first known as Amstelredam, later bastardized to Amsterdam. The location of the village was great for trading: easily accessible both over land and water. The village attracted people from all over, kept growing and became a real city. Expansions took place: when the oldest part was filled with buildings and canals, a master plan was created to built the new parts of the city almost entirely around the old parts. The three biggest canals date from that era. Huge warehouses arose along the canals, so that goods could be stocked there for the time being. The canals and the buildings along it them are the face of nowadays Amsterdam.

Besides a history of trade, Amsterdam has faced battles and plagues. People became rich there, many more remained poor and the stories from history - full of tragedy and drama - are numerous. But the old city center still stands there; unharmed and is now to be nominated for a place on the World Heritage List of Unesco.

Getting a place to stay in Amsterdam is quite easy. The hostel chain of Stayokay has three hostels around the city. Two of them are in the city center, the third one is just outside. Don't expect double-sized beds with televisions and jacuzzi's as this is not a

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