Canals in Amsterdam

On the Friday of my weekend trip to Amsterdam, after much debate regarding our plans for the day, some friends and I finally decided on taking a walking tour of the city. We made our way to the city’s information center to meet the tour. Thanks to Amsterdam’s relatively compact nature, the walk took only minutes. Even in this short walk, we crossed probably five rivers and were nearly run over by many more speeding bicyclists.

After arriving at the information center we met our tour guide, Sandy. Like many other Amsterdamers I encountered on the trip, she did not grow up in Amsterdam. In fact, she was from Alaska. She was also extremely energetic. It seemed that in Amsterdam, more than in any other city I have been in, people sacrificed everything from energy to dignity in an attempt to benefit from the massive tourism market. Since it was a free tour and Sandy was working for tips, she screamed facts, motioned wildly with her hands, and acted out historical scenes for each spectacle we came upon. Although at the time I found this somewhat annoying (as did many of the locals), I am surprised how much I actually remember as a result of Sandy’s over the top presentation.

Perhaps my favorite part of the tour was Sandy’s explanation of Amsterdam’s canal system. Of course the collection of rivers throughout the city was one of the first features I noticed. The canals run through Amsterdam in a series of expanding horse shoes, dividing the city into tons of small districts. If you were to take a quick look at the water flowing though these canals, you would think the entire city smells like a public restroom. This was not the case and, until the walking tour, I was rather perplexed by this phenomenon. Luckily, Sandy came to the rescue when she stopped the group on a small footbridge over one of these little rivers. She explained that three times a week the entire canal system is drained and cleaned. I wondered to myself, “Then why do the canals still look like sewage?”, but kept the question to myself for fear of upsetting Sandy. Thanks to this unique system of changing the water, the canals are filled with pleasure boats ferrying people around the city. In my opinion, these canals contribute to Amsterdam’s aesthetics more than any other aspect of the city. The canals reflect all of Amsterdam’s incredible architecture, people, and natural beauty while simultaneously serving as a means of transportation.

When Sandy finished her canal talk, we moved to our next stop. I was surprised when the group came to a halt not 100 yards from our previous location. Sandy quickly pointed out a green, fence-like, spiral structure adjacent to the canal. “That is a Pissour”, she said. Now I had the pleasure of experience a couple of these “Pissours” the previous night but had not heard the history of them. Apparently, since many European bathrooms cost money, men in Amsterdam often decided to relieve themselves in the canals, streets, and sidewalks. To combat this problem and keep the canals from smelling how they look, the city installed these Pissour’s as places where men could pee free of charge. Sanitary of not, they make for a great interesting history lesson or emergency pee stop.

The tour continued with many interesting stops. None of these other stops, however, will leave an impression on me comparable to that left by the canal system. The combination of beauty, ingenuity, and unique places to pee is something I will remember for a long time to come. I only hope that some day I can come back to visit them once again during another enjoyable stay in Amsterdam.

A quick history of Amsterdam’s canals: http://www.amsterdam.info/canals/