Little Venice of Amsterdam

Not as crowded with tourists as the real Venice, Amsterdam and its “Little Venice” create a very pleasant atmosphere. Unlike Venice, the large canals in the Dutch capital serve both to manage water and to develop residential areas.

About some six years ago, I returned to Amsterdam. That time was different from the two times about 20 years and 10 years ago because I went with my wife. Still as eager as the two times I traveled alone.

From Schiphol Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, it takes more than 15 minutes by train to reach Amsterdam Central Station. It was 11 AM on a day in May; it was raining, albeit lightly, but enough to lower the already cool temperature a bit more, down to about 10 degrees Celsius.

We huddled in our fluffy warm coats, holding umbrellas, and began half a day of literally wandering in the capital of a country famous for its many canals, to the extent that places like Herengracht, besides the name “Noble Canal,” also earned the nickname “Little Venice of Amsterdam.” That was also the first place we visited. Because it is quite close to Amsterdam

Actually, the Dutch capital, with its winding canal system resembling the flowing hair of an artist amidst the long stretches of streets, could be called “Little Venice” anywhere.

There are no shortage of areas in other European cities that bear this nickname. For example, in London, the capital of England, there is also a place called the “Little Venice of London”!

So the “Little Venice of Amsterdam” compared to the real Venice of Italy is quite a mismatch. On one side, there are countless rivers and canals, with houses right at the water’s edge, where people mainly walk or use boats; on the other side, although there are many canals, the houses are set back from the water, with a moderate number of cars and quite a few bicycles…

But in Amsterdam, it’s less crowded because there aren’t as many tourists as in Venice, creating a pleasant feeling for my wife and me. And it was unmistakable: long lines of bicycles parked along the bridge embankments.

The city-capital, with an estimated population of 1.2 million, also has an estimated half a million bicycles. They have been used for commuting for a long time – surely very much loved by the people, without needing any promotion to turn a city into a quiet and fresh place with less vehicular pollution. Therefore, in Amsterdam, you sometimes have to be careful when walking: as soon as you hear the bell ring, you might see a bicycle appear and it could crash into you!

So on the sidewalk, we had to walk close to the houses; on the bridge, we had to walk along the bridge’s railing. Recalling that moment, the sky was drizzling with light rain and gentle breezes blowing across the bridge made us shiver from time to time…