A Tale of Two Cities

 A Tale of Two Cities

In full transparency, we did not visit the red light district of Amsterdam, else I would have titled this post A Sale of Two Titties. 😂

It's a little unfair to directly compare Amsterdam and Bruges as we walked much of Amsterdam but only the City Centre of Bruges. But here are some observations. 

Amsterdam is an imperfect, slightly tartish, intriguing, beguiling, magnetic siren. Buildings and streets are not straight. 

 Some tipsy buildings are leaning or separating from their neighbours. Constant upgrades are required as the ground is so spongy. 

Bicycles are Kings. They have or just take the right of way The population of the Netherlands is 18 million. Sixty percent of the population cycles daily. There are 23 million bicycles in the country. So many dedicated bicycle lanes, and brother beware, they zoom along not wanting to stop for pedestrians who cross those lanes. We all had some close calls. I was almost as daunted here as I was with the scooter rodeos in Southeast Asia. Almost no one wears helmets or has a warning bell or horn. 

Racks are designed to keep handle bars from becoming entangled. And those romantic pictures of bikes lining the railings of the bridge canals? Most have been fished from the canals. Between 12-15 000 are pulled out each year. Those bikes are rusting, tires are flat and some chains are missing. 

Most residences use exterior pulley systems to get furniture or large items to upper floors as the stairways are so narrow. 

Electric cars are cheaper to buy than gas or hybrid vehicles and many cars are teeny. 

Sixty percent of all electricity in the Netherlands is generated by wind turbines. They are everywhere. I'd love to tie down a certain bothersome personality in a chair in the middle of a wind farm. It would be like water drip torture. 

I found Amsterdam to be a fun, egalitarian, edgy playground. I was always wondering what's around the next corner or on the other side of the canal. it reminded me of my wanderlust motorcycling days. 

Bruges has a proper, rather prudish, conservative, what you see is what you get vibe. When the harbour silted up in the 16th century and trade shifted to Antwerp, the city virtually was bankrupted. There was no money for development or building so the medieval layout remained intact, unchanging. Through Napoleon and both world wars, Bruges did not suffer major damage through canons or bombs, unlike Amsterdam's demolition. And the Catholicism here was very conservative. so time has kind of stopped still. The restaurants are fairly large and colourful and upscale as opposed to Amsterdam's small dark cafes. 

 

I would find the unchanging motif and lack of modernization here stultifying, same old, same old. 

If I were to choose which city to live in, the  Amsterdam vibe is more appealing to me. it seems like a more dynamic atmosphere. 

I hope you enjoyed this travelogue. We three found the experience to be totally gratifying. We cycled six straight days for about 360 km. I could happily have gone longer. 

I'm already checking out sailing and island-hopping cycling in Croatia, a Tuscany food and wine cycle and bicycling Northern Vietnam that I did not see during my stay there.

The highlights of the trip?

The Magnifique III crew and our cycling guides

The newly formed friendships with an international group. We meshed since we all love to cycle and learn about cultures. 

The visit to the Grosebeek Canadian War Cemetary.

The cycling

The Disappointments?

Not being able to stop for photos of the landscape

Most Belgian beer 

Be well, and travel with your feet or bicycle or motorcycle or vehicle or through literature and media. The experience opens so many new doors.