Now that I'm back on top of things at work, my Amsterdam-mania seems to have settled down to a more reasonable level as well.
I've spent a lot of time looking at this web site:
AXXXTW
It's a really well-done guide to sex and drugs and Amsterdam in general. Parts of it are hilarious.
I also started reading two really good books about the city. One is just called Amsterdam by Geert Mak and it's just a straight-up history of the city from settlement down to the present.
The other is The embarrassment of riches : an interpretation of Dutch culture in the golden age by Simon Schama. It's all about how quirky Dutch culture is.
The thing that strikes me already is that Amsterdam, and the Netherlands in general, seem to be an instance of capitalism working properly. From the very beginning the people with money had to cooperate to keep the sea from destroying them all. You can't stab anyone in the back when you're building a new dike.
Can't wait.
I've spent a lot of time looking at this web site:
AXXXTW
It's a really well-done guide to sex and drugs and Amsterdam in general. Parts of it are hilarious.
I also started reading two really good books about the city. One is just called Amsterdam by Geert Mak and it's just a straight-up history of the city from settlement down to the present.
The other is The embarrassment of riches : an interpretation of Dutch culture in the golden age by Simon Schama. It's all about how quirky Dutch culture is.
The thing that strikes me already is that Amsterdam, and the Netherlands in general, seem to be an instance of capitalism working properly. From the very beginning the people with money had to cooperate to keep the sea from destroying them all. You can't stab anyone in the back when you're building a new dike.
Can't wait.
Funny you should mention the torture exhibition in Sienna, because when I was there I passed by it. A "torture museum" I think, featuring a skeleton in a body-shaped cage at the entrance, if I remember correctly. I was with little sisters and a mom and what-not, and thus ended up not actually going in, but it looked so interesting.
Anyway, thanks for the comment on my journal.