Hello Readers,

how are you doing? Wow it is so warm today – 31°C and sunny! Summer has once again returned to Switzerland.

If you’ve been following my blog then you will know that I am currently inside, with all the windows shut. Why? Yep – wasp season is upon us.

I will however try and brave it this afternoon and head out to Zurich.

Last weekend I went to Amsterdam and it was fantastic.

I had tickets to go see Bianca Del Rio (my favourite Drag Queen) which I had booked in 1 BC (Before Corona) and had been rescheduled to August 2021. I had an extra ticket so I posted on the Zurich DragRace Facebook group and a friendship with my travelling companion Adelaide was born!

Amsterdam is a fantastic city. It’s a city of contrasts. Along the canal you have these wonderful old Merchant houses with beautiful doors. The windows allow you to peek into to elegant living rooms filled with books – whereas the next window you will see an aging prostitute with the words “Sex Barbie” stretched across her breasts waiting for the next customer to come. (Hopefully quickly).

I loved the atmosphere of the city. It’s a city of tolerance. You are free to live how you wish – just aslong as you don’t cause any harm to others.

This is reflected in the attitude of the police towards “Coffee shops” where one can purchase cannabis. They don’t advertise the fact that they’re selling cannabis or that you can smoke cannabis in there (it is infact illegal to use drugs) but the police tend to turn a blind eye as the shops say “Coffee Shops” and not “Cannabis Shops”.

It’s a city of sexuality. We went during the pride parade and it was so refreshing to see people act how they wish.

It’s a clean and stylish city and they want to keep it that way. The streets are being cleaned constantly. It is a city which got it’s money by trading. It imported spices and materials and exported it all away – this is evident in the fact that the Dutch cuisine is pretty bland (think everything just deep fried annd then combined with alcohol) – hence the title of my lesson.

What I loved (and what is similar to here in Switzerland) is that you can take a bus and in 20 minutes you are in the countryside. I visited some beautiful little towns outside of Amsterdam. Broek in Waterland, Volendam and Marken. Beautiful little towns on the water.

I also did try cannabis for the first (and last time). It was an interesting feeling – to have your brain completely shut down and to have time slow right down – but it’s not a feeling I enjoyed – however I can understand how one can get addicted to that feeling.

Amsterdam is definitely a city which I can recommend!

As always – thanks for reading 🙂

Laura xoxoxoxo