Answers From Amsterdam: Part Eight
What mode of transportation do you use most frequently and on average how far do you have to travel this way to get the necessities?
Biking, the lifeblood of the transportation system of the Netherlands. Biking is to the Dutch as driving is to Americans. They bike to school, to the supermarket, to the movies, to other cities, and even all the way across the city just to find a cafe bathed in the glow of the afternoon sun (something to be treasured in the usually raining/cloudy weather of Amsterdam). And by ‘they’ I also mean me. I literally bike everywhere, whether it is five minutes to the grocery store or campus, or 30-45 minutes to a cafe/bar on the far side of the city (I live in suburb south of the centrum of Amsterdam), and 60-90 minutes to a a nearby city or the beach. Rain or shine, cold or hot (well semi-warm because I’ve yet to experience hot weather), day or night, with winds up to 30mph, and even snow and ice, you’ll find me biking (or sliding when it is snow and ice) around the city. Being able to bike anywhere anytime creates a feeling of ultimate freedom. I really can’t imagine a life without a bike, and I’m already wondering how this will change my life upon returning to the States.
