BRIEF HISTORY OF AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam is like no city I have ever been to. The city is full of history, charm, bridges, canals and legalized marijuana and prostitution. A great way to explore and learn about it for the first time is to hire a private guide, or have a local friend show you around. Luckily, I had both. If you want a professional guide, one of the best (according to the Netherlands Tourist Board) is Yvonne Zumpolle. She grew up in Holland and speaks Dutch, French, German, Italian and English. Yvonne gave us a great in-depth walking tour of the city. We learned how it was founded as a fishing village around 1270 along the banks of the Amstel River. We heard about the Golden Age (17th century) when Amsterdam was one of the richest cities in Europe, and wealthy merchants built beautiful houses that still line the canals today. And we learned how the German troops occupied the city during World War II. They deported more than 100,000 Jews � almost the entire Jewish population. To learn more about the most famous Dutch Jew, visit the Anne Frank Museum.

PRIVATE TOUR GUIDE
Yvonne said that Amsterdam has more canals than Venice, and more bridges than Paris. Who knew? I also had no idea the city is made up of 90 small islands. For more Amsterdam info and history, click here. COST: Yvonne charges 125E ($158) for a half day (up to 4 hours), 190E ($240) for a full day (up to 9 hours). Yvonne's telephone number is: 31-50-31-13-177; her e-mail is: zumpolle@home.nl.

THE DUTCH
Amsterdam is an amazing place. Besides its physical charms, what really makes this city is the people. Over 170 nationalities are represented, but almost everyone speaks English and seems to get along. The Dutch are not overly friendly, but they are courteous and happy to help a lost tourist. The Dutch are also very tall people. Walking around the streets, I felt short � and I'm 6 feet tall! I read that the average height for adult males (5-11) and females (5-6) makes them the tallest people in the world. The Dutch are also probably some of the toughest. Frank and I met my friend Petra for dinner. Walking back to her bike to say goodnight, it started to pour � and it was cold and windy. When we offered to get her a taxi for the 3-mile trip home she laughed and said, "I'm not made of sugar. We (the Dutch) ride our bikes in all types of weather."

BIKING
Speaking of which, biking is a way of life in Amsterdam. The ground in The Netherlands is very flat, and the country has are over 11,000 miles of bike paths. The population of Amsterdam is 740,000 � and there 600,000 bicycles! (Similarly, there are 16,299,000 residents in The Netherlands, and over 13 million bicycles.) Practically everyone here rides � even Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. There are even multi-level parking lots just for bicycles. Is that awesome? For more click HERE.