Irrevent Guide to Amsterdam

Wonderful, wild, too-good-to-be-true Amsterdam and its
sometimes self-consciously cool, cultivated denizens lend themselves
to tongue-in-cheek treatment. Few Europeans are so
forthright, so ready to make fun of themselves, their history, language,
and customs as the inhabitants of this small, flat, watery
capital of a small, flat, watery country. “Our hearts are on our
tongues,” goes an old Amsterdam saying. So much for the stereotype
of the dour Dutch: Amsterdammers are disarmingly
friendly, fun—and irreverent.