“The rise of the Dutch Republic must ever be regarded as one of the leading events of modern times.” ~ John Lothrop Motley

By Catherine Austin Fitts

When I was growing up in Philadelphia, the boardwalk in Atlantic City was the place to go for people watching. The central district of Amsterdam is Atlantic City to the exponential power of ten. It’s the ultimate global boardwalk.

It feels like everyone is here – from across Europe, from the Middle East and Africa, from North and South America, from Asia and “Down Under.” There are businessmen and hustlers and beautiful women and dog lovers; there are spotters and spies and pick pockets and con men. There are cheesemakers and chefs, bouncers and bodybuilders.  The young people pour through the streets all day and all night engaged in a European version of Rumspringa.

The city is built around canals – and the charm and the beauty of the sidewalks and bridges along the canals will take your breath away.

As many people as Amsterdam has, it has even more bicycles. If you are interested in assisted suicide, just step into the bicycle lanes in Amsterdam without looking both ways!

I have been working at the central library – Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam, or OBA for short.

Enjoying life on the road means finding a good gym. I found Basic Fit only a few blocks from my hotel.

Needless to say, the best place to eat is at the fresh food markets and cafes – there are more than you could visit in a lifetime! Here is La Place where I had lunch today.

If you are in the area, join me for lunch on October 17 at Hampshire Hotel. The leadership of GlobalBEM (and of the Secret Space Conference) will be joining us – so a fascinating time for sure.

I will be here until October 23rd.  Amsterdam is a major financial center – I am hoping to learn more about the Dutch markets while I am here. The Amsterdam stock market – now merged with the Brussels and Paris markets into Euronext – is the oldest in the world.

Ah, the birthplace of the stock markets and trading clubs. You know I’m happy here!