Lonely Graves

Travel Guide

Amsterdam may be the city of canals and charming bicycle rides but this is a side of the city that really delves into the underbelly  – we visit the red light district, the immigrant areas, the possibility of a terror plot bubbling under the surface and some dark dealings down on the dank canal sides.

“Strong currents push down a wide waterway, thrust up a narrower one, circle back along another,sending the young man jerking and threshing through the canals, limbs flailing in a manic underwater dance.”

The canals take on a much darker tone when the immigrants body washes up in the Prinsengracht canal for example. As do the coffee shops and residential and industrial parts of the city that on a normal visit to the city you would probably never visit.

The most fascinating discovery is of course the Lonely Funerals team  – which the author mentions in a note that it is in fact true. What a poignant and yet very sad fact that someone would die so anonymously in this interconnected world we live in. Fascinating to learn about the people who do this job though.

“..the centuries old obligation on the Burgermeester to take responsibility for unclaimed corpses within the city limits. these days, that mostly meant tramps and junkies, lonely old men and women, people rejected by their families, the odd tourist who dropped dead in the street or one of the window-girls with false papers.”