I'm cycling through Amsterdam’s historic centre, a UNESCO world heritage site and an enduring testimony to the city’s rich history. During the Golden Age in the 17th century, Amsterdam’s port was at the centre of a global trade network, with ships sailing to Asia, Africa, Brazil and the Americas, and merchants trading goods across Europe. I pass in front of Paradiso, the iconic rock music venue where bands like The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, The Cure, Nirvana performed, but also more recently Lenny Kravitz and Amy Winehouse. Along with the nearby Milky Way, it became synonymous with the hippie counterculture and the rock music of the seventies. I turn right and then left and I cycle on the Prinsengracht, one of main canals, where warehouses built in the 17th century are still in good shape. Much has changed since then: in those days merchants travelling to Brazil were away for months, maybe even years. Today, businessmen fly to São Paulo and are back in the polder within...
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