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
