Kierran Allardice is a journalism student at Glasgow Caledonian University. He has a love for sport and passion for statistics.

Why not take a leaf out of Amsterdam’s book?

Just last week myself and the other half spent five fantastic days sweating like pigs and walking until our feet ached in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam.

Over the course of our time there I fell in love with the beautiful and got to thinking...why don’t more cities take a leaf out of Amsterdam’s book?

I have to admit prior to the trip I knew very little about the city aside from its legalisation of cannabis, its abundance of prostitutes and it has canals, just not quite as many as Venice.

But as I say, now I am in love with the place.

The city has a laid back feel to it; despite it becoming an evermore popular tourist destination it doesn’t have the same hustle and bustle and loudness that you would associate with the likes of London. Or maybe it’s the powerful aroma of cannabis you get as you walk by every second pub or café on its narrow streets. Whatever it may be, I love it.

Then there’s the traffic – you’d think with trams, busses, cars and bicycles all over there’d be problems galore but that couldn’t be further from the case. Having separate lanes for all modes of transport works brilliantly and eliminates any real build up of traffic. Yes, it makes crossing the road as a pedestrian a bit more of a challenge but we can cope with that.

Of course we can’t forget about the legalisation of cannabis – a contributing factor to the chilled atmosphere around the city. During our time there I didn’t witness a single fight nor any spot of bother for that matter and that was with a lenient and sparse police presence and I can’t help but think that the popularity of cannabis in the city has an important role in that. Now I’m not saying we should legalise it I’m just pointing out that it seems to work for them.

And finally a subject which is almost seen as taboo and too embarrassing to discuss in this country – sex. With the reputation and publicity of the Red Light District it is hard to hide from the subject and Amsterdam seems to do anything but. In their science centre, NEMO, which is primarily aimed at kids there is a whole section about sex, would we see that in this or any other country? Probably not.

So after spending five days in Amsterdam I think it’s time other cities follow its lead and its laid back attitude.