Photo: Sasha Naod

The city's queerness itself, though palpable to the visitor, is much harder to define. However one thing's for sure: when visiting Amsterdam, you're definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Historically, Amsterdam has had a lively gay community with a series of colourful haunts around town that were - and still are - as permissive as they come. Amsterdam has long-attracted sexual dissidents from around Europe that took refuge in its tolerant culture. Yes, today, there are still the numerous gay bars, bookshops and cafes catering to all tastes from frilly pop queens to those whose penchant is more for leather.

This much is certainly in keeping with the laissez-faire attitude of the town, but it's unremarkable if you consider that nearly every other European city can boast more or less the same. What not many other cities can boast a cast of quirky local characters and happenings – and in such great concentration. There is a well-known inline skater in Vondelpark (the city park) who wears only a g-string while on the fly; Dutch cabinet ministers who decided to pose for Playboy.

Much to my amusement I even read in the services section of the local English paper about a pierced, nude skinhead punk who performs massage. The list goes on, and it’s hard not to fall in love with such eccentricity.

Oddly enough, much of the queerness in Amsterdam revolves around nudity – which, let’s face it, is the most obvious way to express liberalism and individualism in one go. My first introduction to the Dutch naturist tendencies was at my local gym.

I visited the sauna to wind down after my first workout – in bathers (as one is wont to do anywhere outside north-western Europe, it seems). To my surprise I encountered a room full of nudies of both sexes, happily chatting away – and giving me a cursory glance. Mental note to self, I thought: don’t pack the bathers next time. I’ve since discovered the liberation that nudity can bring, and have heard about – though not attended, it must be said – the regular Tuesday night skinny dipping in the city pool, even a gym that offers one nude Sunday per month. Don’t forget your towel – really.

Gay and straight alike, the Dutch certainly have no shame – and there is much in this for someone brought up in our prudish Anglo culture.

Other oddities include restaurant Sucre which only serves desserts, and yet another where you eat whatever you’re given (food preferences announced upon entry); the TV talk show called Spuiten and Slikken (Shoot and Swallow). Next to all this, the annual gay pride march (though a wild day out) is an exercise in blandness. Picture getting queerer now?

I'm told that it's quite common for Dutch boys to have a same-sex experience and think nothing of it - compare that to the poofter panic you're likely to experience down under. Image and fashion-conscious Dutchmen have a discernable soft edge - they possess the same narcissistic tendencies as most European males - and machismo is as foreign a concept here as Pavlova.

Figuring out which way your waiter sways could keep you guessing for hours, but it's nice to stare and the glacier-stopping cheekbones in the process anyway.

Dutch women, on the other hand, are tough chicks to say the least, and have been known to take to their bikes in mini-skirts in the dead of winter. Perhaps this is part of what drew Dusty Springfield to shack up here for her so-called "Amsterdam years." While the lesbian scene is more invisible, it's definitely here and you don't have to look hard before stumbling on a girl bar or cafe.

Getting to know the Dutch, however, can be challenging. Language is the first obvious barrier, although most people speak English very well, but you also have to get past the famous “Dutch shell:” the invisible line that you’ll just never cross if you’re not a local. ‘If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much’ as the saying goes (ironically in English) – and with good reason.

Those who are expecting in Amsterdam the variety and depth of experience found in bigger European cities like Paris or London will be disappointed. Amsterdam is a big village with big city pretentions, and, like the Cheers bar, is also a place where everybody knows your name. In an ordinary gay scene the possibility of running into your ex so easily could wreak havoc on the fragile ego, but Amsterdammers seem to take it all in their stride and it’s often part of the joke.

For a quaint queer experience, in Amsterdam you simply can't go wrong.