Amsterdam is a friendly place. The first thing I did when I got off the train was have a broodje haring: herring with pickles, onions and mayonnaise on a bulky roll. It was very tasty. I noticed the cold, too. The wind had a bit more bite in it. I wouldn't be wearing just t-shirts anymore, that's for sure. I also noticed that Amsterdam and Salzburg shared a connection: it was hard to read maps. Salzburg gets a pass because it was after Oktoberfest and all that. Well to avoid any arguments, I guess Amsterdam gets a pass, too. But my point is this: have a good map of the city streets. It will always come in handy. And don't expect you'll get one once you arrive in a city, no sir. For the most part I did. But not in Salzburg or Amsterdam. It doesn't take anything away from those cities, mind you. It just would have helped to have known where I was at certain moments of time.
I came to Amsterdam knowing one thing: sit back and watch the vibe ride by. I walked the city. The canals...the Anne Frank house...Van Gogh...the Red Light District. Dozens of languages and everyone knew how to communicate. Stopping for a slice of pie. A beer in this pub. A coffee in this shop. Walking home at night in cloudy alleys and out-of-reach marketplaces. Watching the busy. The random yelps of desire. Down another sidewalk.
Amsterdam doesn't seem to sleep, so it seems. I know that NY has quite a reputation and some places did start to close up shop around here after 3 am. I know this. But the city itself, its pulse, didn't stop. Chris and I walked around the town, with our hotel room as the ultimate destination, but not the absolute. And what we saw and heard and were probably lucky to walk by without breaking stride, will be remembered well by me.
The view from my hotel room.
I have been drinking a lot of coffee here. There are lots of coffee shops that serve coffee and it seems like people come here to drink coffee. The Dutch serve good coffee, too. They know their coffee and take the time to educate you on various coffee's.
