vaarwel, Amsterdam

A certain reputation precedes Amsterdam the world over, one of sexual freedom and moral ambiguity – one of unrestricted and ultra-liberal world views. Some people repeat these things with undertone and insinuation, maybe because they find such ways of life uncomfortable or repulsive, or evil. I just find them unidentifiably different, and to be honest – that kind of fascinates me.

But I knew there had to be more to Amsterdam than reputation, and there was – so much more. Just as NYC has its Times Square, so too does Amsterdam have its own tourist trap, with almost all of its populace living in the miles of surrounding city streets and canals.
Walking these streets and canals I discovered a peaceful, quiet city – one which, if you turn the right corner or walk to where shop keepers know no English, has a way of transporting you out of time.

I also discovered a little more of who I am as a person, or as a traveler at least. I love exploring – I love walking a city, or biking or taking the train – I love wandering without a map, walking down alleys and corridors. I don’t worry about looking like a tourist, I don’t excessively worry about pickpockets – though I take precautions. I love nothing more than walking through a crowded city market, seeing what there is to buy or eat, listening to the locals. I love absorbing the energy of a city by walking the conduits that lead to and from its heart, wherever that may be. I do the tourist stuff, too – but I also want to see the morning face, unmade and real, blinking in the early light.

The thing I love about Amsterdam – and places like NYC – is that everything is so easily accessible. And from the maze of streets a certain vitality of life bleeds through, a sense that here people are actively living loving learning. It’s refreshing, and reviving: it is to my soul what a deep breath of country air is to my lungs. Amsterdam has some of this effect on me – perhaps not as culturally or artistically diverse as NYC – but still, energizing.

And so, farewell Amsterdam. Farewell girls on bikes, and low-flying pidgeons, and snowstorms every 20 minutes. So long wonderful museums, and crowded markets, and sinking buildings. Goodbye houseboats covered in tulips and rust. Goodbye long walks. It was fun.