amsterdam: where the canals are more confusing than my love life

well, here i am in amsterdam again. this city's got its hooks in me, i think. it's funny how you can visit a place once and then suddenly you're back, wondering why you keep coming back when your feet hurt from all the cobblestones and you're pretty sure you've seen more canals than actual streets.

amsterdam's a weird one. it's basically a bunch of islands connected by bridges, all sitting about two meters below sea level. which is kind of terrifying when you think about it. someone told me they've got like 11 million wooden pilings holding everything up. that's a lot of wood. i guess that's why everything feels a bit wobbly here, not just because of the stroopwafels i've been eating.

the canals, oh my god the canals. there are 165 of them, which is more than venice, apparently. which is great until you're trying to find your way anywhere and every turn looks the same. i've been getting lost more times than i can count, but hey, at least the views are pretty. and there are 1,300 bridges, which is way too many for a city this size. i swear i've crossed the same bridge three times today thinking it was a different one.

cycling in amsterdam is a whole other beast. there are 400 kilometers of bike paths, and everyone uses them. like everyone. including me now, which is terrifying because i haven't ridden a bike in like ten years. if you get bored of amsterdam, i guess haarlem, utrecht, or maybe even rotterdam are just a short drive away, but why would you leave when you can almost get killed by cyclists in so many different ways?

i just checked and it's...well, it's basically freezing there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. feels like -4.3°C but it's actually a bit warmer at 0.32°C. which doesn't matter when the wind's whipping off the canals. bring a good jacket if you come. and maybe some thermal underwear. don't be like me.

the city's got 85 museums, which is insane for a place this size. someone told me that the rijksmuseum is amazing but it's always crowded. i tried to go but the line was so long i decided to just get stroopwafels instead. which was probably the right decision. the anne frank house is another one everyone says you should see, but it's pretty heavy. bring tissues. and maybe a therapist.

the food here's interesting. lots of chinese and indonesian restaurants, which is surprising but also makes sense given the colonial history. haven't tried much dutch food yet, but i hear there's something called haring which is basically raw fish. pass.

what i love about amsterdam, though, is how it feels alive. like it's got this history but it's not stuck in the past. there are houseboats everywhere, which is cool until you realize some people actually live on them year-round. and the architecture's beautiful, all those fancy gables on the old houses. don't even get me started on the red light district. it's exactly what you'd expect, but also completely different.

if you come here, wear comfortable shoes. the cobblestones will murder your feet. also, don't try to drive. just don't. even the locals don't really drive here. it's bikes, trams, and walking. mostly bikes. so many bikes.

amsterdam's a mess. it's cold, it's confusing, it's crowded. but i can't imagine not coming back. there's something about this place that gets under your skin. maybe it's the canals, maybe it's the history, maybe it's just the fact that i've gotten lost in it so many times it feels like home now. whatever it is, it works. and i can't wait to come back and get lost all over again.

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