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add amsterdam to mr. worldwide

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Brian Picciano 2018-11-11 23:40:35 -05:00
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@ -382,3 +382,51 @@ and history and things to see, and I absolutely would love to go back. But
despite all that, there was definitely a feeling a depression while I was there,
like I was totally alone. When I got onto a plane and took off, I was more
relieved than anything else.
## Amsterdam, The Netherlands
One of the first things I noticed when I landed in The Netherlands (which is
such a strange name for a country, now that I'm typing it out) is that they have
a sun. It's a stereotype that the UK doesn't get much sun, but it was absolutely
a true one while I was there. There was literally cloud cover the whole time.
That probably had to do with why my mood was down the whole time, unbenownst to
me.
With my extremely pale ginger self back under the sun, it felt like I'd been
holding my breath for weeks and I was now finally able to breathe again.
Amsterdam is sometimes called the Venice of the North. Like Bruges. Unlike
Bruges, Amsterdam is gritty and in some places delapidated. The buildings are
sinking into the soft, slightly-under-sea-level Holland soil, and so lean
precariously over the streets. House boats line nearly all canals, many
appearing abandoned. Most canals have a layer of debris and trash floating on
them.
Some parts of the city are littered with bars and clubs and "coffee shops",
giving them a grunge feel. And others had wildly colored houses and quiet
corners on the canal. And then the museum district, with the amazing Van Gogh
Musuem and the laborynthian Rijksmuseum (those were the two I went in, there's
like five in that little square). And still there's the red light district, with
sex shops and cheesy tourist shit and live shows and, obviously, prostitutes.
They each have a little window where they try to grab your attention from. It's
kinda weird.
Despite that, Amsterdam was probably my second favorite place I visted on the
whole trip. Like Lisbon, the city feels real. The grunge lets you know people
actually live there. The hostel I stayed in was really cool, and I made a bunch
of friends. One of the nights there I confirmed a long-held suspicion: that I
would hate bar crawls. Now I know for sure. On a different night me and friends
went out, visited a "coffee shop", and hit up the Sex Museum. This turned out to
be a great idea; it wasn't even that raunchy, just kind of mind-boggling.
Amsterdam also turned out to have the best Belgian fries I've ever had, for
whatever reason, and they ended up being my lunch almost every day. I'd grab my
fry-cone and wander the canals, finding small corners and tucked away cafes to
sit and read at. I wouldn't have thought that a city known for nightlife could
also be home to so many serene little spots; nevertheless, the city is full of
them.
My bus out of Amsterdam was an 8 hour overnight journey which deposited me in
Copenhagen. Before getting on the bus I killed the last of my "coffee" that was
in my pocket, contorted myself into a ball fitting into the two seats of space I
grabbed, and got the best sleep I've ever gotton on a bus.