In the port of Amsterdam...

Well friends, we are no longer in North America! We arrived in Amsterdam at 8am (local time) on Friday the 18th (that's 2am Friday EST). As promised, I have been journaling religiously since arriving, so as not to forget a thing. But, as often happens when one journals, I find most of what I've written to be of the most mundane quality. Perhaps when I get back to regularly accessible internets I will type it all up and back-log it to give the public the full picture, but for right now, I think I will give you the stream-lined/bulleted version of Amsterdam (thus far).

Some Observations About Amsterdam

• 1. Bikes.
  I swear to you, I have never seen so many bikes in my entire life! There cannot possibly be as many people in this city as there are bikes. We're talking thousands upon thousands upon thousands, most of them parked where ever there are light posts, fences, etc to chain them to.
• 2. Canals
  They are the most beautiful and my favorite part about the city. They seem to permeate (or perhaps "accent" is a better word) every neighborhood in the city. Every canal is shaded by trees and lined with houseboats. Very lovely.
• 3. Houseboats
  I love them! I want to live in a houseboat on a canal! As a matter of fact, our lodgings here in town are actually on a boat (cue Lonely Island), so that has been really fun. Snug, but fun.
• 4. An analogy:
  Heineken & Amstel : Amsterdam :: Budweiser & Coors : USA
  (I could really go for a porter right now.)
• 5. Red Light District
  Pretty low-key during the day, but as the sun sets (around 10pm), it really heats up. Apparently they recently cut back how many windows girls are allowed to advertise in, so we really didn't see too many. No worries, though; there were still enough sex shops and advertisements for live sex shows to make it feel really seedy.

There is so much more to tell, but we will save that for another time. Be well!