Amsterdam on the weekend

Europeans are a lot more accustomed to being in close proximity not only with one another but in how they live as well, it seems. Even more so here in The Netherlands where space is tight and so many want to be right in the middle of everything that is going on. Cynthia and I arrived yesterday and stayed the night with some friends of hers in a small city/suburb outside of Leiden called Katwijk. It was ideal to me - although cramped, everyone had little balconies or gardens, everyone was out biking or walking (seeningly all night long) and they escape to the North Sea beaches in the warmer months to stretch their legs. Not so in Amsterdam.

Here, everything is busy, frantic, packed with tourists speaking a hundred languages I've never heard and walking or biking every which-way. I'm not good in places like these, I don't like being hot and tired and being bumped into constantly by strangers. The houses lean in to one another here and even the canals that make me think this city is the Venice of The Netherlands and packed with boats and house boats and paddle boats and every other sort of watercraft. I even saw one boat shaped like the famous Dutch wooden shoe.

Compared to Dusseldorf, which is seeming more and more idyllic by the minute, this place is racousy, full of noise and confusion. Maybe because it is Saturday, maybe because I felt lost and confused a lot while walking around.

We we went to the Van Gogh museum, something I wanted to do because my mother is an artist and Van Gogh is her favorite. We also took a canal cruise, sitting in the back and letting the breeze blow on our faces as we saw 100 Amsterdam sights in 1 hour.

I am writing now from the train and the way back to Leiden, because I wanted to capture the frightening enormity of that city in my mind before I forget it. I am ready to spend tonight much like the last - in the cool evening air on someone's porch in the warmth of Dutch hospitality and food. I imagine my classmates are doing better than me than I am at the moment - I'm not feeling very brave or travel-worthy at the moment.

Tomorrow I hope to see the Hague before returning to Dusseldorf. My father has been there a lot (he works for the Dutch company Shell) and he always talks about how much he likes it. He said too, however, that he also liked Amsterdam, so I shall see how that goes. Most of all I am looking forward to going back to Germany. I feel secure there and comfortable and I am looking forward to getting back to the land of my ancestors.