(no subject)
Why I love Amsterdam:
-There are many unique and distinctive districts that are full of life and activity and shops and birds, but the city is small enough to get around easily.
-The public transportation system here is awesome. I take trams everywhere, which makes me feel very clever. I even say "dankuwel" when I'm done buying my ticket (it means thank you).
-The buildings everywhere are gorgeous. They are all about five stories (storys?) high, are very narrow and very deep. They all have arms with hooks on the end protruding from the roofline for moving large or heavy objects to the upper floors. Apparently the staircases are so narrow that nothing much gets up there. In order to prevent things like pianos and couches from breaking the windows on the way up, many of the facades of the buildings are tipped forward. It's a hell of a thing--the whole city looks like it's about to fall on its face.
-I love that everyone--EVERYONE--here rides bikes, regardless of age, sex, gender or nationality. I also love that that they put anything--ANYTHING--on their bikes with them. I have seen people carrying the following items on their bike: large moving-size boxes, five-foot-tall houseplants, huge suitcases that are so unwieldy that they have wheels, groceries, and dogs in cages. Plus they pack on up to three kids (I swear I'm not making this up) either on the front, the back, the front and back, or in a huge bucket off the front of the bike.
-People on bikes make no effort to avoid pedestrians, trams, buses, cars, vespas, small children, clueless foreigners--except they swerve around birds, who truly move for no one or no thing.
-I love that I'm literally walking the same streets that the guys who published my dissertation artist's prints worked.
Why Amsterdam does not love me:
Everything here is fried or baked sugary deliciousness. I will have to buy an extra ticket for my flight home for I will not sit in a standard issue seat any more.
I saw two people of note today as well:
1) a very tall man with a very thick torso and very skinny legs in a very short, very gold dress with very high heels on.
2) a girl version of Smash, who was dressed like a dude. Yes. It was a girl, who was dressed like a dude, and looked very much like Smash.
Tomorrow I'm going to the Rijksmuseum ( = Wook heaven ) and Rembrandt's house.
-There are many unique and distinctive districts that are full of life and activity and shops and birds, but the city is small enough to get around easily.
-The public transportation system here is awesome. I take trams everywhere, which makes me feel very clever. I even say "dankuwel" when I'm done buying my ticket (it means thank you).
-The buildings everywhere are gorgeous. They are all about five stories (storys?) high, are very narrow and very deep. They all have arms with hooks on the end protruding from the roofline for moving large or heavy objects to the upper floors. Apparently the staircases are so narrow that nothing much gets up there. In order to prevent things like pianos and couches from breaking the windows on the way up, many of the facades of the buildings are tipped forward. It's a hell of a thing--the whole city looks like it's about to fall on its face.
-I love that everyone--EVERYONE--here rides bikes, regardless of age, sex, gender or nationality. I also love that that they put anything--ANYTHING--on their bikes with them. I have seen people carrying the following items on their bike: large moving-size boxes, five-foot-tall houseplants, huge suitcases that are so unwieldy that they have wheels, groceries, and dogs in cages. Plus they pack on up to three kids (I swear I'm not making this up) either on the front, the back, the front and back, or in a huge bucket off the front of the bike.
-People on bikes make no effort to avoid pedestrians, trams, buses, cars, vespas, small children, clueless foreigners--except they swerve around birds, who truly move for no one or no thing.
-I love that I'm literally walking the same streets that the guys who published my dissertation artist's prints worked.
Why Amsterdam does not love me:
Everything here is fried or baked sugary deliciousness. I will have to buy an extra ticket for my flight home for I will not sit in a standard issue seat any more.
I saw two people of note today as well:
1) a very tall man with a very thick torso and very skinny legs in a very short, very gold dress with very high heels on.
2) a girl version of Smash, who was dressed like a dude. Yes. It was a girl, who was dressed like a dude, and looked very much like Smash.
Tomorrow I'm going to the Rijksmuseum ( = Wook heaven ) and Rembrandt's house.