Goodbye, Amsterdam

I can't imagine that there are many cities in the world that can match the personality of Amsterdam. It is an endlessly entertaining place with its unique canal-house looks, frenetic pace, diverse culture, and a population of people who are dedicated to walking their own path in life. It's an awesome city, and speaking from experience, it grows on you every time you emerge from Amsterdam Centraal and look out over the narrow, crooked buildings.

I'm leaving the country in two weeks, so yesterday I went to Amsterdam for the last time. I spent the day enjoying the sunshine, the crowds, and the atmosphere. I went to the Amsterdam History Museum to learn a little more about the history of the city. I walked miles and miles. I watched street performances. I paid €3 at Cannabis College to stand in front of a 5 foot tall cannabis plant just for the novelty of it. I laughed at Darth Vader and the Grimm Reaper and Batman on Dam Square. I walked the streets of the revived Jordaan, the neighborhood that many of the 100,000 Jews killed by the Nazis, including Anne Frank herself, called home. I slipped into an art gallery showcase and admired the urban artwork. I ate an awesome Ethiopean dinner, in which I scooped my food from the plate with Injera bread and drank my Ethiopean beer from a coconut shell.

Yeah, I'm going to miss Amsterdam.

Outside the Jordaan.
A [legal] cannabis plant.