I Amsterdam

My stay here was brief but wonderful. This vibrant city left quite an impression on me.  It was fun just walking around, checking out the diverse shops along the canals. I loved those chains of colorful, crooked buildings; I’m a sucker for anything artistically whimsical.  And all those bikes!!

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I’m glad I got to visit the Ann Frank house.  (the line to get in the house tends to get really, really long: I arrived at the site 5 minutes before it opens and already the waiting time was 2.5 hours!)  It was worth the wait.

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Museumplein area

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Volendam is a pleasant harbor city outside of Amsterdam with old fishing boats and people wearing traditional Dutch costumes.  The area is reminiscent of Cape Cod in the East Coast.  

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A stroll through the Red Light District:

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Amsterdam Centraal Railway Station, beautiful Gothic/Renaissance architecture:

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Fries with mayo!

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I love this bit from Pulp Fiction where they talked about the quirks of amsterdam, and europe in general. Pay attention to their take on the fries towards the end of the clip:

VINCENT: But you know what they put on french fries in Holland instead of ketchup?
JULES: What?
VINCENT: Mayonnaise.
JULES: Goddamn!
VINCENT: I seen ‘em do it. And I don’t mean a little bit on the side of the plate, they fuckin’ drown ‘em in it.

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