Dam you, Amster!

Yes, I know I didn't spell it correctly.

So I'm back from a week-long adventure in Amsterdam with Darren. I've made it back in one piece (well, mostly), thank god. So, a few things to note about Amsterdam:

1. A week in Amsterdam is a long time.
2. Never trust cab drivers - especially when they are simultaneously ranting about Japanese tourists, screaming at other cars, and offering you "any drug you want: you want it, I got it".
3. If you want to be able to sleep at night, don't book a hotel on Rembrandtplein. The picture below is from my hotel room, and all those lights are bars and nightclubs.

4. The best places to hang out are away from the centre. Really, they actually are.
5. Everyone in the Netherlands speaks better English than I do.
6. If you don't watch where you're going, you'll get run over by a bike. The only warning you'll have before getting shmucked is the sound of a bell. *ring* *ring*
7. If you don't like Rembrandt, get the hell out of Amsterdam.

While Amsterdam isn't the cheapest place ever, I've never been so happy to pay $7 CDN for a beer! That's the beauty of living in Norway... once you're used to the prices here, everything everywhere else seems dirt cheap (even if it really isn't...). That said, I paid 35Kr (about $7) for a latte today - that hurt.

So while I wouldn't recommend visiting Amsterdam for a whole week, I would absolutely recommend going for a few days. A trip through the red light district is a given, but once you've done that there are a lot of other things to discover. There are some great areas to chill and hang out around the museum district, some damn good Italian and Indonesian food (and I imagine some other types that I didn't get a chance to have), and quite a few museums to visit (Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House, Van Gogh museum).

So yeah, go hug a can of Heineken or something.