seekingmygreaterperhaps

I have been in Amsterdam for a little over 24 hours, and love it already. All of the architecture is beautiful and sincerely Amsterdam-ish, and the people are so laid back. That could be because of the tolerant drug laws, but I prefer to think that it’s just because they are so happy. Seriously- who could NOT fall for this place? I hope it’s not embarassing that the very first place I went to in the Netherlands is a pancake shop? This one was organic, full of hot apples, cinnamon, raisins, and topped with ice cream. I’m not kidding about my love for pancakes people. Today I tried a savory one- with ham and cheese. Also quite delicious. On my free walking tour, I had a very energetic Dutch man who taught me lots of history. Like a good blogger, I took notes on my phone. Like a bad blogger, I didn’t take many. Here’s what I got: Amsterdam follows 3 golden rules 1) It must be good for business. 2) Business can’t harm anyone, and 3) Must be discreet. This is how they function as a happy and tolerant people. Also, by making marijuana somewhat legal, they sucked all the fun out of it, and now it’s not as abused as other countries. Also, we went to the Red Light District… in the middle of the day. Prostitutes don’t actually hang out on street corners- they stand in windows and beckon you from there. It makes me really sad. But there it is. Also there are rumors that the Flying Dutchman is real- because everyone on the ship died of malaria while the sails were still open, so the ship just cruised around forever. The East India Trading Company invented “shares” and “stocks.” Neat. Manhattan(ique- as it was originally called) just means- ” we are all stupid and drunk” and that’s what the island is named after! I also stopped at the Amsterdam Tulip Museum. Tulips used to be a sign of wealth, and this picture represents the fact that a single tulip bulb used to be of more value than a townhouse in Amsterdam. Whoa man. Bringing it back to my roots- being the daughter of Wisconsin-ites, I had to stop here. And, you’d be so proud family- I actually tried all the cheese there. I’m growing up! I quite enjoyed the bright Amsterdam sunshine today! (It probably won’t make an appearance the rest of the week.) The canals are awesome to just wander around- I highly recommend the Jordaan area. Today I also saw THE bench featured on the Fault in Our Stars- a now movie, from my favorite author, John Green. And to sum it up with a quote from the same book- “I fell in love like you fall asleep, slow, and then all at once.”