October in Amsterdam - Halloween, museum night, zombie movies, and new discoveries

The next few weeks seem to come with that pesky (read: lovely) problem of having too much fun stuff going on. In addition to the huge Amsterdam Dance Event Festival & Conference, it seems like everyone I know is having a party, or inviting me to a party of someone they know.

For me, this time of year has always been anxious preparation for Halloween - excluding the years I spent living in Europe. However, unlike the year I spent sick with food poisoning in Budapest, this year in Amsterdam I am determined to celebrate! The program at the Filmhuis Cavia is showing some scary movies, along with the OT 301 and the Nieuwe Anita and probably a few other places I'm forgetting. Halloween is a very American holiday that is creeping into Europe slowly, but in my opinion, it's happening in a very lame way. There might be a few bars or clubs that do Halloween parties, but unless you grew up trick-or-treating and having a whole Halloween month, it's hard to understand. Halloween isn't just dressing up in a scary costume (costumes don't have to be scary!), it's about carving pumpkins, hayrides, haunted houses, trick-or-treating (or if you're too old, handing out candy to trick or treaters), attending or participating in a parade, scary movies, decorating your house or apartment - the whole deal. In the states, it's not just a one-night celebration, it's the entire month. It's not just for children, it's for everyone.

So I have to say, the fact that there are a few extra zombie movies in Amsterdam during the next few weeks is pretty nice bonus. There are at least two costume-mandatory parties that I know of, and I have a bunch of friends here that are pretty excited. Ok, by "pretty excited" I mean they know when Halloween is (31 October) and understand it means dressing up in a costume. For Europeans, that's pretty good. :) And in addition to Halloween, next weekend is also Museumnacht. On Saturday, 1 November, tons of museums and other venues will stay open until 2am, transportation will be free, and there will be tons of other events and parties going on. The website recommends to get your tickets in advance and warns that it was sold out last year.

Also important to remember to set back your clocks this Sunday if you live in Amsterdam, which is always fun. An extra hour of sleep, and if you happen to be out at 2 or 3 in the morning, that extra hour is cause for celebration. "Sure I can stay out longer, it's not 3am after all, it's only 2! Let's get another drink!" So let's not focus on the fact that daylight savings time also means more darkness and the inevitable arrival of winter... I would rather just look forward to an extra hour of partying.

Last night I discovered another wonderful new gem in Amsterdam - the Moskito Film Lounge. I'm not even sure if that's the right way of saying it (I'm adding the word "Lounge" myself), but I went to see a short film that some of my friends were involved in making at a venue that felt like someone's living room. It bought me to a neighborhood that oddly, I've never been to before. I say "oddly" because the first six weeks that I spent in Amsterdam, I went everywhere. I was lost all of the time on a variety of different borrowed bikes, and I used to ride for eight or ten hours a day. I still find myself saying upon arriving in a new neighborhood "oh I know this place, I was lost here once!" But the area above the Westerpark (I was on the Zoutkeetsgracht) was totally new to me. It was very Amsterdam - boats, canals, small bridge - but there seemed to be something particularly charming about it, and I rode around for a while exploring when I headed out. Before leaving, I talked to a a friend about doing a short film project together. When I left, I felt inspired, and very lucky to be exactly where I am.

A weekend in September

I just came off one of those weekends that seemed like it lasted for a week (aka: the best kind of weekend). My new roommate and I threw a successful housewarming party on Friday, and it delighted me to see my apartment full of people from all over the world (well, mostly Europe, but we had a chunk of folks from the rest of the globe as well) dancing and drinking and having fun. I ended up closing my eyes around 5.30am on Friday night which meant I had stayed up for about 21 hours or so. Saturday was easy-going and I spent most of my time hanging out with a good friend, enjoying the sun and some quality girl-talk.

On Sunday afternoon I set off on my bike just to ride around and enjoy the city by myself, which I feel like I'll never get tired of doing. I wanted to see if I could feel a difference in car-free Sunday compared to other normal days, and I have to say - it was great, but it wasn't unbelievably different. The concerts and street fairs set up all over the place were different, of course. I encountered my first event as I rode over the Amstel and saw a dance party going on under the bridge. I made it a point to ride along the canals and all through the Jordaan, figuring that's where I would really feel the car-free difference.

The Westerstraat was nice - definitely quieter than usual. But once I got to the Lindengracht, Lindenstraat, and all the little streets around that area, I really saw a difference. The thing is, when you're cycling around on a normal day - even on the streets without a dedicated bike lane - cyclists have the right of way. If a car doesn't have enough room to pass a cyclist, they just slow down and drive behind the bike. It's completely bizarre at first, but it didn't take me that long to get used to it - it just meant that the lack of cars on the street didn't really give me, as a cyclist, any more freedom than usual. What I did love seeing were the little kids playing in the street and pedestrians wandering around wherever they pleased without having to dodge traffic, and everything did seem much more peaceful. I also made it a point to ride around the center of the city in the busiest areas. I felt a difference just about everywhere other than Dam Square. I hate Dam Square, with or without traffic. For more details about car-free sunday, check out Amsterdamize, or go to this flickr page for lots of photographic evidence.

I rode around for about 3 hours on Sunday before heading to the climbing gym, where I successfully made it up some new routes and turned both of my knees totally black and blue in the process. When me and my climbing buddies left around 7.30pm, I was treated to another long, beautiful sunset as I painfully rode home. The sunsets are absolutely one of my favorite things about Amsterdam - I'm sure I've mentioned that before. I think this weekend I'm going to try and make it a point to get to the sea and watch the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean. I forget sometimes that I can do that - coming from the east coast of the USA, I'm accustomed to seeing the sun rise over the water, but not set.

And finally, after being in the Netherlands for 4 1/2 months, I'm starting Dutch lessons tomorrow! I figure I'll take advantage of the free classes offered by my company for a few months, and then start a more intense class once I've made some progress. Let's just hope it's never pouring rain on a Tuesday morning, so I can make it to every class on time without an excuse.

Update on car-free sunday in Amsterdam

Thanks to the comments in my previous entry, I found out a little more information about car-free Sunday! Figured it was worth another post to help spread the word.

From the IAmsterdam website:

The car-free zones extend over the entire area within the A10, with the exception of Zeeburg. Between 10:00 and 17:00 traffic is not allowed into the city, but is allowed to leave. The city is free for residents to organise various events and activities.

Major routes are kept open for emergency services. Public transport and taxi service remain in operation. You can park your car for free on the designated Park and Rail (P+R) parkingareas. You will receive free public transport tickets to reach the city centre.

So taxi service will be around after all! It seems as though a lot of planning went into making this day work, and again - as someone who plans to remain car-free forever - I know I'm going to enjoy it.

The weather forecast is for a beautiful, sunny weekend. The Jordaan festival starts up today (Friday, the 19th) and runs all weekend. There will be events all over the city on Sunday as people take advantage of traffic-free streets. Anyone that lives in Amsterdam or is visiting this weekend shouldn't have to make too much effort to enjoy themselves.

Amsterdam is car-free this Sunday

This Sunday, the 21st of September, is car-free Sunday in Amsterdam. According to the HR department at my company, this means it will not be possible to enter the city by car from 10.00 am until 17.00, but it is possible to exit Amsterdam (you just can't come back in until after 17). Public transportation (buses, trams, metro) will be running, but there will be no taxis available.

I'm conflicted about this.

On one hand, I love the idea of pedestrians and cyclists taking over Amsterdam even more than they already do. It sounds amazing, and I completely intend to take advantage of it and ride in the middle of the streets and envision a world where cars don't exist.

On the other hand, Amsterdam makes it easier than anywhere else I've ever been to avoid being in a car. The public transportation system is easy and affordable, bikes have their own lanes, the entire city is very walkable, and I think I know about two people that own a car. This blogger makes a lot of really good points as to why something like car-free day doesn't really have any advantages in Amsterdam. After reading that, I thought about the day I arrived in Amsterdam this past April - I showed up with a big, heavy suitcase and a big, heavy backpack. It just made sense that I took a taxi from Central Station to the apartment where I was staying. I could barley lift my bags onto the curb, nevermind trying to lift them into a tram. And I would have really inconvenienced everyone around me had I been on a tram (by taking up too much room). So what if I was moving into Amsterdam in the same kind of way this Sunday afternoon, and I was told "too bad, we're doing something good here by not allowing cars around the city today." I could have made it work, but man, it would have sucked.

So while everyone who is leaving the city (ie: headed to the airport or wherever) can still load up their cars or taxis with luggage, anyone arriving this Sunday, between 10-17 is out of luck.

If I had my way, no one would own cars, but I've got to say, I wouldn't get rid of taxis. While car-free day sounds like great fun to me, as a car-free person, it doesn't change my life whatsoever.

Thoughts? Has anyone ever experienced a car-free day in Amsterdam (or your own city) before?

It's offically autumn in Amsterdam

Last night's Cinemanita screening at the OT301 was fantastic. The documentary was Lets Get Lost by Bruce Webber, and told the story of Chet Baker, the infamous jazz musician who ended up dying in Amsterdam after falling out of a hotel window. I don't think there's a website for the Cinemanita screenings, but you can email cinemanita@gmail.com and get yourself on the mailing list. I'm really looking forward to seeing Amphibian Man (1962, Russian with English subtitles) this Monday night at the Niewe Anita. I know part of what I love about Cinemanita is that it reminds me so much of my old job in Philadelphia. Part of what I did when I worked for a non-profit cinema was introduce obscure films to small audiences of dedicated film geeks, and re-discovering that part of my life here in Amsterdam has been such a treat. And I have to emphasize that what really makes me adore Amsterdam is that everything is so affordable. The screening this Monday night is €2.50 Beers are €2. I know from experience that as a tourist or visitor, Amsterdam can be really expensive (in terms of hotel costs, restaurants, etc). But to live here and have a good time - you don't have to be rich to enjoy thing.

Another Amsterdam event I'm looking forward to is the Jordaan festival, 19-21 of September. That website is only in Dutch, but there's a short description here of the festival. It basically just sounds like a 3-day party in one of my favorite neighborhoods, and it's going on during the same weekend as my first official housewarming party! I have hosted some gatherings at my new place a few times, but it's been such a process to get furniture and kitchen supplies and put some pictures up on the walls (ok, I still haven't gotten around to that), that I set a housewarming date to force myself to make my apartment come together. I'm also welcoming a new roommate on 12 September, who will be living with me for the next 4 months - so the party is also to welcome him to Amsterdam (from Berlin).

This month's goal is to start a real climbing habit. I'm going to de klim muur tonight to see if I can remember my way around a climbing gym. There's obviously no mountains in the Netherlands, so this is sort of the next best thing! I'm going to have to plan some kind of hiking trip soon - I can't let the entire summer and fall pass me by without hiking up some mountain somewhere. Anyone have any tips as to where to go (bonus if it can be a day trip)? I'm willing to get up early in the morning on a weekend if it means good hiking.

Amsterdam events, American politics, and so on

The best way to do this post is a two-parter.

Part One: A proper summer weekend

This weekend was insanely beautiful in Amsterdam, and everyone rushed out to enjoy. It feels like the city has come back to life, and all the students have returned (which explains why it's now almost impossible to find a good bike parking spot near my apartment, since I live right next to the University of Amsterdam). The Uitmarkt festival, which ran this past weekend, opened up the start of the Dutch cultural season. Cinemanita starts again this Monday at De Nieuwe Anita with a screening of Faust (!! Jan Svankmajer). After a quiet August, I'm really excited to have too much to do again, too many things to choose from, and acknowledge that my biggest problem is figuring out how I can fit all this fun stuff in my schedule.

In my case, the best part of Amsterdam this weekend was hanging out with my good friend C. I fully intended to give her my guest bike while she's in town, but unfortunately, the back tire needs to be completely replaced and the bike is parked somewhere completely far from where I live or work. Luckily, our friend Mark was quick to offer his guest bike, and said it would be fine for C. to go pick it up around midnight on Friday. "I'll give you a ride!" I offered, and as we were getting ready to go I felt obliged to admit to her that I had never actually rode anyone on the back of my bike before. I have been a passenger many times, but never a driver, so to speak. C. allowed me to use her as my guinea pig, and I happily rode her from my place (which is in the Center-East of Amsterdam) to Mark's house in the Oud Zuid - a fairly significant ride! The first few minutes were a little wobbly, but we made it through crowded intersections at Leidseplein and Vondelpark without incident and both of us arrived at Mark's house safe and sound.

It was a good thing we picked up the bike on Friday night, because on Saturday the two of us spent a huge chunk of the day cycling. We used C's very helpful Voordeelurenabonnement to purchase train tickets to Santpoort Zuid at a 40% discount (tip: you can always take your bike on a train in the Netherlands, but you have to pay for a bike ticket at well). From there, we rode a few kilometers to Brederode Castle -originally built in 1282 - and admired the ruins. After a drink in the lovely little terrace, we rode through the woods for a while, going up and down what I would be tempted to call actual hills. Okay, for the Netherlands, they WERE hills. In a flat country, you take what you can get. We ended up at a lovely beach, spread out our towels, and enjoyed the sun. There were tons of dogs running around chasing balls, topless women, little naked kids building sand castles, plenty of folks enjoying a beer or sharing a bottle of wine - and I thought to myself that all these little things belong at a beach. But the beaches that I've been to in Long Island, Los Angeles, or New Jersey don't allow dogs, would charge you to just walk on the sand, many discourage alcohol, forbid dogs, and certainly don't allow topless sunbathing.

I love living in Europe.

Part Two: American issues

I'm mailing out my absentee voter registration tomorrow. It's crazy to think that in 65 days, the US will have a new President, and I have no idea what's going to happen. Everything about American politics is a mystery to me - McCain picking Sarah Palin as his running mate? Where on earth did that come from? I'm trying not to get my hopes up on two fronts. #1, I don't want to assume Obama can win. I mean, we're talking about a country full of people who elected Bush into office in 2004 (the popular vote did NOT give Bush the presidency in 2000, so I try avoid saying that the actual American people voted him into office twice). I also don't want to assume that if Obama wins, everything will magically get better and Americans will suddenly be able to have access to education and health care. So I remind myself of these two things often.

But you know what? When I voted for Kerry in 2004, I was doing it because he wasn't Bush. That was it. When I vote for Obama this November, it's because I actually think there is a possibility he could do a really good job as president. For any Americans living abroad that need to get their absentee ballots, you can go to fvap.gov to figure out what you need to do. Some states let you do everything through email, but annoyingly, California is not one of those states (and even more annoyingly, even though I spent most of my US life in New York and only 10 weeks living in Los Angeles, I'm registered to vote in California).

However, the much more pressing issue right now in the US is Hurricane Gustav. People have already died in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica from this hurricane. The devastation in Cuba has been terrible. Gustav is due to hit New Orleans tomorrow (Monday) morning, and as I watched a clip of Nagin's (Mayor of New Orleans) press conference, all I could think is "this can't possibly happen again." But it can happen again, can't it? The thought is petrifying. I'm following the Gustav Reporter twitter page this evening, and as I combed through different reports in the media, I found an article titled "In New Orleans, Blogs become crucial decision-making tool" from the Chicago Tribune. I trust blogs and twitter feeds for a more real-life account of what is happening right this minute, and it helps me feel more connected to what's going on at home.

Technology has changed the expat experience. Perhaps a topic worth going into more, but this post has gone on long enough as it is. I'm going to try to post a little more frequently this month, maybe three times a week, so I don't have to just unload everything all at once.

Amsterdam in August

Okay, I admit I'm a little jealous of all my friends that are off traveling the world or relaxing on a beach on a Greek Island during August. Like many other European countries, the Netherlands is only half-operational in August and many people choose to take their vacations now. However, there is good news for those of us who can't afford the time to travel - a ton of great stuff is happening in Amsterdam during the next few weeks. I'm most excited for the Open Air Film Festival, which started last night (7 August) and runs through the 23rd of August. The screenings start once it gets dark (9:30-10pm), there's 500 free beach chairs for anyone to claim, all the films are in English or English subtitled, and it's entirely free. And of course, there's a bar, places to buy food, and the location sounds perfectly ideal (on the Westerdoksdijk, right on the IJ!).

Another really great festival is one of Classical music - the Grachten Festival, running 16-24 of August. The highlight (for me, anyway) sounds like the Prinsengracht concert, which is completely free and takes place literally in the Prinsengracht canal - people listen to the concert from the quays or from the water (in their own boats).

There's also something nice, I have to say, about not making any elaborate travel plans for the summer. Last night I rode from my place to Bos en Lommer, a neighborhood on the other side of the city. It had rained really hard all day long (with thunder and lightening!), but cleared up to be a beautiful evening just when I was getting ready to leave work (good timing). The city had completely come alive, and as I rode southwest through Amsterdam I enjoyed an absolutely beautiful sunset. My route took me over the Amstel, through the Museumplein, around all the tiny streets in the Oud West, and along the Baarsjesweg. By the time I was ready to go home it had gotten dark, and as I rode through Vondelpark while listening to music on my ipod, I remembered the exact moment when I thought to myself "this is where I belong." It was in October 2007, when I was visiting Europe (just Paris and Amsterdam) from Brooklyn, trying to figure out if moving back to Europe was really what I wanted to do. One bike ride through Vondelpark at 2am was enough to convince me that yes, Amsterdam is where I belong. I am still so unbelievably in love with this city. I remember in early June, I rode a (borrowed) bike around 4.30am, right as the sun was starting to come up (and the city was just starting to close down for the night). I thought, wow, this is the best time of day to see the city, it's just perfect. But then last night, during sunset - on a warm summer night after it had rained all day - I thought, no wait, this is the best time to be out. But what about all the middle-of-the-night bike rides I did when I first got here? That was pretty great too.

The minor inconveniences of not getting internet service as fast as I want it, the abundance of mosquitoes (it is a humid city that is at or below sea level), the fact that all the stores close so damn early - none of that stuff has taken me out of my Honeymoon phase, which is now approaching the 4th month. There's still nowhere else I would rather live than right here.

I'll be back in the summertime, with a handful of flowers and a bottle of cheap wine...

I've been happily settling into my new apartment for the past few weeks - "nesting" as one of my friends calls it. It's far and away the nicest place I've ever lived on my own, and big enough to host dinner parties, lunches, and late-night post-bar gatherings. Looking around my living room and seeing a group of friends eating and drinking is one of the best feelings in the world - even if we all still have to sit on the floor because I only have 4 chairs. The weekend that just passed felt like it lasted forever, which is the best thing a weekend can do. I was at the Soundgarden on Friday night, ate some of the most delicious pannekoeken on Saturday, drank a few beers at the Kriterion, took a long bike ride with a good friend, and generally didn't do anything hard or stressful or complicated.

Of course, all that being said, it's not like I was really excited for Monday morning to arrive, especially because Monday morning arrived for me around 7am (about 1.5 hours before I normally wake up) due to some construction project going on pretty damn close to my bedroom window. Why anyone feels the need to do the loudest part of the construction job at 7am is beyond me, and since I'm not much of a morning person, losing out on over an hour of sleep did not feel like the best way to start my day. When I finally dragged myself out of bed and went about getting ready for work, I was feeling pretty out of it - but my mood started to lift when I looked out the front windows on my apartment and saw the sun streaming inside and bright blue skies. After a cup of coffee and strawberries on the balcony, I put on my headphones and headed out the door. Riding to work while listening to music on my ipod is just simply the most ideal way to start my day and always puts me in a good mood. It also helps that I love my job. By the time I got to the office today I felt (relatively) awake and happy.

You know the metro newspaper, the same one that exists in a million different cities around the world? You usually find them in metro or bus stations in the morning. Here in Amsterdam, there's a woman that stands near the bike lane, handing them out to passing cyclists. I love that.

I'm headed over to De Nieuwe Anita tonight for a screening of Wrong Eyed Jesus (Andrew Douglas, 82 minutes, shown in English). Every monday is Cinemanita - for just €2,50 it's a great place to catch a film on Monday (though this will be the last Monday screening of the summer). I've got some good friends from Paris coming to visit this week, and then I'm headed to Berlin on Friday - I can't wait. It will be my second visit to Berlin and another opportunity to use my extensive German vocabulary (ein bier, bitte!) and hang out with a bunch of people I haven't seen in a long time. I never want this summer to end.

Where I've been going, what I've been doing

Picnics - the easiest location for me is Vondelpark, since it's so close to home and everyone knows it. But this past weekend I went for a Sunday night picnic at Beatrixpark, and it really seemed like me and my friends were the only people there. This park is in the south east of the city, near the Rai station. I got a little (okay, a lot) lost on my way there, and once I got tired of consulting my map I just stopped and asked people for directions. When I rode home with a friend, I found a much, much more direct route. I love picnics in Amsterdam parks - there are no rules about where you can or can't sit on the grass, dogs run around all over the place, and no one kicks you out at a certain time.

Bars/Cafes - places I've gone to recently include Soundgarden, OT301, Studio K, DeBalie (of course, for free wifi) and the Kriterion. Look those places up in you're in Amsterdam; they all have a really great vibe. The Soundgarden has this ideal back patio right next to a canal, and while I was sitting back there I felt that wonderful I've-left-the-city feeling, even though it's off a major street in the Jordaan. And DeBalie was a lifesaver for me before I started working - they have tons of room, incredibly cheap prices for food and drink, and no one ever minded that I would often stay there for 5-6 hours at a time in order to use the wifi.

I went to the Hope Box offices recently for a Friday night screening, in the north of Amsterdam (I took that picture just outside the office). I'll go do anything if it means I get to take a ferry to get there, so I didn't even really mind that the film was in Serbian with Dutch subtitles - actually, I was happy to find myself in the situation where I was the only non-Dutch-speaker in the room - the more this happens, the more motivated I become to learn the language. This cultural center is a global project - I think the best way I can sum it up is bringing people together from all over the world through visual arts. Visit their website to learn more. If you're interested, come along to their event this Saturday, the 21st of June at the GO Gallery (Prinsengracht 64) - I'm planning to attend, so say hi if you're there!

Speaking of learning the language, no, I haven't learned Dutch at all. I mean, I certainly know more than I did 2 months ago, and I'm getting better at reading menus and hearing the names of streets and whatnot, but I really, really don't know Dutch, and I would like for that to change. I'm going to start taking classes in September (they're offered for free by my company), but I think before I start that I may sign up for a month or two of private lessons. It's really easy to get around using English, but the thing that frustrates me is not being able to pronounce the names of the roads and streets, or even worse, the fact that I can't hear it right when someone else says it.

Tonight is another big game for Holland, and I still haven't found my inner football fan, so I'm thinking that a picnic in the park sounds like a nice way to spend some time while the rest of the city is at bars and cafes, going completely insane. And if Holland wins, that means a city full of happy people, so hey, I'll go ahead and root for Holland too. From a distance.

One month down, and I've finally gone to the post office

The first time I was in Amsterdam was back in the Spring of 2005. I hardly knew anything about the city before I arrived, and I remember being surprised by two things - 1) that it was so beautiful and 2) that it seemed really diverse. I still think these two things almost every day. This past Monday night, I rode my bike home from the Lloyd Hotel after a great evening of free music - European musicians performed with artists from all over Africa and Europe as part of the Virus Free Generation Tour. The (South African) host of the night spoke English to the room, the artists performed in English, Slovak, Zulu, Swahili, Sardinian, Italian, and probably a few other languages that I'm forgetting. I sat with a group of new friends - Dutch, Croatian, Austrian, etc - and as I looked around the room I realized that out of the 100 or so people, we could have probably come up with at least thirty languages, easily. Every Monday night, the Lloyd Hotel hosts these free events, completely open to the public. You're not even obligated to buy a drink, though there is a nice bar. This Monday there's even a Tango Orchestra performance!

So the diversity, the combination of people who end up in Amsterdam from all over the world - this really appeals to me. In some ways, it reminds me a bit of New York City, just in the way that everyone seems to be from somewhere else, but every so often I'll run into a born-and-raised Amsterdammer. This makes for good stories, but at the same time everyone has heard all the stories... so one more foreigner showing up here from somewhere else really isn't that big of a deal.

And then there's the beauty, and this is me still being in the honeymoon phase. I still simply just love riding my bike across the city late at night, when it's quiet. On Monday night, my roommate and I rode home together, side by side, and only occasionally saw a car on the road. We crossed canals and rode past the windmill and the beautiful homes along Koninginneweg, not too far from where I live. It was such a great night, and to end it with the ability to cycle so easily, riding next to a friend the whole way ... it's just very special. Spring is in full bloom, and everything is so green and alive. I know I sound like a big hippie here, but whatever.

I've been trying to make myself take care of some of the more practical matters, like getting a printer cartridge refilled, going to the post office, and picking up a few things for my apartment. On the advice of practically everyone I've met I finally went over to the Albert Cuyp market and was successful getting just about everything I wanted. This is where you want to go to get everything from new bedding to envelopes, bike locks, food, clothes, etc - and at very, very affordable prices. However, if you plan to buy a mattress topper, I would advise you to maybe put some thought into how you're going to transport it home if you go via bike. As I rode home I just had to hope that I wasn't going to need to use my brakes or bell, since my hands were completely full holding the mattress in front of my handlebars in a very specific way (I got home without incident, fortunately).

It's really exciting to be in this phase, where there's still so much to see and discover. However, in the next week my first priority will be to spend as much time as possible with my current roommate, before she takes off for Rome. After spending over 8 years in Amsterdam she's leaving for a more southern climate. It will be great to gain a friend in Rome, but I'll miss having her around. Because of her generosity, I had a place to stay when I arrived here... but I also gained so much more than a bedroom, I gained a friend that I'm sure I will have for the rest of my life. And I can't thank her enough (though I'm going to try!) for making me feel so welcome here.