March 6: Amsterdam

Today is my fourth day in Amsterdam, I arrived very late on Tuesday night. Max had given me detailed instructions on how to get from the airport to his apartment via public transport, but of course the buses had all stopped running by the time I got in at one o clock in the morning. Wandering around the bus station looking for my bus and the times, a man kindly informed me that the buses had all shut down for the night, but that I was welcome to come sleep with him that night. Yeah no thanks. Also my Spanish cell phone was not happy to be in The Netherlands and wouldn't let me call Max, but I had his address so I shelled out the cash for a cab and after a bit more wandering around after exiting the cab, finally found his apartment and was joyfully greeted by a big Max hug. Then we went to sleep.
The next day we went to Max's favorite flea market to look for something orange for him to wear to the USA/Netherlands football match that night. We decided to try to fit both of us onto his bike, me sitting on the rack and him pedaling, we had one spill but made it alright. Once we got to the market I actually ended up buying a bicycle; a red and rusty piece of crap for 30 euro. I asked the vender if I could sell it back to him when I was leaving and he said yes, if I wanted to, but that it might be less troublesome to just throw it into one of the canals, that's how shitty it is. But having a bike is definitely a must here. Max and I have speculated that there are probably more bikes than people. There are absolutely no hills, and most everyone rides pretty slowly, but when riding through the busy areas near Central Station it can get kind of crazy. At times the bike lanes are absolutely packed and maneuvering through the intersections can be very stressful, especially when you throw tourists who don't understand the rules of yielding into the equation. Max explains that basically it's all about "flow", just keep a constant speed and pay attention and the flow will continue. Maybe biking in Amsterdam should be an Olympic sport.
This city is amazing in many other ways as well. I am completely in love with all the canals and houseboats. My only complaint is how freaking cold it is all the time.
Max has been kind of busy with school work, but hopefully we'll be out exploring more in the next few days. He actually needs to use the computer right now to work on his paper so I've got to go, but I'll post more soon. Hugs and high fives are sailing across the Atlantic towards everyone at home!