Amsterdam

I went to Amsterdam this weekend. For work. I went to this conference where people were trying to sell their TV wares. The conference was really hard work so I'm exhausted. Absolutely exhausted. And I had to work the entire weekend, and only got today off in lieu. Travelling for work has its advantages and disadvantages. On the downside, my time wasn't my own for the last three days and I had to talk, talk, talk about nothing interesting for the whole time to people I don't really like. Today, our TV is broken so I'm listening to show after show of This American Life off of iTunes, which are interesting and entertaining but really only on as a noise filler to make me feel less lonely. I just really want to be hanging out with Marty instead, but he needs to work late all week and I was gone all weekend. Le sigh.

But I did get to see a little of Amsterdam this time. I got away with some co-workers on Saturday and walked around for a few hours. Wish I remembered my camera, but I actually didn't think I'd get a chance away from work to use it anyway. Amsterdam is much more beautiful than it gets credit for, at least the image it has is more of a drug town. But it also has really amazing architecture. Less expensive than other European cities. The canals that run through the city give it a really peaceful and unique feeling. Something I'd never heard before I moved to London, which turned out to be true once I saw it, is that Amsterdam has a great culture of biking. There are a ton of bikes everywhere, used by just about every type of person you can imagine. In London, people usually ride mountain bikes and less often road bikes. But in Amsterdam they all ride these upright "granny" bikes. I liked it a lot. I'm going to go back someday when my time is my own...