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October 20th, 2004
Amsterdam, Netherlands
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We went to Amsterdam and stayed at this really cool hostel called the Flying Pig. It was the cosiest place we had stayed at, completely with a "Happy Room" (with couches and a tv and movies always playing), a bar with a pool table and an area you can sit on pillows without shoes on. Our first night, we toured around and experienced all the things that make Amsterdam famous, including the Red Light District. The Red Light District is about a dozen streets with strip clubs, porno stores, and most significantly, glass doors with girls in bikinis trying to get the attention of people walking by (for some reason).
My favourite part of Amsterdam was the domination of bicycles within the city center. There are traffic lights specifically for bikes, and the smaller side streets have many more bikes than cars. Cars can still drive on these streets, but bicycles set the speed and have the right of way. This actually makes things a bit scary for pedestrians; it's a lot harder to hear a bicycle about to hit you when you're not paying attention.
I decided that one day I'm going to live in Amsterdam for a while. Besides the lack of moralising laws, I found the city to be very easy going and accepting of all types of people. The people were very laid back and relaxed (though probably because of the coffee shops).
