Amsterdam felt a little more familiar - laid back, easy to navigate, and full of good coffee. I grabbed one at the Scandinavian Embassy on my first afternoon and ended up chatting with the Swedish girl who worked there. A promising start.
The Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum were both impressive, but the highlight of Amsterdam for me was catching up with Jolien, an old travel friend, over dinner. It’s been a recurring theme on this trip - the people you’ve met along the way somehow find their way back into your life, and these moments of reconnection feel increasingly important to me.
I also managed to squeeze in the Anne Frank Museum, a day trip to Den Haag to visit the Mauritshuis, and found a grimy sports bar to watch England vs Brazil. Naturally, I explored the Red Light District too - because apparently you can’t say you’ve been to Amsterdam without at least walking through it.
As is custom for me, the first thing I do in a new place is go looking for a decent coffee. If this took you to Amsterdam for a few minutes, you can buy me the first one in the next city.