Mijn luchtkussenboot zit vol paling.

Dutch Word of the Day
toegang - entry, portal, admission
For example, "Look at all the fun toegang surcharges on my ticket" or "Don't climb on the pulpit - the sign says geen toegang ("no admission")!"

Amsterdam is its own unique circus.  It wakes up very slowly in the mornings, so anytime before eleven is a perfect opportunity to wander through the streets and canals and really notice the architecture and style of the city.  It's also a good time to bike freely (but not a good time for a coffee prowl, as most cafés are just opening up).  As the day progresses, more and more energy has to go into not running into anything and not getting run over by anything.

Magere Brug

Besides the peanut butter adventure, one of my favorite parts was seeing the Magere Brug, which translates to "skinny bridge".  It's the third bridge to be built over the river Amstel in that spot; the original was created in 1691 and was demolished and rebuilt twice.  It wasn't until 1994 that they stopped opening the bridge by hand to let boats through and made it automatic.

The area surrounding the Magere Brug is fantastic.  Every spot near the river had something going on.  There was even a Greek Fest where I got a fresh fill of 'Opa!'s.  The September weather is absolutely perfect for walking outside and for outdoor seating at cafés; it's been sunny or a little cloudy with just a hint of a breeze.  I spotted a café right next to the bridge where about a dozen people with a variety of brass instruments were relaxing, and sat down next to them in the hopes that the instruments would lead to music.  I wasn't disappointed.  They weren't the first traveling jazz band I came across in Amsterdam.  Every one I've heard has been fantastic - they could easily fund their travels through Europe just by playing street shows.  They don't exactly play jazz music in the American sense; they're more like pep bands playing songs like Sweet Caroline, Eye of the Tiger, and Iron Man.  I also kept a cello count on Sunday - on average, I saw one person carrying a cello per hour.  The Dutch make biking with a cello look easy.

Across town near Westerkerk, I peeked into the Amsterdam Tulip Museum.  I nodded off a few times during the films (it was my first day), but did learn an interesting tidbit about the word "tulip":  It is thought to come from the same root as the word "turban" due to the resemblance in shape.  It could also have been a mistranslation, since it was popular for people in the Ottoman Empire to wear tulips in their turbans.  Most types of tulips originated in the Middle East and only eventually came to Holland by trade routes.  The small museum is more of a sideshow to the tulip shop, where you can buy tulip bulbs; they even have special ones approved to take back to the U.S. and Canada.

Other than that, some species of frighteningly large and hairy spiders can be found all over in towns in the Netherlands; I have my fingers crossed that they aren't taking over France, too.