5 april 2005

I left Amsterdam in the winter, and came back in the spring.

The Amsterdam I left was gray and cold. It was a chilling wet cold that blew through sweaters and numbed fingers during late night bicycle rides. It was crispy and beautiful in its own way, and even when it was spitting and shivering it was beautiful.

But.

Now that I have I returned, only two weeks later, the ice skating rink in the Dam square has been replaced with a Ferris wheel. The already narrow sidewalks are now crowded with café tables. In the evenings the pubs spill out milling crowds to the curb.

In winter Amsterdam felt like a city full of history. In spring it feels like a city full of promise.