10 Hours in Amsterdam

To spend ten hours anywhere is hard. To spend ten hours in a place like Amsterdam? Where do I even begin! The city is filled with canals, bicycles, cafés (yes, both kinds), and too many museums to count. So, with my seven hours, I decided to do…well, virtually nothing. Originally, my plan had been to meet up with a friend for lunch, see the Anne Frank House, café hop, maybe rent a bike if I felt brave enough. After walking to the Anne Frank House, I discovered that not only were tickets online only (that part I could have solved with my cell phone), but I’d also overheard people saying tickets were timed- and when I saw the line to get in, I knew there was no way I was going to waste so much of what was already a short day simply standing in line. The biggest thing I did was café hopping. I aimlessly walked around the areas I’d been told were full of them, and indeed there were too many to pick from! A pastry here, coffee there- I really did experience Amsterdam café culture to the fullest. I may or may not have walked in circles a few times, but hey- canals are confusing! My aimless walk took me from the west side of downtown, around the southern reaches of the main square over to the east side and the Red Light District, all the while avoiding a fate I would have thought more likely here than in Munich (that is, getting hit by a bicycle). <a href="https://medium.com/@jpincus7/10-hours-in-amsterdam-f8bc554c503">Website</a>