Amsterdam

The first and last photos are of a carnival that occupied city square during the weekend.  This carnival had an intense teacup ride that lasted about 6 minutes and intermittently slipped into hyperseed mode.  I'll try to post a video of it soon. It was the most intense 6 minutes of my trip, reasons abound. The second photo shows the sign to my new favorite restaurant Wok 2 Walk.  You go in, choose a meat, sauce, veggie, and noodle and they wok it up for you right there on the spot.  Then it comes to you steaming-hot in a to-go china box.  Incredibly delicious.  My favorite (yes, i had it four times in a two day period) combination was rice noodle, chicken, broccoli, and teriyaki sauce.  The place feels exactly like a Chipotle inside, with its omnipresent, matte metallic surfaces, streamlined menu, and street-food gentrification. I have a theory about this place that I will be able to test once they franchise to Americatown.  I think that the chef/wokmaster of the day preselects a combination at the beginning of his shift.  If he picks egg noodle, tofu, pineapple, and sweet & sour sauce, and you order egg noodle, tofu, pineapple, and sweet & sour sauce, you get your wok free.  Or a free drink.  Or you get to ring a bell.  I didn't have enough time in Amsterdam to test this theory properly, and I'm glad I didn't have enough time in Amsterdam to test this theory properly. The third picture captures, in reflection and ripple, some smoke hovering over the canal.  If I had staged this picture at night, the duck would have been a white swan (as white swans dominate the canals in the Red Light District) and the smoke...smoke. The fourth picture is of my hostel for two-nights.  I stayed on a boat.  Ask me sometime about the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me, because it happened on this boat. 

More pictures and stories to come.  My sleep schedule is back on track, and its too cold in Copenhagen to go outside for any extended period of time.  I'll be spending a lot more time inside feeling "hygge".