Amsterdam Days

Well, that was fun. I have spent some wonderful days in Amsterdam this week, mostly hanging out with good friends, my cousin and my sister. I spent two of them playing tour guide, which was fine, except of course for the fact that I know very little about Amsterdam. But I know little quirky facts and I guess I know my way to the most interesting landmarks.

One place that I discovered for the first time myself with my friend Dunja, who had just landed from Melbourne wednesday morning, is the new Public Library of Amsterdam. It's a really great building with wonderful architecture, and there are floors and floors of books, music and films. I really enjoyed the children's section, where there is a very large dolls house, or rather, mouse house made by Karin Schaapman with more than a hundred different little rooms and mice. It was amazing.

I spent more time than usual just roaming around Amsterdam and pointing out its loveliness, and the more I see it, the more I appreciate its beauty and quirk. Amsterdam is a nice city. It's old and cute and amazing.  The Dutch are a funny folk and our language is ridiculously tricky and silly. I wish I had had my bike with me, though and I was so pleased Dunja and I got to ride rental bikes for a few hours on our lovely day together. I have really come to the realisation this year that they only way I really enjoy seeing a city is by bike. I am a bike person. Walking starts to hurt my feet way too quickly and it's way too slow. Yes you can appreciate the streets and sights a bit better on foot, but when you ride, you can always stop and take a short walk around if you see something you like. Bike beats walking for me hands down.

I also really enjoyed seeing my best and oldest friend Emily who is only two months away from giving birth to her first child. This time last year we were talking about how we were far off having children, but Emily's child had other plans! If you have followed my blog regularly you will know I am currently more likely to say I will never have children myself, and that though I find them amazing and fun, I would not want to have them around all day every day. I have the utmost respect for people who can manage their own happiness and that of their family. I struggle to get out of bed and put one foot after another some days, and to have to manage children at a time like that seems impossible. And the biggest worry I have about having children is that my family is all here, and many of my friends, and I would have to travel with my children if I want them to know these people. Shudder. I find flying 24 hours by myself hard enough as my tolerance for anything seems to not travel with me, let alone tolerance for tired and cranky children.

But all around, my friends increasingly bring those little people into their lives (and inevitably mine), it's what people my age do. And the truth is that your friendship changes. Children claim all the attention. They need it. They have so many questions, they want to know everything, they are amazingly observant and fantastically curious. But sometimes I want all their mum's attention for myself. Luckily Emily and I have talked extensively about this phenomenon and she's very aware of the changes her little one will bring along. To be honest I cried when she told me she was pregnant. And not out of joy. I have very few friends left who are not bound to a child. She understood, though, and of course it took me very little time to become excited and happy for her. I have to say pregnancy has given her a strength I have not seen in her before, a confidence, a content enriching her whole being and life. I am thrilled for her. It's amazing what a person who has not yet been born can do!  

I'll be heading back to Amsterdam soon, to help Phizz with getting ready to move to the US and an expense report, and also to see my friends and sister as much as I can. I will also attempt to do some exercise there at a gym and hopefully ride a bike. I feel at home in Amsterdam these days. And I am beginning to know my way around which is awesome, especially when riding. I no longer have to stop at every street corner to check on google maps whether I'm going in the right direction.

Today is a really wet rainy cold day and Mum and I are doing chores around the house. I am also playing a ridiculous amount of Rumble (an iPhone words game) both in Dutch and English which is good for my bilinguality. According to my spellchecker that's not a word, but you know what I mean.

So my dear readers, that'll be all. I have to say my last few posts have hardly been as good and witty as I would like my blog to be, but it's just the way it is. I miss my words. They used to come so easily, but we had a messy breakup (a stranger interfered with our relationship) and now we don't always connect the way we used to. It still hurts. Anyway. Ciao.