What can I say about the Netherlands

So I'm down to my last night in Amsterdam and it's been an awesome 4 days here. I started out by arriving in Eindhoven and Couchsurfing (www.couchsurfing.com for more info). Martijn (my host) picked me up from the airport, then we hung out with 2 other surfers he had staying with him from Italy. It was Dutch Design Week, so we spent the next day checking out some of the exhibits - it was great having a local as a tour guide. I caught a train to Amsterdam that night, then set out walking around the city aimlessly. A-dam definitely wins for most confussing city, as I got lost every 5 minutes. Fortunately it's small enough that you will always find your way back home if you just keep walking around. The next day I went to a "Free Tour" put on by people that were travelling though Europe, stopped here intending to stay a day, but have now been here months. They work strictly for tips and tell you ALL about the city in a 3-hour walking tour. Apparently there are similar tours in Berlin and Munich that I highly reccomend and plan on checking out myself when I get out that way. After hitting a few of the historical "regulars" (eg. Rembrant and Van Gogh exhibits), I managed to get out to check out the Red Light District. Turns out it's just a whole lot of english tourists walking around checking out the windows, although it would probably be quite a bit more fun in a big group, rather than wandering around solo. Finally, today I got a chance to meet with with friends from home (the Venekamps) - took a canal cruise all through the city, then lunch and a bit of a walk around Rudy's old neighborhood. It was great to be able to talk with people past the typical conversation of "where are you from/what are your plans/etc . . .).

Tomorrow morning I'm off to Den Hagg in the morning, then Rotterdam in the evening before heading into Belgium and Luxembourg for the next 2 weeks.

Sorry this post was quite a bit matter of fact and I'm lacking pictures, but I'll try to get a few interesting stories up later in the week (hopefully I'll have some free internet access).