Amsterdam

Amsterdam is an extremely different city. Everyone is very open compared to most places. There is pretty much no rules in the city as long as you are not bothering anyone else. Coffee shops are a very peculiar place. For me, being an American where most things are illegal it felt awkward being in a public place. The traffic is insane. You have to be precautious of bikes, trams, busses, and cars all in one area. Luckily they drive on the right side of the road. There were many times that I thought I was close to getting hit by something, but I made it out of the city alive. The red light district does not seem real. Walking through it was extremely weird for me because I have never ever seen anything like it. Girls in every window "working". People on every corner trying to sell drugs. It is its own island in the world where nothing else is like it. I stayed in a few hostels while I was in the city which was different for me. Sleeping in a room with 20 other people is never something I am comfortable with. It is difficult to get any real sleep because people are always coming in and out, snoring, or making some form of another noise. I needed an entire day to recover from being in Amsterdam for 3 days. I do not understand how anyone in Amsterdam accomplishes anything because of the temptation of coffee shops everywhere. Somehow the city seems to thrive. I would guess part of that reason is because of the coffee shops.Overall, I give Amsterdam a 10/10. It was everything I had hoped it would be and then some. It is a city meant for fun.