Amsterdam is een feest. (say: Ahm-ster-dahm is uhn faist.) Amsterdam is a party!

Take one part sun, two parts Dutch people, add a dash of alcohol and a large dollop of World Cup soccer and bake for 48 hours and you get... um... hot, sweaty, drunk Hollanders. :)

In other words, this place is nuts right now.

Remember when I said the weather was a dismal and soul crushing nine (48) degrees IN JUNE? Um, scratch that, because the weather gods have decided to go all the way in the other direction and cook the humans in this part of the world.

(Actually, I have to confess... I'm finishing this blog entry a day late, so today we're pretty much back to normal summer Dutch weather.... sigh)

BUUUUUT.... the beginning of this week was amazing at a blazing 32 degrees. (approx. 90 F)

And I've said it before... I'll say it again... Holland is virtually unrecognizable now that the weather has turned. Add to that that Amsterdam is a culturally much different than my reserved little town of Enschede, and the place feels like a party. Literally.

M and I spent the weekend watching soccer... er... voetbol... er... football... and hanging out in Vondelpark and, I swear, you can feel how happy everyone is here. It comes off of them in waves. I think I can even taste happy in the air.

Dutch girls have taken to wearing tiny (and when I say "tiny" I mean "virtually nonexistent") skirts as they peddle around on their bikes. (No you can't see anything... but you should see the guys straining their necks in a desperate attempt to try anyway...) People are singing -- loudly and often off-key -- as they head to work in the morning. And the outdoor cafes and parks are filled to bursting with people drinking and chatting after work.

They even have a nice little tradition here that when it's "tropical weather" you can leave work 2 hours early so you can enjoy the sun. (you gotta come in early, though, to take advantage of this. Oh yeah, and when it's cold enough to ice skate in the winter, you get to do the same... )

I gotta say... it's a really pleasant place to be at the moment. I think I could stay.

(mental note to self: must forget about the winter... must forget about the winter... )