Some cities are best seen from a car. Amsterdam is not one of them. Built on a lacework of canals, the City of Water reveals itself to those who slow down - who take to a boat, borrow a bicycle, and let the bridges and gabled houses unspool at a walking pace.
The pleasures are both grand and small: the great museums and their Rembrandts and Vermeers, yes, but also the quiet of a canal at dusk, the café tables spilling onto the pavement, and the flower markets that give the city its color. It is a place made for wandering without a plan.
For the traveler willing to surrender the itinerary, Amsterdam offers exactly the kind of moment that takes your breath away - unhurried, unexpected, and impossible to schedule. Go, and let the water set the pace.
Originally published in View AZ Highlife Magazine, Aug / Sep 2007.