Hello dear reader!
Welcome to another issue of this newsletter. This week I want to talk about Amsterdam, it’s turning 750. To break up the text, I’ll include some photos from I’ve taken around the city.
In this issue:
- A bit of my personal history with Amsterdam
- Photos from my time in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is turning 750 years old today, and in two days I’ll be celebrating 4 years leaving in the city. So, today’s issue is about this city that I get to call home.
I’ve been fascinated by The Netherlands, and Amsterdam in particular, since I was finishing my architecture studies. My interest in cities, urban planning, and mobility led me to study Amsterdam and its cycling culture. Coming from a car-centric city, it felt like learning about an utopia. Of course, I now know Amsterdam isn’t one - like every major city, it has its share of problems.
Amsterdam at Autumn has to be one of my favorites.
I first visited Amsterdam with my parents and my brother during a cold winter. In my brain there’s a memory of us waiting outside the Rijksmuseum freezing. I was also fascinated with the amount of bicycle and the infrastructure. Here I was, in a city that actually cares about bikes. What a dream.
Fast-forward a few years: my second visit was with my wife. We spent our first Christmas living in Europe here, walking through the city, exploring its neighborhoods, and getting enchanted by Joordan and De 9 Straatjes. I believe that trip planted the seed - one of those casual “what if we ever lived here?” Thoughts that somehow takes root and never leaves. Unconsciously we started seeing Amsterdam as a possibility. There’s something about Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is its people. A place for everyone.
Years later, as we were wrapping up our time in Budapest, my wife got a job opportunity in Amsterdam. We didn’t think it for too long, we made the decision, let’s go to Amsterdam. And here we are. Living in one of the most beautiful cities.
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Thanks for reading and for being part of this journey. I hope you’re enjoying these weekly dispatches!
We are lucky to call Amsterdam our home. Four years have passed in what feels like the blink of an eye. We’ve made new friends, our family away from family. We have experienced the housing shortage, yet we have been very fortunate to find a place to live. Amsterdam has shown us a bit of everything. We have learned to embrace the weather, enjoy hagelslag for desert, and cycle to everywhere, among many more things.
Fellow Amsterdammers.
Of course, Amsterdam is not exempt of its fair share of problems: housing crisis, growing inequality, and a rise in far-right politics, among others. But today I’m choosing to be naively optimistic (most days I’m not). I hope that, in the long run, these problems will be solved. That Amsterdam will once again lead by example in finding solutions and addressing social injustices. I know I’m being optimistic, and I’m choosing to be.
Ahoy captain. A place to sail.
Amsterdam and The Netherlands have shown to the world that it’s possible to have sustainable urban mobility, and to cycle everywhere, even in a not so bike friendly weather. Here’s to hoping Amsterdam shows the way in other things too.
Gefeliciteerd, Amsterdam!!
That’s it for today! If you enjoyed this issue, share it with a friend! Know someone traveling to Amsterdam? Send it their way, they might like reading it too.
Luis
