That's right, I've torn myself away from the evil seductive place known as Herrang. I should probably upload photos. But, oh well. Not today.
Instead, the tales of my first day in Amsterdam come your way.

Oddly enough, although I couldn't sleep very well at all on the long flights between Australia and the States and then between the States and Copenhagen, I seem to be unable to keep my eyes open on the short flights between Copenhagen and Stockholm and Stockholm and Amsterdam. Bizarre. Maybe I'm getting used to flying. Who knows. Maybe it's the fact that I'd been getting 4-5 hrs sleep the nights before those flights... could be anything, really...

Anyway, basically, I arrived in Amsterdam last night, drowsy and completely out of it, having just snoozed for a good hour and a half on the plane. Although I'd briefly done a search for accommodation the day before, and called a few places, I couldn't make a booking for a dorm bed, and had to wing it when I arrived. This was a Bad Idea (TM). Arriving in Amsterdam on a Friday evening at the end of July with beautiful balmy weather without accommodation booked isn't wise, it seems. The place is absolutely crawling with backpackers. In fact the first thought i had as I stepped out of the Centraal Station was Wow, there's a lot of backpackers. And, to follow on from that thought, most youth hostels were completely full and had No Vacancy signs outside. At 7 pm. This, as you might imagine, is not what I wanted to see. Single hotel rooms were just as scarce.
After an hour or so of searching and poking my head into hotel reservation offices to be told they had nothing, I started wondering if I'd be sleeping in the street that night. But eventually I came across one that said yes, they did have a vacancy in a 3 night minimum place. Suited me fine, and it was the last available bed. It seems persistence pays off eventually.

It's funny how perceived room facility quality is all entirely relative. A few months ago, sharing a room with 5 other girls and not having a private bathroom would have been quite a shock to the system. Last night, after having spent the previous fortnight at Herrang, having only 6 people in my room seemed like a luxury. Sheets on the bed, even. Bliss. And the best thing? A hot shower with a door with a lock. Priceless. Herrang does not have hot showers. The closest you can get is warm, and even that is only around 4 or 5 am. Most of the time they're cold, or possibly lukewarm. So, as you might imagine, it was a damn nice experience having a truly hot shower. :)

After this, I was ready to hit the town, to see what Amsterdam has to offer.

My youth hostel isn't quite in the official Red Light district, but that doesn't mean much, it seems. Walking outside means you see sex shops all over the place, peep shows within a few minutes of the hostel and cafes with curious odours wafting out on most street corners. And there's not much choice in the matter. Ladies dressed in only their underwear sit enticingly in windows, hoping to snag a catch. It's just everywhere. Like bikes, so too are the sex shops. Almost one per person, it seems.

Or at least that's my first impression.

Anyway, excuse me for the moment while I go off to see the world-famous sex museum. :)