Amsterdam: the city of no shame.

We've been in Amsterdam for a couple days now. The most striking thing about this city is that no one ever really feels any shame, for anything. Obviously, there is the red light district where you can shop for prostitutes in public, and the coffee shops were you can buy pot and then smoke it on the street right in front of a cop. But the level of personal reservation on a person to person level is unlike anything I've ever seen.
See, there are these public urinals, in the middle of the street. They are divided into fourths, so four dudes can use them at the same time. That's not just a phenomen in the bar district though. They are all over the city, even in mostly residential neighborhoods (although these are single person models, but the fact remains that I can pee and watch people ride past on bicycles).
Second, we went to a rugby tournament yesterday for about five hours to watch international teams play sevens rugby and one group play tens (Zac, you are welcome to boil in jealousy right now. But we thought about you the whole time). There was two groups of streakers during the tournament. The first was a single guy from a team that had lost out of the tournament. The best part was that as he ran around the field and kicked the ball and danced (and James took pictures), no one really cared. In fact, he literally ran around for at least three minutes before anyone realized that security should probably make him stop, and even then they were exceedingly lazy about it. The second group was an entire team that came out to congradulate the womens sevens team that won their tournament. Needless, to say, both occasions were met with riotous applause and witty remarks from the announcer.

As we sit here waiting for our train to copenhagen, I can't help but think what a beautiful city Amsterdam is. The canals, cathedrals, and old houses and buildings are better than any post card or picture can do justice. Despite the cold and rain, this is an exceedingly beautiful place with a kind of fun and energy that I've rarely felt anywhere else. I can't even say how glad I am that we came here.