nighttime in amsterdam

i'm really bummed out i'll have to leave this city. just realized tonight how much i love it. met up with my lithuanian friend Daiva after spending a bit of time photographing museumplein. we went to check out a few bars popular with the locals, and after conceding the fact that it would be impossible to find a place to sit let alone stand (the second bar we couldn't even open the door) we sat outside on the patio near amstel river and split a 750 ml bottle of La Chouffe. we weren't visited once by the staff of the establishment and we spent the better part of an hour just sitting, talking, and drinking straight from the bottle. freaking awesome. when we realized it was just about midnight we saddled up and headed our separate ways. i opted for the route that would take me through the city centre. nothing like cruising down along the amstel after midnight only to arrive in the heart of amsterdam. midnight on a friday night the city is very much still bustling and it isn't until you're well outside of the small canals and crooked facades that you realize you're the only one still riding this way. you ride in packs with miniature two-person cars, taxi's, cyclists (both drunk and sober), and mopeds. as soon as the light turns green you're off the blocks and passing everyone on the outside. the feeling is really like no other. through the heart of amsterdam after midnight; the wind in your hair, and the air in your lungs, pushing faster and faster until it's only you and the sound of the wind and your own breath..........