well well... Amsterdam.

food
i dont know about dutch food...not sure if i ate anything purely dutch. they have lots of fast food available, also plenty of healthy options, great sandwiches for just 2-4 euros. all around the food was pretty cheap, but better restaurants are at around finnish prices (19e for a steak). all that i ate was pretty good however, so i recommend Dam for eating out :) a word of warning though: mozzarella sticks are unknown concept, altho they have similar looking deep fried sticks all over. but those are filled with beef or potato...anything else but mozzarella. even McDonalds didnt have mozzarella sticks.

shopping
great long shopping streets. mostly big international/european chains (H&M, Zara, New Yorker, Douglas, C&A...) but also smaller locals. lots of shoes but they arent that cheap (sneakers 70-80e) and high heels from 50e on. the clothes themselves are at central european price level, semi cheap from my point of view. also a lot of specialty shops hip hop, punk...

money
credit cards work in most shops in downtown area, but cash is seriously needed too. btw imagine your visa bill saying "8.3.2008 hash 3grams 20e" that would be amusing?

people
very nice. very. friendly, outgoing and open. people talk to you and its not just empty chit chat but they are actually open and genuinely nice. i greatly enjoyed this and it makes you feel welcomed in the city. about half of the people are immigrants, some 2nd or 3rd generation no doubt. it shouldnt have been a surprise but i guess it was.

okay i ran out of energy, thats that. i recommend Amsterdam.

on monday we met Suzage. i used to tak with her online quite a bit a couple yrs ago. i etched it in my memory that if i was every to go to Holland, i need to meet her there. we did some bar hopping and relatinship talk and what not, had a good time. im happy i finally met her.

i put some of the trip photos here.

i have a christmas party to go to... in Lahti.