Autumn in Amsterdam

Autumn in Amsterdam generally lacks the flair of the American Midwest. There are no sweatshirted stadium spectacles on frosty Friday nights or weekend afternoons. There are no corn-husked community festivals or grinning pumpkins. The leaves typically evolve from bright green to dull green to bright brown (maybe this could be called a dull yellow) to dark brown to dust -- a simple, unglamorous death and collapse into winter. Gray lifeless Dutch days in September and October can make me simultaneously wistful and resentful.

But when Amsterdam manages to muster up a crisp sun-choked afternoon in October, I find myself looking around with the eyes of a recovering amnesiac... And I feel awed and invigorated by the spirit of Autumn in Amsterdam.