“How did he propose to you?”
“We had been together for a while and at some point he asked me if I considered to be his wife. I told him I considered it but I never really said yes. Somehow we got married anyways.”
“Is he romantic with you?”
“Ohhh.. very! Like for example before we came to Amsterdam he bought me two locks with our names on it. One to chain to a bridge in Amsterdam and one to chain to a bridge in Budapest. I am a lucky girl.”

“Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city of sin, but in truth it is a city of freedom. And in freedom, most people find sin.” — John Green

“You know back in the days hairdressers used to work for a boss. But the scene in Amsterdam is slowly changing. Renting a chair as a freelance hairdresser is an American concept. It’s not very usual over here but it’s upcoming. I personally love it. I was on payroll for six years but freelancing actually gives me the opportunity to grow as a creative entrepreneur.”

Meet Katherine (81) and Eddy (85). They both became widows a few years ago and they have been best friends ever since.
Eddy: “We live in the same building. We hang out together all the time. I feel that she understands me.”
“What do you do when you hang out together?”
Eddy: “Well.. we do all sorts of things, like going out to see the movies, watch a theatre play or just a walk through the beautiful city of Amsterdam. Occasionally we travel together.”
“Really? ”
Eddy: “Oh yes! The best thing about our travels is that I get to spend a lot of time with Katherine, and sometimes we even get to share a room. ” Katherine: “Ohh Eddy, stop it you silly man! ”

“I come from a small place in the north of The Netherlands. I always felt an outsider. When I was 16 years old I decided to move to Amsterdam to attend an art school. I was rejected to take part in their program but I was so determined that I decided to pay them a visit. When I came in I just started an ongoing monologue about why they should accept me in their school. The lady in charge was so surprised that she couldn’t stop laughing and decided to accept me after all. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.”

Let me introduce you to a genuine “Amsterdammer”. Marc de Hond, someone I truly admire. He used to be a DJ, owner of a very succesful internet company and a fervent soccer player. That was 10 years ago Marc got diagnosed with a tumor in his spinal cord. The tumor got succesfully removed but due to medical errors Marc ended up in a wheelchair.
Somehow he found the strength to pick up his life again. And these days he is a motivational speaker, a TV host and plays wheelchairbasketbal for the national Dutch team. He also wrote a book about his journey.
When I asked what kept him going all these years he simply answered;
“You only live once so you better make something of your life.”

For a more detailed version of Marc’s story you can check out his motivational speech that he did for TEDxAmsterdam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wCLIfdsmpE