Friendly Amsterdammers

During my 10-day visit to Amsterdam, Sept. 5-16, 2013, I did six to seven hours of walking each day and had many exceptionally lovely “brief encounters.”

Everyone I stopped to ask for directions was so kind and seemed as if they had all the time in the world to help me. The younger set promptly whipped out cell phones to pull up maps. A woman closer to my age (78) happily chatted with me for about 15 minutes about things I should definitely see in the city.

An older couple joined a middle-aged one with a young daughter to discuss my search for a particular restaurant, and after meeting one of their neighbors who knew the way, the former insisted on walking me there.

Fortunately, for me, almost everyone I met spoke English.

MARILYN HILL

Portland, OR