I used to call Amsterdam my home for three and a half years before I moved to Paris. As much as I loved my time in Amsterdam, I got bored of its small-sized, cosiness of the city towards the end of my stay, and I chose to move to a bigger, rougher city. Although I moved away almost four years ago, for many different reasons, I can’t cut my ties with Amsterdam. I go back more often than not.

Every time I arrive at Amsterdam central station, I always let out a happy sigh. I always feel like I’ve returned home. Once I hop on a grandma bike borrowed from a friend, I feel like I own the city again. Especially this time around, despite all the biking under the rain during the two-week stay, I fell in love with Amsterdam all over again.

Would I move back to Amsterdam? Probably not. But I’ll always come back to my ‘second home’ time to time.

It became my ritual to get a small bucket of french fries at the train station before I hop on the train back to Paris : ) Do you have a ‘second home’?