New Year’s Resolutions for life in Ámsterdam:

1) I resolve to visit at least one new winkeljte at least every month. Amsterdam is full of hundreds of fascinating specialty shops, most of which I have only wandered by, but have never entered to seriously browse.

2) I resolve to be kinder to pigeons, but only if they promise not to be so annoying.

3) I resolve to take more pictures of swans, especially those in all their elegance that dare to pass in canals dangerously close to drunken tourists.

4) I resolve to occasionally stop and provide directions to tourists who appear hopelessly lost, their maps spread out before them. That is, voluntarily point them in the right direction, without request.

5) I resolve to continue to enjoy the beauty of this city, even when its bad points leave me contemplating a flight to warmer destinations.