amsterdam

Last spring, some Virginia Beach friends of ours, Nick and Tami, were taking their first Euro holiday with their new baby girl.  Simone is only a few months younger than their little one.  We had loved travelling with Nick and Tami PC (pre-children) so of course we were stoked to meet them on one of the legs of their Euro tour, AMSTERDAM.  We all knew this would not be the Amsterdam trips of thee ol' days of yore.  But with a 7 month old and 5 month old, we were getting pretty good at not letting the little rascals hold us back travel-wise.

We rented an Airbnb flat in the heart of the posh and busy Jordaan neighborhood.  Massive windows that looked out onto the canals where we could perch and still feel part of the nightlight even with babies down for the night.  Our Airbnb host owned the famous Café Papeneiland, a beautiful and cozy brown bar a few doors down from us.  He delivered their famous apple (pie) cake with fresh cream to us upon request - when tourists and locals schlepped across the city for it.

We didn't set lofty goals like wait hours in line for the Anne Frank house, or visit the Van Gogh Museum, or endure The Heineken experience (done it).  Instead, due to the four us of having a common love for good, strong (read: Belgium) beer, we had a few bars on our must see list.  Other than that we enjoyed walking the neighborhoods, taking in the culture, and dodging the bikes.

The Dutch and their bikes amaze me.  The cluster of littles riding in the front buckets of Mummy or Daddy's bikes being taken to school or nursery.  The sweet boyfriend holding an umbrella over his girlfriend's head as they fly down the cobblestone streets on their respective bikes, meanwhile she is dressed to the nines, heels and all.  I kept asking, "HOW do they do it? Ride with such grace and ease." Marco always followed with, "They have done it their whole life."  I put Amsterdam in a category with Paris and Rome.  To me, they are three of the best people watching cities in Europe.

It's not just a postcard city full of canals, pretty buildings, and "coffee shops."  A must must visit full of (tall) friendly people with refreshing outlooks on life.  Oh and they don't do curtains and leave their front doors wide open when they are home, a strange sight to see in city living - and a great way to see a snippet into their culture and daily life for a peeping Tom outsider like me.

Some photos.  Look at the babies!