September 7, 2013
Contest: The first person to correctly identify the meaning of this sign will win an evening listening to the Larsens ramble on and on about their trip. Yawn.
It was raining the afternoon we were supposed to go to the Anne Frank House and the line was probably a football field long. Didn't we see a PBS Documentary about Anne Frank a few months ago? Do we want to stand in this line in the rain? NO!
We walked about two miles to the Van Gogh Museum only to find that the next entry was in two hours and, once again, the long line. "Hey," says Larsen, "didn't we see a PBS Documentary about Van Gogh last winter?" You guessed it. We blew off the Van Gogh. Besides, Larsen says he cut his ear off after looking at his own pictures.
The Red Light District is best seen after dark. We were tired and our feet hurt. Do we really want to see drunk tourists ogling "working girls"? Nope.
The epiphany was: This is our vacation. We don't have to go/see/do places just because it's what other people might enjoy.
P.S. The "girls" were still working the next morning. Standing in their red lit windows, wearing the uniform, talking on their cell phones, and looking bored as hell. I didn't get a real good look as I was busy threading my way through the vomit from the previous evening.
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It's Just Like Riding A Bike......
There are 780k people in Amsterdam and 880k bikes. Bikes everywhere you look. Leaning against buildings and canal bridges, or in bike parking decks. They take between 12k and 15k bikes out of the canals every year. These aren't fancy bikes either. No gears, and not much paint. Just a hand break. The Dutch ride them to work, school, shopping, and out to dinner, wearing short dresses, much to Larsen's delight. The pic on the right is of "the family mini van". The two kids were left outside while Mom is in the grocery store. At least the windows aren't rolled up.
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Our landlord, Andre, was nice enough to loan us his bikes. The cobbled streets are narrow and filled with pedestrians, scooters, and delivery vans. i seem to be the only person in Amsterdam who cant ride a bike. How embarrassing! There was an unfortunate incident where I got too close to an oncoming car and felt compelled to bail. Larsen, being much cooler than me, managed to stay upright.
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Dutch Food
O.K. They really don't have "Dutch food". They've borrowed from other cultures, leaning towards Thai. There aren't any big supermarkets that we can see. Everything is purchased at small individual stores in the neighborhood. Fresh eggs at a hardware store and check out this beautiful bread and cheese shop. We purchased some tasty "baked goods" at a coffeshop to eat in our room and also tried the traditional savory Dutch Pancake. Mine was with cheese and mushroom. Yum.
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My Personal Groomer
We were at this man's sidewalk cafe. He was kind enough to pick the blonde hairs of my black shirt while he took our order. I was trying to get a pic of the crooked house over Larsen's shoulder when he photo bombed us.
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Larsen The Schmoozer
Larsen thinks it's his good looks and smooth delivery. I think they recognize a big tipper; Whatever, Larsen is a masterful barmaid Schmoozer. Melanie invited us to a private "Dutchy" party at a little pub around the corner from our B&B. It was the bosses son's birthday. We sat upstairs and overlooked the festivities. Much drinking & singing. The music sounded suspiciously Like a polka.
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As The Evening Wore On.........
About That Cat......
We were walking by this Pub when I spied a cat curled up and napping on a barstool. Of course we had to stop. He stayed quite a while without anyone asking him for his seat. Then he climbed up on the bar, stopped for a drink of water at the sink, and sauntered out, headed for the next bar. Cats are actually quite common in restaurants and bars that are open to the street.
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Love, love, love Amsterdam! Off to Germany tomorrow morning.