Way, way back in May we had a lot of family visit us. Where I last left off with the blog, we had just attended our 3rd Mille Miglia with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. The next day, we hopped on a plane heading to Amsterdam.
As you all know, Amsterdam is best known for the Red… er, marij… er, waterways and bicycles! Right out of the gate we started with a water canal tour. One of the first things pointed out to us was a bicycle parking deck with 2,000+ bicycles crammed into it. In fact, it was so overly crowded that they were in the process of expanding the parking deck. No joke. Bicyclists and bicycles are everywhere in Amsterdam.
Just a small example of the bicycle craze in Amsterdam
And I would venture to say that bicyclists in Amsterdam are more dangerous than an outbreak of the plague. There appears to be absolutely no rhyme or reason as to whom has the right-of-way. And should you hear a bicyclist hit the deck, you can be sure that person is from out of town. I think we all witnessed our fair share of wrecks by camera toting tourists. Oh, and the bells. You hear bicyclists dinging their bells every 5 seconds. It could drive a person mad. For me, it drove me to creativity.
Bikes and Canals... what Amsterdam is best known for???
After our boat tour, we headed to our flat for the weekend. Mom and Dad rented a pretty sweet place that was typical Amsterdam. Narrow with steep, steep steps connecting the floors—of which there were four. Because the stairways are so steep and narrow, it is pretty much impossible to carry furniture up them. So the front of the homes have huge windows and the gable has a pulley system. Have a new couch that needs to go on the 3rd floor? Open up your window, raise you couch to the 3rd floor, and pull it in.
Of course, I’ve been a bit coy in the article. I know that most don’t think of canals or bicycles when thinking of Amsterdam. You, of course, think of… the “I Amsterdam” sign! Here’s Dana with the D:
D is for Dana
And me with the M:
My favorite letter
After our photo shoot, we headed into the Van Gogh museum. We expected to spend no more than 30 minutes in the museum, but we were in there for hours! Of that time, only about 7 minutes were spent looking at art. When we arrived, there was an open bar, couches, and a “stage”. So we settled in for a few drinks, philosophizing, and some of the craziest music I’ve ever heard. There were two groups. The first were all stationed at keyboards, and made music by pecking away at the keys. Sounds weird, but here’s a sample:
By the end of the show, one of the guys was half naked and they were all soaked with sweat. They definitely put it all into the performance. Throughout the first show, I kept seeing this one guy wandering around while talking on his cell phone. He was acting a bit curious so I thought that maybe he was part of a second show. I was right.
This dude was NUTS!
And pretty darn funny to watch
The second group was even better than the first. Their instruments were made out of junk, but they made some incredible music. Here’s a sample:
After the show, we made a lap of the museum—literally finishing in about 7 minutes. Apparently, neither of us greatly appreciates art.
The following day was museum day for us. First we stopped at a museum of the city. Dana saw a bike and hopped on for a quick ride.
Pedal WOMAN!
Later that day, we visited the Anne Frank House with Derek and Katie. Having read her story, it was interesting to see the house that she so often referred to. Definitely a worth while stop, if just a short one.
On our final day, we spent the entire day together as a family. We started by visiting a number of museums—including the handbag museum (YEAH! ladies choice!). We also went to the Resistance Museum. This museum posed a basic question: Nazi Germany has invaded and now occupies your town. What do you do? Resist, leave, or assimilate? A rather simple question that isn’t very easy to answer. Dana was the most intrigued with the museum, and was several yards behind me when Katie came looking for us. I was almost finished, but Dana was only about 2/3 through the museum. The others were getting a bit impatient with us, as we had previously decided to get pancakes.
Here the family is all smiles because we’ve decided to get pancakes for lunch.
The Fam in Amsterdam (this is all smiles for my family)
Pancakes in Amsterdam are the quintessential stoner food. More like like crepe in thickness, they are piled high with whatever you can imagine (eggs, ham, onions, feta cheese, ice cream, pineapple, etc.); they sound strange, but are delicious. Derek and Katie loved them so much, they went 3 different times.
PANCAKE EUPHORIA!
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing in getting our pancakes. You know you are in trouble when there are two maps and Dana in play to determine the best route.
I don't think we're going to get pancakes.
I told Katie that she wasn’t going to get pancakes. She wasn’t happy.
No pancakes for YOU!
Dana saved the day by telling Katie she knew the way to the pancakes shop.
Pancake savior
After our pancakes, we took the long way to the flat. Big mistake! AJAX (the local pro FIFA team) had literally just won the Championship against their rival, and we had routed ourselves through the city’s celebratory grounds. Everywhere we turned was a screaming drunk carrying a half empty 6-er sporting an AJAX jersey. Normally, ecstatic fans don’t phase me, but when I saw the riot police and water cannons on standby, I began to worry. Luckily, we made it through untouched.
I would be remissed, if I didn’t at least mention coffee shops and the Red Light District. Dana and I were the only ones to venture into the Red Light District. Coffee shops (the kind that would be illegal in the US), however, were everywhere. I naïvely assumed that illicit activities were limited to the Red Light District. I was wrong. Walking down a quiet street in a peaceful neighborhood, and BAM! There’s an 80 year old woman with a walker smoking a doobie blowing her smoke every which way.
I will say that the Red Light District is pretty interesting. We saw women of all shapes, sizes, colors, and prettiness. Apparently, whatever your taste, they’ve got you covered. But, we all know the million dollar question: Did Dana proposition a prostitute? Well, I am not at liberty to say…
