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A couple days ago I finished captioning the photos of Amsterdam from my recent European trip. The original plan was for Dominic and I to meet up with Sarah and Danielle on the morning of Saturday, April 17th, but due to the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull and subsequent closing of European airspace they didn’t arrive until Tuesday morning. This left us with only roughly 18 hours to spend in Amsterdam together before we went our separate ways. (Dominic and I on to Germany; Sarah and Danielle on to Brussels then France then Spain.) Because of both this and Dominic’s damaged feet† this we ended up not doing that much, instead spending lots of time just hanging out in the apartment that we rented and wandering around the center of the city.
Before you ask, no, we didn’t go to any coffee shops as neither of us were particularly interested. We did have some very good coffee and cake, but that was just in a place called Coffee Connection which we happened by while wandering after visiting the Anne Frank House.
Here’s a few of the more interesting photos:
· Fields of flowers as seen from the train between Brussels and Amsterdam.
· German-style toilet. Yes, the shelf is unpleasant to use.
· Looking out the window of Floor 1 of Bed And Net. It’s very well located with great food and such right near by.
· The second building from the right is Bed And Net, the guesthouse where Dominic, Danielle, Sarah and I stayed.
· This boat on a canal was full of people from the US and/or Canada who were stuck in Amsterdam by the volcano. They were enjoying their time drinking and cheering about wanting to go home.
· It seems that 9/11 Truthers / Alex Jones fans can be found anywhere.
· Jamon Iberico hanging in the window of a pork shop.
· Cheese and tomato sandwich which Dominic picked up for me from Bakkerij v Eijk, across the street from where we stayed.
· Looking down a canal roughly across the street from the Anne Frank House.
· Carrot cake and a latte in a coffee house (Coffee Company) after visiting the Anne Frank House.
· Sarah and Dominic the morning that Sarah and Danielle finally made it to Europe. We were all sitting in a cafe eating breakfast.
· Glasses of La Chouffe with breakfast.
· Danielle’s breakfast was fried eggs, cheese, and ham on toast.
· Very large cone of frites with garlic mayo, which Sarah, Danielle, and I shared.
· FEBO, an automat-like place in the Netherlands which sells food from vending machines.
· Looking down a canal at a bridge around sunset.
· Standing outside of the train station, passing time, as my coffee cup drips on the sidewalk. It was poorly made.
Yes, I do have video of the failings of the German-style toilet, but I have yet to post it. The issue is not so much with the insult being exposed and sitting on a shelf, but that the water frequently fails to wash it off of the shelf, necessitating a brushing. As such its apparently common to have a toilet brush by every toilet.
One nifty thing that I hadn’t expected is that most people in The Netherlands, or at least Amsterdam itself, seem to speak English with a US accent. They also seem to know English very well, so I never had a language problem ordering food or generally going about things there. I definitely would like to go back there, and perhaps Danielle and I will on a better-scheduled trip. Maybe this next time we’ll rent a houseboat as well, staying on a canal somewhere and spending a bunch of time traveling out of the city and possibly over to other countries (Belgium, Germany?) as well.
† Note to the world: Do not wear Chuck Taylor All-Stars when spending a few days walking around London. They are not good shoes for walking long distances in, especially if they don’t fit well and/or are worn with inappropriate socks. Doing this will seriously damage your feet.