Amsterdam, Netherlands - August 21st - 23rd, 2009

A chance to go to Amsterdam for a quick weekend with two friends and get 1 of 2 tickets paid for? Sign us up! Eric had a few meetings out in Amsterdam (and the surrounding areas) at the end of last week. He, along with two good friends of ours that he works with, also had a few meetings (maybe coincidentally?) out there as well. Since the three of them were going to be out there and work was paying for the flight, I decided to buy a last minute ticket and enjoy the weekend with them.

I flew out of City airport Friday night after work. City airport is fabulous. Since I am already east, I just take the tube to Bank and get the DLR which takes me right there. It took about an hour from Russell Square and within about 15 minutes of getting to the airport, I was checked in, through security and sitting in the lounger near the gate. They board the planes (which are generally small) about 30 minutes before takeoff and they tend to take off on time and land early – bonus!

 I arrived in Amsterdam, uneventfully, and was surprised to see Eric waiting for me at the arrival area. He decided to come pick me up at the airport – which was really sweet. We stopped quickly at our hotel – Eden Square then headed to grab some good. The Eden Square has a great location near Rembrandt Square which makes the city very accessible on foot or by bike. The rooms are smaller, but the beds are really comfortable and the bathrooms are very ergonomically designed and have nice toiletries. Anyway, I digress. We stopped for a quick falafel at a chain – Maoz before meeting up with Ciara and Ashley for drinks. We started in Rembrandt Square, then wandered off to a side street for a few more. Towards the end of the night we made our way to a very very very local place where the local tranny population frequents. The swinging chandelier, the Dutch pop music we couldn’t understand and the clientele made for an interesting last drink. We then headed back to the hotel and proceeded to raid the vending machine for some Toblerone, waffle things, and some weird rectangle-shaped, puffed rice bits that tasted like fake bacon and cheese. They were deliciously disgusting.

 One of Eric’s favorite activities when visiting Paris and Amsterdam is riding bikes so early Saturday morning we got up, rented bikes from the hotel (which were brilliant because they were proper bikes without the big signage that generally comes with rentals) and cycled our way to breakfast at Pancakes! Amsterdam. The pancakes were delicious! Eric had a sweet one and I had one with goat cheese, pine nuts, garlic oil, and spinach. After breakfast we cycled to the big windmill – which I had missed on our last visit due to illness, then back to the hotel to meet up with the Searles. The Searles were just rising for the day and we decided we would cycle a bit more and meet them later in VondelPark.
 About an hour later we met up in Vondel Park. Eric and Ashley took the bikes and were set to meet Ciara and I (who were on foot) at the Farmer’s Market, Noordermarkt-Boerenmarkt. As you know, Eric and I love a good market and were able to get some fixings for lunch (bread, cheese, olives, artichokes, and a delicious muffin with pesto, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and feta cheese. How incredible does that sound?!

We ate our goods with the gang and had a nice rose and a beer to wash everything down. We then strolled back to the hotel (we being Ciara and I); Ashley took the bike once again. Although he said he really didn’t like bikes, he definitely wanted to ride mine an awful lot. We met the boys near the square and had a quick rest before heading to the hotel (for an actual rest) before dinner. Dinner that night was at an Indonesian place called Long Pura. The experience was authentic as it was about 100 degrees in the restaurant, and we were given orchids as a greeting. It was almost as if we were in Bali!

Canal party - the water is there somewhere

The food was good. We got a rice table which included many small dishes of local flavor. My favorite was the spicy pork; my least favorite was the spicy egg (which I didn’t try because the concept disgusted me) You better believe Eric tried it though; although he didn’t like it!

Following dinner, we walked through the red light district (which I am completely fascinated by). I think it is because those women have a profession that is so completely different from mine. I remember the first time I visited this part of Amsterdam; I was surprised by the gross unattractivenss of many of the women. I remember expecting them to be much better looking and a lot less trashy. The ridicule and judgement that goes on in my mind when I see men approach them is astonishing.

When I was satisfied with our red light visit, we headed back to the square and had one (or three) for the road at a cafe. It was great to spend quality time with the Searles.

On Sunday, we pedaled to one of our favorite (or my favorite) bagel places for breakfast - bagels and beans near the Van Gogh museum. After a quick tour around the area, we headed back to the hotel, because we had to check out (and sadly) relinquish the keys to our bike locks.

At noon, we boarded a train to Odejk to visit Kirsten Namesnik and her kids, Austin and Madison. Kirsten (for those who don't know) was the wife of one of Eric's former swim coaches in college. Snik passed away in January of '06 and just last year Kirsten moved the family back to her hometown to be nearer to her mom and sister. We had a great (although brief) trip to see their home, the school where the kids attend and the neighborhood in which they live. It was great catching up with her, meeting her sister and having lunch with the kids. They are still as cute as ever and Kirsten a gracious host. Sadly, it was then time to say goodbye and head back to Schiphol.

Amsterdam Round 2 - different from Round 1, but equally as good.

Pics here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=hj0zhyv.9lwylztr&x=0&y=p1hp8b&localeid=en_US