Amsterdam Reflections

I'm sitting down to compose these last posts nearly six months after leaving Europe, so you must forgive me if some of the details have gotten a bit hazy.  I will do my best to dust off my memories because Amsterdam certainly deserves the shiniest of reflections.   

Our train arrived in the afternoon and we had a decent walk to what would be our "lodging" for the next couple of days.  A bit weary from the train ride and the walk, we rounded the final corner and crossed a bridge where young kids in rafts were racing to discover...

...our home.  

That's right.  My adventurous, romantic, and thoughtful fiancé arranged for our Euro train trip to conclude afloat in a motorless boat in an Amsterdam canal.  I realize some might look at this setup and decide that the two of us had lost our marbles at this point in our travels, but honestly, this was AWESOME!  

It wasn't a big boat, as you can see.  But it was enough for two kids in love. 

Above deck.  The boat potty is in the little cabinet on my left.

The boat had two sections.  The first was above deck- a covered area lined with benches for sitting, a small table, and a tiny closet containing a bucket fashioned with a mini toilet seat over the opening.  The "boat potty" was probably one of the more adventurous components of our living arrangement.  You do your business on the bucket, tidy up with biodegradable TP, and then toss the contents overboard.  Note to self: do not go swimming in the canals of Amsterdam.   

The second section was below deck- a locked cabin containing a non-working sink (there was no running water or plumbing on the boat), a working propane stove, and padded benches that we converted into beds at night.  

The stove.

The sink.  You can get a sense of how low the ceiling was in this photo.

Our beds.

The boat's owner was incredibly thoughtful.  She had all kinds of homey touches and the boat was well stocked with candles (very helpful considering there was no electricity), vases of silk flowers, and useful tourist information including a handful of locations where guests could find a shower.  More details on the showering experience will come later.  

It was like camping with candles and cacti! 

Fritz might have been a little bit long for the "beds" but we made it work.  Our host included extra blankets and sleeping bags, which were great considering we did not come prepared with bedding.  In the mornings, the cabin glowed with a golden light that streamed through the yellow curtains.  It was perfect!

 And let's not forget to mention that we had the most lovely neighbors.   Isabelle pictured above and her husband Mr. Mallard checked in on us regularly.  

Our boat was just south of the city proper and our walks into town always brought us past the iconic "I amsterdam" sign in front of the Rijksmuseum where hundreds of people were constantly posing for pictures.  

We walked everywhere.  I think we averaged at least 15 miles a day and even passed the 20-mile mark a few days (thanks FitBit for keeping track)!  I wouldn't want to do it any other way though.  The city was simply gorgeous in a way that was completed different from Paris or any of the other European cities we visited.  The canals lined with old brick row houses gave the streets an aesthetic that was equal parts quaint and stunning. 

Some stretches of the canal have house boat after house boat.  And I don't mean the kind of boat we are staying in.  These are full-size abodes complete with roof gardens, decks, and patio furniture.  We didn't go inside any of them, but I made sure to shamelessly gawking into any unshuttered windows to get a sense for houseboat décor.  

It was difficult to restrain myself from taking pictures.  It was just beautiful everywhere we turned. 

We made up for all our walking by stopping at one of the numerous Amsterdam frite stands.  These people love their fries!  In the US you might find hot dog stands in the city.  In Germany, there are wurst carts everywhere.  The Dutch skip the meat and stick to good ol' fried potato.  We followed the local custom and dipped our frites in mayo while we walked... probably on our way to the next meal. 

Our first dinner in Amsterdam consisted of a plate of finger-licking-good ribs in a very old pub.

It wasn't hard to work up an appetite with all the walking we were doing.  On one particularly hungry afternoon, we thought about making a healthy choice when we saw a Juice and Salad bar across the busy street we were walking down.  

The trouble was... before we managed to cross over, Thrill Grill appeared on our side of the street.  Who can pass up a burger joint with the tagline, "For the love of burgers"?  Not me!  

So we sat in the window and enjoyed our decadent burgers while staring through the window at the Juice & Salad.  So much for healthy choices.  

We explored some of the cafés and bars too.  This hipster spot was in the middle of Westerpark, a long stretch of greenery in the northwest part of the city.  

We were thrilled to meet up with Evan, who came to town for a business meeting that coincided perfectly with our visit.  Evan lives in London now, but grew up in Holland and therefore could order our drinks in Dutch.  He has managed to visit us quite a bit during our stay in Europe.  It's an extra special treat to share a memory with a friend when you are so far from home.