What a beautiful, interesting, historic and quirky city. Amsterdam was the perfect jumping-off point for our '19 European adventure [cue up Holiday Road]. A few quick reactions to Amsterdam: 1) If you thought you had a feel for how many bikes there are here, multiply that number by 100, and you'll still probably be short.
2) Bikes>Pedestrians>Public Transportation>Personal Vehicles. People on bikes WILL kill you, so we learned quickly to keep our heads on a swivel, and understand that bikes have the right-of-way every time.
3) Being from Oregon, I don't have any judgment toward those who partake in recreational marijuana use, but I will say it seemed a bit much in Amsterdam. Weed smoke was literally everywhere [insert standing ovation from my 420 friends]. 4) Through all of our European travels, I have grown to really appreciate European youth. They seem to really live life - in person. They are engaging, excited, and rarely have their noses buried in their cell phones. It's refreshing and a great lesson for our kids (and us). 5) Like the rest of Europe, the cars are small, things are efficient, and the train system perfectly connects the continent. 6) We found the people of Amsterdam to be incredibly friendly and welcoming to tourists. The only negative experience, ironically, was from some obnoxious and loud German dude sitting at the table next to us at dinner last night. Our Top 10 Tourist Stops: 1) Anne Frank House - Moving and special and probably the highlight. 2) Rijksmuseum 3) VanGogh Museum 4) Vondelpark 5) Canal Cruise - should have gone open air. 6) Red Light District 7) Royal Palace/Dam Square 8) Rembrandt's House
9) Floating Flower Market 10) Amstelkring Museum - Catholic church hidden in the attic of a 17th century merchant's house.
Currently on the train from Amsterdam to Cologne and eventually onto Bacharach, Germany this afternoon. Below are a few highlight pictures from Amsterdam. Tot ziens!
-Jeff
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