We loved our time in Italy but we weren't quite ready to leave so we made a quick 26 hour layover in Amsterdam on our way back to the States. We flew over the Alps and it was beautiful.
The best part of this trip was not having the kids with us because we walked EVERYWHERE. We took a train and tram followed by foot. We had no idea where to stay so we picked a Hilton so we could use Jason's points. This was the view from our room.
These pictures are a little out of order but since we were only here a short while, I'm not going to bother putting them in exact order. We went for a walk the morning after we landed in search of a good coffee and found it at this little cafe.
There were lots of museums and we came across this cool sign in front of one.
So of course we had to take photos.
We then went for a walk through the art/shopping district. So pretty everywhere you look.
It's hard to see but at the top of this house you will see a hook but Jason really liked this one because it was an elephant. The hooks, you may know, is so that residents could pull up items into their homes. Many of the houses have steep, narrow staircases that made it difficult to bring bulky items inside.
We found a big, beautiful park to walk through on our way back to the hotel.
I fell in love with how everyone biked everywhere in the city. We had lunch when we first arrived by a school, so as we were eating we would see these moms biking by with three or four kids piled into buckets on their bikes, or in seats in front or behind them. We tried to get a picture the next day but this was the closest we could get.
They carry everything on their bikes - including balloons!!
Here was an empty bicycle bucket that would be filled at some point with kids, dogs, groceries, etc.
Again, out of order, by the highlight of our stop was the chance for me to visit with an old school friend, Jenny, who now lives outside Amsterdam with her husband and three kids. I went to school with Jenny from the 4th grade through high school and I hadn't seen her since we graduated.
OK, back to our first day. After we settled into our hotel we headed out for the rest of the afternoon/evening to explore. We loved the canals and all the beautiful buildings along them. We were very lucky with our weather and didn't have any rain. I comment to Jason that I thought I could live here - until he commented that the weather was very similar to Seattle and London (meaning often gray and rainy). Hmmm, maybe I'll just come visit!
We found a cool little cafe around the corner from our hotel and had an amazing lunch. We also learned they have very different customs than in the U.S. For instance, you have to go and find a waiter(tress) for your check, they won't bring it to you. We sat a long time wondering if we should go find ours or wait it out. Jason went looking after a long time....
Oh, did I mention that we were in Amsterdam on Jason's birthday? His 40th to be exact! While I spent mine at home, alone with the kids while he was doing military training, only Jason would have the luck of the Gods to put him in Amsterdam, sans kids, for his. Oh, and with the Heineken Brewery close by.
Of course we had to take the tour.
Cheers to the birthday boy.
This was the street the brewery is on and I just loved the winding road with the houses.
But the first photo didn't show enough of the street, so I made Jason take another photo.
Then we walked down one of Amsterdam's street markets.
Look at all the bikes. They had massive parking areas for them and when crossing the street you had to look for both bikes and cars!
Can you imagine having to find your bike in all of them?
Of course we had to get a picture of the tulips.
All the canals.
We thought the boys would like these cool statues.
The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is behind me.
After walking through the Red Light District we made our way over to the home that Anne Frank was hiding in while Holland was occupied. I would have loved to take the tour but we didn't get tickets beforehand and the line was around the street.
This is the canal out in front of her house.
We spent all day/evening walking around the city and we had the best time. I loved my visit with Jenny and meeting her husband and experiencing the city.
On our way to the airport to head home.
We will definitely come back!!
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