I amsterdam

Dutch Pancakes

Yet again, I am trying to make up for lost time. This post and the following one are both much belated, so much so that I am struggling to remember all of the wonderful details of these particular adventures. So bear with me!

So, what is the first thing you do when it's early in the morning and you've just arrived in Amsterdam? You get Dutch pancakes, of course! And that is exactly what we did. We wandered the canals of the city until we happened upon a cute little pancake shop and ordered the local specialty : apple bacon pancakes. Boy, was it delicious. It had a wonderful sweet and salty quality, not unlike eating m&m's with popcorn at the movies, only of course we were in Amsterdam, and the sights were a lot more interesting than the latest blockbuster film to say the least.

I amsterdam

For the rest of the day, we explored the city by foot following along a particularly wide canal that seemed like a promising path. Along the way we stopped at the Rijks Museum, a church or two and some beautiful parks. At the end of our jaunt, we rested and ate at the Windmill de Gooyer. By the time we finished walking this path we were exhausted and struggling under the weight of our backpacks so we headed back to the center of the city for some refreshments. When it began to get dark we wandered over to the Red Light District. An oh was I surprised! Let's just say the ladies definitely aren't shy in that part of town...

Red Light District

Something that was a new and exciting adventure for me on this trip was couch surfing. For those of you who don't know, couch surfing is a website where people with extra beds and couches to lend network with travelers looking for a free place to stay. At first it sounds a but sketchy, at least it did to me. But I found that the people we stayed with on this trip were generous people who are interested in meeting new people and learning about different cultures, and the hosts themselves seemed to lead pretty interesting lives of their own. For example, we stayed with a very nice Dutch couple in Amsterdam, Henry and Mary who told us amazing stories about their motorcycle journeys through India, Eastern Europe and parts of the Middle East. On our first night in Amsterdam, we even attended a Blues concert at a bar where Henry played the base with his band.

Anne Frank House and Museum

On the second and last day of our visit to Amsterdam, we took a guided tour of the city where we learned some very interesting history about its politics and architecture. Our guide showed us the narrowest house in Amsterdam, as well as the Anne Frank house and museum, the Red Light district and taught us a very important lesson about being a pedestrian in Amsterdam : "If you here a bell, run like hell!" And let me tell you, that was some good advice! Afterwards, we strolled through some beautiful parks and payed a visit to the local flower market before heading back to our couches to pack for the bus ride to Brussels in the morning.


With love, from Lausanne

Mindy