We flew from Denver to Iceland. The flight wasn't bad. I knocked out 3 movies: Birdman, Whiplash, Shawshank Redemption. They got better the closer I got to Iceland. We were in Iceland with the sunrise, but only had time for a pit stop before it was on to Amsterdam.
I struggled on that leg of the trip, but finally got a few winks. We arrived starving and tired; ate wraps and drank smoothies at an airport store and boarded a train to Central Station. After a little searching we then boarded a bus to our AirBnB apartment near Westerpark. It's a cute 2-room join on the third story. The bathroom is a closet, but there's plenty of room otherwise. We're getting comfortable.
Clare took a nap; I wandered a bit. Ask me about the Polyp Party. No, don't, it's a carnival ride shaped like an octopus. I returned for a short nap and then we headed to the old gasworks for dinner. Our first choice place was busy and we were too spent for inquiries, so we moved on to Pizza Pazzani. The meal tasted good in its averageness. We felt guilty about our lack of Dutch, although everyone has been very accommodating of our English. A few Dutch phrases have come to mind, but I lack the confidence to wield them. Perhaps sleep will help. Let's go find out.
Day 2- March 22
At about 3 AM it seemed that sleep might be used up, but this proved untrue. We finally got up at 8. After sprinkles for breakfast, we began a modified reverse walking tour of Jordaan. We passed the long lines of Anne Frank, popped in the Cheese Museum, window shopped and took photos of shudders, canals and bikes until lunch time at the Screaming Bean. After lunch we rode some trains out to Maarn where Jolieke and Pim met us at the station .Wis and Bart were still napping, but we soon scooped them up and all headed to the Amersfoort zoo. Pim learned to say "I want to show you the lions," but was otherwise unconvinced that we could not speak Dutch. We looked at animals, slid on slides, and rode the train. It was an enjoyable afternoon with good company and good catching up. We had pannenkoeken at Jagershuys. If I'd been there (and I suspect I had), like the zoo, it had probably been remodeled in the last 30 years.
J took us through Doorn and for a quick look at my old house. The yard had been re-done and it looked as though Theo was long gone (he is), but from the outside the house looked very much the same. It failed to stir many memories; a bit of badminton, a time locked in Becky's room, but I was still pleased to see it. We returned to Jolieke's for tea and then headed back to our temp home in Amsterdam. It will be good to see them all again in July when they visit the states. Almost 15 years without a visit, now 2 in 1 year. Life is funny.
Best Pim story: Pim gave us licorice and stroop wafels. J said Pim wanted to eat the licorice, but she was able to explain that we couldn't get it in the states. Pim now thinks that all his suitcases for their holiday should be filled with licorice. This seems pretty wise to me.
Day 3- March 23
I woke up dead today. If that wasn't jet lag, I don't know what is. Once Clare got me going, we headed to catch a boat- a canal boat. We toured the city by waterway, eventually stopping for club sandwiches at Homemade. We boated on back toward home. I took out one of the apartment bikes and set my course for Sloterpark disc golf. It took 3 trips around the block, but I finally found my way. At least until I got lost again. Despite my troubles, the bike ride was heaven. It's amazing that cars yield, that there are bike traffic jams, and that there are so many good bike paths. It's like a dream.
I had a tough time navigating the disc golf course, but managed to hand on to my disc and only skip 4 holes. There was no one on the course. No one. People stared at me in awe. They had no idea what I was doing. The course was ok, ignoring the difficult to follow layout, but narrow in a lot of places. I could have used a guide and some more familiar discs (not the Roc).
Once finished I headed home on the glorious bike paths and into bike rush hour. C made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner after a frits snack. We took an after dinner walk to get some Amsterdam-at-night photos. We capped off the evening with Stoelen, some sort of apple croissant-like treat. Tomorrow we're going to try to beat or brave the line at the Anne Frank Huis.
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