For our first anniversary, we are taking a trip to Europe! We started in the Netherlands, then Belgium, Paris, and London. We are currently in Bruges (Brugge), Belgium, after taking the train from Amsterdam. Our trip began with a flight from Las Vegas to London on Friday evening/Saturday. From London, we hopped on a quick flight to Amsterdam. After claiming our luggage, we boarded the train from Schiphol airport to Amsterdam Central Station, and stepped outside into the muggy air amid a swirling swarm of bikes. Bikes were coming left and right, and in our groggy state, we took each step just hoping to not get run over. Bikes were everywhere–parked in huge rows of racks and ridden in every direction. Luckily our hotel was only a few blocks away, and we gladly dropped our luggage and collapsed onto the bed. After a shower and some snacks, we took some benadryl and slept for the next 14 hours.
Sunday morning Chris awoke with a start, realizing it was after 10am and we had a full day of museums planned. I laughed and started getting ready. Our first stop of the day was the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s main art museum. We made our way through, gazing at the beautiful paintings. After a light lunch in the museum cafe, we headed across the museumplein to the Van Gogh Museum. We had purchased Amsterdam City Cards, which included entry into lots of museums, but didn’t realize that a time slot reservation was required for Van Gogh. Luckily, WiFi outside the museum let us schedule a slot for 15 minutes later, and in we went. Van Gogh is one of my favorite painters, and we got to see one of my favorite paintings–The Bedroom–plus lots of others. After the Van Gogh Museum, we still had some time to check out the modern art museum across the plaza. None of it was really our favorite art, but we felt good about seeing something a little different. On the way back to the hotel, we climbed up some broad stairs to the top of the NEMO science museum to take a break and enjoy the view. Our route back to the hotel wound through the edges of the Red Light District, which we didn’t enjoy, but soon we were back out by the gorgeous canals. Dinner was at Sonneveld Cafe, where we split a meal of chicken and salad, enjoyed some Dutch gin tonics, and ended with Dutch apple pie. The pie was delicious, with a thick cakey crust and big chunks of apple.
Tuesday was a little cooler than Monday, made even cooler by a cool breeze that was perfect for windmills. We hopped on a train from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schanze, a little touristy spot where you can see historical Dutch windmills, clog makers, and more. We toured the museum, which included a ton of information about Dutch industry. At the end, there was a second section with a tour of a former biscuit and chocolate factory. We also went inside a windmill (The Cat). It is incredible how loud and powerful the wind can be! Afterwards, we got back on the train and headed to the small city of Haarlem, where we stopped for lunch in a bright cafe. The food was tasty and fresh–thick bread, greens, and cheese. After lunch, we walked into the center of the city and popped into St. Bavo’s church. The organ was being played while we wandered across the floor, which was entirely made of gravestones. Next we explored the streets some more until we got thirsty and headed to a different kind of church, this one turned into a brewery. The beer was tasty and it was cool to sip it beneath stained glass windows while enjoying a snack of bitterballen (little balls of fried dough with chunks of meat). When we returned to Amsterdam, we headed south across the city to get dinner at an Indonesian restaurant. With its former trading past, the Netherlands has a surprising amount of Asian influence and culture still present. The food was delicious, sort of similar to Thai and Indian, and made me wonder why we don’t have more Indonesian food at home!
On Tuesday we exchanged foot and train travel for two wheels and joined the thousands of other bikers. Our rented bikes were heavy, but cruised smoothly on the bike lanes. It was stressful riding with all the other people gliding around so gracefully, and finding the route we wanted proved a bit more challenging than we thought. First we crossed the channel from the Central Station on a short, free foot ferry and set out northward. After about 8 miles and some circling around the neighborhoods of north Amsterdam, we found the right route and pedaled toward Edam. Swarms of bugs were the main hazard on the route once we were clear of all the other bikes, and riding through fields and next to canals lined with houseboats was really cool. 12 miles later, with tired legs and sore backsides, we arrived in Edam and parked the bikes next to a canal, making sure to lock them up with wheel and chain locks as directed by the bike rental shop. Our first stop was for cheese! We sampled at least ten different types, including Edam and Gouda, plus flavored varieties. At first we bought only one, but later went back for three more (I had to make sure my cheese-addicted husband would have a sufficient amount of cheese to enjoy at home!). We also checked out the Cheese Market, which would be having its first use of the season the next morning. Edam was a tiny and quiet town, but a nice spot for a break from riding. Next we pedaled over to Volendam and again parked the bikes in the main square. We got simple sandwiches of bread and ham and cheese to go from a bakery, and wandered around browsing the shops. The lower part of the town was quiet, but closer to the port it was crowded with tourists and souvenir shops. My favorite shop was the stroopwafel bakery, where the smell of warm waffles baking and caramel sauce wafted through the air. After retrieving the bikes, we got in line for the foot ferry to Marken. It was a slow ride, but pleasant, and we arrived on the island of Marken ready to explore. Marken is another small town, with mostly tourists wandering around the small number of shops and gazing at the old style houses. The best part of the stop was the snacks–we sampled kibbeling (herring fried with a light breading and served with a tangy sauce) and poffertjes (mini pancakes served with powdered sugar and LOTS of butter). Both were delicious, and with all our riding we didn’t feel bad about indulging a bit. Refueled, we hopped back on the bikes and pedaled out of town across the dike that connects the island to the mainland. The ride back along the bike route was gorgeous, and although we were tired, it was my favorite part of the ride. As we got closer to Amsterdam, we joined a few more riders on the route, but with all the practice we’d had during the day, it was thankfully less stressful than the morning had been. We returned the bikes and quickly stopped at the hotel to drop off our purchases from the day, then crossed the canal into the Jordaan for our favorite dinner of Amsterdam, at Winkel. The atmosphere, with tables on the square, felt quintessentially European, and the food was delicious. After relaxing a bit at the hotel and packing up our bags for the next day’s travels, we headed to bed.
Now we’re in Belgium and the next stage of our adventure!
