Amsterdam

Amsterdam immediately reminded me of what I dislike about America but not without also reminding me of luxuries I take for granted. My biggest pet peeve was the trash on the streets due to the fact that they don't have the space that most places in America have available to properly accommodate it all. However, by day two or three, I had already subsided taking notice. Other than that, it was a charming and delightful city. I could walk around daily in awe of the tall, narrow buildings along the canals. Old houseboats line some of the canals with residents inhabiting them. Although this leads to my second annoyance which was the American twist on some of the houseboats that reminded me more of a small double wide afloat, some painted hideous colors. Luckily there weren't many of these atrocious dwellings! Bicycles lined the streets with the bicyclists having the right of way over pedestrians it seemed with their mild horns going off if you were walking in the bike lanes or in the way.

Most European cities I have been to lack the overabundance of corporate life and chain restaurants which is one thing I love so much about being outside of the US. Big clothing brands thrive in Europe too though, which I generally overlook due to most of them not being present in the US. I did have my classic horrified expression though when walking by an Abercrombie which literally had about a 40 person line awaiting entry. Josh's local friend Tom explained that it was only two weeks old which gave me some relief and an excuse for a line. None the less it made me want to go shake every person in line back to the reality of what they were encouraging and who they eventually leave out of business by not shopping locally.

Josh and I walked about five to ten miles daily just enjoying the streets and exploring. We visited the public library which was in a very nice, bee building with a restaurant on the top floor allowing for a spectacular view of the city. At Amsterbed, where we stayed, Corinna (the owner) cooked us breakfast every morning. On New Year's Eve there were fireworks being set off all over the city also causing car alarms to go off which was entertaining since you generally don't see fireworks going off in the streets in the US. Unfortunately it was raining and a bit of a nasty night but still fun. We had oliebollen (deep fried dough balls) which is a traditional food on new New Year's. They were quite tasty!

Next adventures....Frankfurt and Munich before heading to Innsbruck for a couple weeks of snowboarding!