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Published: April 23rd 2009
Sunday April 19th: We made it to Amsterdam! We had a hectic travel day starting at 7am, checking out of the hostel, rushing to the tube to Victoria station getting on the EasyBus to take us to Luton Airport which is the farthest airport out of London. At one point we were running and I remember Tages saying, "we don't have time for mistakes", it was like we were on the Amazing Race! haha. At Luton we checked in for our EasyJet flight to Amsterdam Schipol. It was our first flight in Europe where we got to walk onto the tarmac to the plane and then once on the plane, you choose your seats. We slept on the flight and arrived safely at Schipol. Immigration was super nice as I would expect out of Holland. We took a train to Amsterdam Centraal Station (well, we got lost and took a couple but no big deal). We had to ask a million questions but eventually we were on our way to the campground. We learned how to say thank you right away! Bedangsk and Dank u Vel!!!! We arrived at Camping Zeeburg and it's soooooo cute! It has a bar, restaurant, shop,
toilets, showers, small animal farm, and lots of places to camp. There are even cabins and wagonettes (too expensive for us). The campground is right on the water in Eastern Amsterdam. There are lots of houseboats and an artist commune nearby. It's really beautiful. We set up our tent in a field. There is a girl camping close to us that looks like Rina if she was a hippy with dreadlocks. haha. After setting up camp, we walked into town and wandered around. We ate a falafel sandwich and patat's which were delicious! Back to camp to sleep.
Monday, April 20th: Today we took it easy. We ran around so much in London, we wanted to really relax and take it easy in Amsterdam. We walked to the Albert Heine grocery store and bought groceries for the week. All picnic type food b/c there is no microwave or fridge. We ate tapenade and crackers for dinner and played card games in the tent.
Tuesday, April 21: Seriously, we are relaxing so much here that all I did today was take a shower and read a book. I compared my day in my planner to a couple of months
our food
since we cannot dine out often, we've had to find food to eat that could be eaten right out of the jar or can since we do not have access to a kitchen. ago at work. I had like 6 appointments in one day and now today an appointment in my planner is to take a shower. Ha!!!
Wednesday, April 22: Today was a big day, we rented bikes for 24hr. We packed a picnic lunch and set off. Since EVERYONE in Amsterdam rides bikes, I figured it would be no big deal. I have seen mom and dad's with kids on bikes, older people on bikes, no one wear's helmets, young and old, everyone! There is a seperate bike lane and also seperate stop lights for bikes. It's fantastic! After not riding a bike for probably a year or so, I think we did pretty good. Tages did much better than I did. We mostly rode right next to the canals and Amstel River. It was a beautiful ride, sunny and a little wind. However, we did get into a few really crowded areas and I got pretty nervous. I am a little shaky on a bike anyways and especially in this situation I had little confidence. I got into a little bike accident where I stopped quickly at a light and a lady ran into me and yelled at me.
I kept saying I was sorry or (soorry as they say) and she did not care at all. My arm hurt super bad and now I have a bruise. boo. I cried a little and had to take a break for awhile b4 I could get the confidence to keep going. Tages and I decided to not ride in busy areas and head for Vondel Park. We rode to Vondel park and took a nap in the sun. It was wonderful. On our way home we stopped for Patat Zonder which is their very delicious and famous french fries with mayonnaise. I had mine with curry sauce and they were delicious. Later that evening we drank a beer down by the river and watched the boats float by. We were amazed that on a Wednesday evening people were so relaxed and just floating down the river. I love it so much!
So far Táges's impressions of Amsterdam:
1. lots of ducks everywhere
2. the mayonaise is sweet
3. cheese
4. dog poop everywhere
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Jim
non-member comment
Nice
This is great. Way to do the bikes - way more gutsy then I was when I was there. No joke, those busy intersections are insane! And how about the bike parking lots! If you are still there when you read this: I know you guys probably arent doing a ton of resturaunts, but the indonesion food I had there was amazing. There is this thing called the rice table you can order. You literally just tell the waiter you want "the rice table" and it's this whole crazy meal. Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_rice_table I'm so glad you guys are doing well. Can't wait to read more... keep these posts coming! Abby's looking over my shoulder and say "Hi"! (Yes I'm writing this at work)