Thai Food, Jazz and Bicycles

---

We had intended to go to the Anne Frank House our second day in Amsterdam but when we walked over (5 minute walk from our hotel) around 10:30, we noticed a long line that had formed after just being open for an hour and half. So, we decided to try the next day. Fortunately, we had eaten a breakfast because we spent the entire day walking the streets of Amsterdam. The city's name used to be Amstelredamme which means a dam near the river Amstel. It's also referred to as the Venice of the north because it has so many canals (100 kilometers). We think it should be have a named to reflect it's strong culture of bicycling. EVERYONE bicycles in Amsterdam. Not only do they have more bicycles than cars but they have more bicycles than humans! We heard that even the queen rides her bicycle to work. This results in a huge city that's super quiet but we learned quickly to be weary of the "silent transportation" because if you're not looking, you may get run over by a woman with high heels or an elderly man with a suit on riding a bicycle towards you. Really there are no restrictions on who rides around. And cyclists do have to follow the same traffic rules but many accommodations are provided to them to make cycling the easiest and more preferred mode of transportation. We had already seen how much European cycle but Amsterdam was like no other place. No wonder they stay so healthy and happy without all the road rage! We walked the day exploring neighborhoods and watching out for cyclists visiting the amazing multi-million Euro state of the art library along the way. We stopped for lunch in the cafe of a department store that was recommend. Kiwi juice was part of our meal and the desserts looked enticing but we had dessert plans after lunch. In the late afternoon, we met up with an ex-pat friend who had been living in Amsterdam for over five years. We met at a local cafe and talked for a couple of hours about life in Amsterdam, about the differences in lifestyles in Europe and the States, about the legalization of many things in Amsterdam and so much more. It was fascinating to get a take on life there from someone who had lived there for several years since, as a tourist, you only see the "best of". After our afternoon rendezvous, we ventured to the Red Light District as we were discouraged from going too late. We walked around out of sheer curiosity but mostly found that, as usual, the hype didn't match the reality. After the district, we walked on to Dam Square, the liveliest square in the city, where you can find a man swallowing fire while at the same time listen to a man playing music on ancient Eastern instruments. We walked up and down Dam street that was littered with gimmicky shops and museums and tourists that had just come from the train station. By now, it was late evening and time to head to Jordaan and freshen up before heading out for dinner and a night out. Dinner was at a Thai restaurant recommended by our friend. She mentioned that in Amsterdam you could find nearly every kind of cuisine -Thai, Indian, Surinamese, Italian, French and so forth. It was definitely a very international city. Dinner of spring rolls and red curry was delicious and now that our bellies were full, we walked alongside the canals to the Leidseplein area, which was a lively restaurant and club packed part of town. The 20 minute walk there was pleasant and quiet until we turned the corner a block from the square and were greeted by hundreds of people walking, talking, playing music, cycling all in a small area surrounded on all sides by restaurants. We poked around and stopped in at different places before heading to our destination. Jazz Cafe Alto, the oldest jazz club in town, is where we would be spending our evening. We stayed there for a couple of hours, enjoying the music and crowd. By midnight, our feet were pleading for rest so we headed back to the hotel braving the long yet beautiful walk home.

---