Amsterdam

We eventually left Bruges and headed for a few days in Amsterdam, our final stop in Europe (we think).

Our minds were already racing ahead to the blue waters and slower pace of Bonaire, but we weren't about to miss the gem of a city surrounding us. We were indeed pleasantly surprised!

Still a massive city and tons of people - but Amsterdam somehow had a much slower feel. Maybe its the near lack of cars as they've been almost completely given up for bikes and trains (maybe its the Portland roots... but we felt very much at home here).

Maybe it's that we chose an airbnb outside the city core, which is a bit different than our last few stops, and meant that we got a bit more "neighborhood" rather than "city life" in our days.

Either way, the daily ascent/descent from our spiral stairs led to lovely exploration along vibrant, colorful streets filled with happy people. It was almost as though every hour was happy hour as people were seemingly always outside enjoying the weather.

To be fair, we were told that we hit Amsterdam at a particularly good set of weather, so this may be like being back in Portland, where the one good day of weather ensures everyone is outdoors soaking up the sunshine as they're not certain when they'll get to see it again.

First order of business (of course) was to hit the local burrito joint. Hot sauces a plenty. We are thrilled to see that the French aversion to spice hasn't affected the rest of the countries in Europe.

The neighborhood we were is was still busy, and vibrant, but it felt great.
The street under our AirBnB was lined with shops of all kinds - small boutiques, high end second hand clothing stores, coffee shops including the "coffeeshop" right below our airbnb providing aromatherapy to those staying nearby.

We hit a local restaurant for oysters and rose and enjoyed the public square and basking in the sunshine while people and bike watching. This city is seriously bike and pedestrian focused. We thought Portland was pretty progressive in this way, but its almost as though Amsterdam simply decided that as a city they were giving up almost all parking and garages, and if you decided to buy or drive a car you'd simply need to be willing to wait in line behind thousands of people on bikes. It works, and as a pedestrian - its awesome!

Just a couple blocks away was a famous daily market (the Albert Cuyp Market), with fresh produce (Jen bought a LOT here), fresh flowers, local dutch food trucks as well as all kinds of cuisine from all over the world, second hand clothing, tourist souvenirs and local art. Amsterdams second hand clothing stores might even rival those we experienced in Sydney, with clothing that we could barely imagine affording 2nd or 3rd hand, much less new.

On one of our last evenings we met up with an old coworker of Jens (at a taco bar, of course) who has now been living in Amsterdam for several years, fell in love and married a european. They ride bikes of course and we got to learn a little more of what its like to live and work and travel in Europe from the inside.

We also walked around the De Wallen area, one of the world's most famous red light districts (during the day), did a jenever (not to be confused with Jennifer) tasting at the famous Wynand Fockink, and on our way back to our neighborhood saw a cool old MB Vario owned by the guy that pulls bikes out of the canal.

Honestly, we had almost forgotten that only a few months ago we were actively shopping for a Vario online as we weighed the option/life path of spending a few years building out a vehicle and driving round Europe.

Still love this idea for some point in the future, but in the end - we're not ready for vanlife phase2 just yet. ;)

All in we had a great time in Amsterdam and remain thankful for the great weather during our stay. We also were thrilled to pack up our bags, carry them precariously down our last series of impossibly tight spiral stairs and headed off to the airport - already picturing the blue waters of the Caribbean.

Bonaire here we come!