Going Dutch

The food in Amsterdam is amazing – so fresh and delicious. Thanks to our great local tour guide, we’ve enjoyed meals at some interesting places… an old tram depot; a re-purposed Jewish temple; a huge building on an island which was completely constructed of shipping containers; a very tasty South American restaurant; and of course, we had to try the traditional pancakes and waffles.

Apart from a canal cruise and taking a tram into the city centre (14 mins), our chosen mode of transport was our feet. We’ve loved exploring such an interesting place by just walking around (but this also includes a lot of dodging around those mad bikes). We’ve worked out that we’ve walked over 80kms in the last week alone, which is probably a good thing considering some of the local delights we’ve sampled!

There is also the ‘darker’ side of Amsterdam. Walking through the famous red light district was quite an eye-opener and the many ‘coffee shops‘ offering so much more than coffee was interesting. Whenever ‘special muffin‘ was on the menu, we had to think twice! Smoking rooms abound and passive smoking in this place could result in some very entertaining stories for this blog! Well, you’ll just have to find your entertainment elsewhere!

Matt cheekily said that we had to sample the sky-high rides on offer in a carnival being held in Dam Square, so that we could say we got high in Amsterdam!

Naturally, we have spent as much time as possible with Matt and through his eyes have come to undertsand what a vibrant, sociable and unique place this is. People work hard here, but they also know how to party! The clubbing scene is huge and the best DJs in the world are often headlining.

Matt’s ‘second home’ is a youth hostel called the ‘Flying Pig’. It’s the number one hostel in the city and when Matt isn’t working, this is where he can usually be found hanging out with his friends. We’ve called in here with him a couple of times and met some of his great friends. We’ve also had the pleasure of spending some time with Lily, a lovely Latvian girl who is one of Matty’s best friends.

On our last day in Amsterdam, Bruce and I hired bikes and spent a really enjoyable afternoon cycling around picturesque Vondelpark, which is similar to our Centennial Park. (Thanks for the great suggestion Lily!) We kept to the park, because there was no way we were going near those roads! I must add here that the bike shop assistant gave Bruce a strange look when he asked if there were any ‘coffee shops’ in the park… At that stage, she was probably wondering if we and the bikes would ever return in one piece!

We continue to be very lucky with the weather. It has remained cool, with just a little rain, although we did end up getting caught in a very heavy downfall once.

We have really loved being a part of Matty’s Amsterdam life for a little while and meeting some of his Amsterdam family, sharing a few laughs and some good meals, as well as learning more about this beautiful and unique city.

Thanks Matt ♥♥♥