Pics (top left to right):  Possibly the best omelet I ever had, Heineken factory, canal boat ride scenes one through three.

Day three:  This city finally sunk in.  I would describe day three as smoooth sailing.  Woke up and saw my wife to her work conference followed by a delicious breakfast in what might have been the best omelet I have ever had.  Spent the rest of the morning up to noon checking out a local park near the hotel and completed a few sketches of the terrain I experienced.  Next we did the tourist thing and visited the Heineken brewery tour. It was a fun excersion complimented by both old and modern experiences and then capped off by some drinks on the house. From the factory to the canals, next it was a scenic boat ride to see the city from the waterways.  Back on land, we picked a random spot to eat which proved to be decent with asian as the culinary choice i.e. paying homage to my heritage, Vietnamese pho.  From there, we took a long journey, deep into the city on a quest for consumption that came locally and highly recommended.  As I alluded to in the introduction, things went smoothly.  The timing was impecable when moving around the city on day three and it was nothing short of amazing, albeit some rainy weather.

Pics top left to right:  The bio conference center for my wife’s work, Rijks Museum, Battle of Waterloo in museum, outside of museum, seafood market.

Day Four (end of the road):  Walked my wife to the final day of her conference obligation in some very cold rain.  Spent the morning inside the hotel room catching up on some cinema that I can’t seem to find the time for back home, but were on the must watch list.  Before escorting my wife to the conference she joined me for an encore of the omelet, and it was just as good the next day.  After my wife fulfilled her work duties, we journeyed to the Rijks Muesem to see Dutch master’s fine and classic art, plus Rembrandt pieces. We had to squeeze it all in, in about an hour.  It was a fun, fast trip that reached a cool crescendo with a street orchestra performing classical music  on the street outside of the museum. We kept the street theme and had some good street food for dinner, i.e. Dutch waffles and a Dutch style hotdog.  Having seen what we set out to see on our trip, the final night was a low key night with a quick stop at a seafood market to taste kibeling for a second time, at a highly renowned spot. Like the omelet, it did not disappoint the second time. As the trip came to a close I reflected on the beauty of this city and it’s progressive mindset and positive vibes.  So many things that our culture is hung up on and seemingly backwards about, this city seems to have progressed past and are a benchmark for what we could be in the future.

Pics top left to right: (Van Gogh museum outside, inside,  diamond museum, random canal, local snack kibeling, Central Station at night)

Amsterdam Day Two:  A great day that began with a trip to the Van Gogh museum, and a fascinating look at a mad genius, literally.  Next, was a casual stroll through the flower market after experiencing a taste of this countries free spirit and relaxed attitude that should be envy of the states. Then it was a quick stop to taste a street food favorite, kibeling and on to Dutch pancakes for lunch.  After a long trek from the museums to central city, it was a quick break before venturing out at nighttime.

With the night came a repeat of the earlier path just to capture the same settings, but at night, and to venture into the well chronicaled, and notorious area of the city.  After the long journey ended, I couldn’t help but relect on the cultural differences between my own country and this place, both good and bad.

Day one of my trip to Amsterdam with my wife…

(Pics left to Right:  View of a canal from near hotel, cool random building with architect that’s a lot different than what you will find in the states, street art mosaic pillar, cool green room in hotel)

Spent the first day in Amsterdam: caught up on sleep from the drastic time zone difference and a very restless red eye flight. Walked a total of around 6 miles around the area where we were staying, and tried out a couple random local eateries for food and drink, without over doing it on day one.

My day one impressions:  I love the sleek sense of style with everything from the architecter to the cars and clothes, and the hotel we are staying in.  This place has a serious sense of environmental awareness and sustainability from the foot and bike traffic outnumbering the car traffic to the cars themselves with most of them being of the electric and deseil variety.  Friendly, safe, and casual feel to the city, at least in the area we are staying in.  Everything seems smaller and more compact than in the states, from the apartment buildings to the cars they drive.  This place has an obvious love for the arts.  Finally, it’s a beautiful city with beautiful people but gloomy, cloudy and rainy weather which I find ironic since there is a lot of water and boat travel and the trademark is flowers. Maybe it’s just me but I associate those things with sunny weather.

T minus one day until our trip to Amersterdam…

Besides spending some much needed one on one time with my lovely wife, and doing the tourist thing, I am wide open to possibilities considering this is my first true foray outside the states.  However, there are some things I think I would love to do while I’m there:

• Eat food and consume drinks I’ve never experienced before.
• Unplug from the grid with only music and books I care about. Take a much needed break from electronic media and electronic communication in general.
• take a break from the gym and the hard strength and conditioning training. Just light work, stretching, and a lot of site seeing, walking.
• do some sketches of what I see

T minus 3 days until my trip with my wife to Amsterdam….