About Me
- Kristi
- The Boy, 2 Muttleys and I have finally realized our dream of living 1 mile from the Lindt Chocolate Factory. Leaving Atlanta (the World of Coke) for Zurich (the World of Chocolate) hasn't come without challenges, incredible fun or giggles. Follow along as I chronicle our adventures as we acclimate to this new Swiss lifestyle.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Amsterdam - 7ish Years Later
My first trip to Europe was in March of 2003 and included the cities of Bar-tha-lona, Paris and Amsterdam. I was a rookie traveler and relied upon the rumors that Amsterdam was nothing more than a drug paradise with crappy food. This of course begged the question "what the hell do people do there when they get the munchies?".
I quickly learned that Amsterdam was much more than what it is infamously known for and upon my return home, I promised myself to never rely upon rumors and to always do my due diligence when planning a trip. When I learned the Boy and I would return, I was curious to find out what a 30 something year old's perspective would be in comparison to a 20 something year old's. As you will see, age and a shift in one's priorities can influence an experience.
Amsterdam's Beauty
20 something's perspective: How do they ride their bikes here when they are high?
30 something's perspective: How do they ride their bikes here when they are sober? (I LOVE how bikes are so prevalent in Amsterdam but I have to admit that it looks like a scary place to ride one...but I am a wimp, so there.)
Amsterdam's Museum and Art Scene
I quickly learned that Amsterdam was much more than what it is infamously known for and upon my return home, I promised myself to never rely upon rumors and to always do my due diligence when planning a trip. When I learned the Boy and I would return, I was curious to find out what a 30 something year old's perspective would be in comparison to a 20 something year old's. As you will see, age and a shift in one's priorities can influence an experience.
Amsterdam's Beauty
20 something's perspective: Wow, Amsterdam is pretty...hiccup...oh look, a coffee shop we haven't tried yet.
30 something's perspective: Wow, I think I could live here. It is quite possibly the most beautiful city I have been to in Europe, especially at night. Then a gust of wind not only interrupts that thought, but also my desire to live there. Think of standard European weather with the addition of gale force winds.
Amsterdam's Bike Culture
20 something's perspective: How do they ride their bikes here when they are high?
30 something's perspective: How do they ride their bikes here when they are sober? (I LOVE how bikes are so prevalent in Amsterdam but I have to admit that it looks like a scary place to ride one...but I am a wimp, so there.)
Amsterdam's Museum and Art Scene
20 something's perspective: The Anne Frank House is the most amazing museum ever.
30 something's perspective: The Anne Frank House is the most amazing museum ever.
20 something's perspective: Wow...there are lots of museums filled with Dutch art that makes me want to stab myself. Let's go get high.
30 something's perspective: Let's try something a bit more modern and light this time. There are only so many Dutch self portraits with black backgrounds I can take (they also wore a lot of black clothing back in the 15th Century, making everything seem, well...even more black).
Our 30 something's need for some art circa 1980 paid off as the Boy's and my name will forever be inscribed on the wall of Amsterdam's newly refurbished Stedelijk Modern Art Museum. Can you pick out our names? Can you guess how the locations were picked?
Amsterdam's Food
20 something's perspective: I heard the food sucks in Amsterdam, therefore it must suck. Minus accidentally finding an amazing vegetarian cafe, it did suck.
30 something's perspective: There has GOT to be good food in Amsterdam. Let's do a little research and ask around, shall we? The Boy found a great food blog called Dutch Grub and it was spot on for all of its recommendations. In addition we asked our friend Deb for suggestions as she just returned from a trip in May. The food we had was outstanding and Amsterdam has either improved their food scene, or it always existed and I was too lazy to discover it back in 2003. I was a little bummed that I no longer smoked the Pot because the munchies would have been conquered on this trip by the likes of this nugget:
What you are seeing is NOT a pizza. Again, this is NOT pizza! This is a dutch pancake with inlaid bacon and covered in syrup. I about died and went to heaven after this tasty treat. I still dream about it in fact.
So I am not going to compare the 20 something and 30 something perspectives on coffee shops. The Boy and I were lame this time around. Nothing high-larious to report. I love Amsterdam and look forward to another visit from yet another perspective.
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2 comments:
Interesting how the 20s and 30s perspective changes in just 10 short years! Great post! I haven't made it to Amsterdam yet, but it's definitely on my list of places to go. I didn't realize it was so beautiful
Thanks Expat in Germany. I haven't been to too many places twice so I figured it would be a cool way to talk about it. It really is quite a beautiful city and you should definitely check it out.
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