Hello Germany & Reflections on Amsterdam

Today was a quiet day, as we had to jump on a plane for our next stop - Germany! Brian and I landed in Munich and took the long train from the airport to our AirBNB in the city. 

Once checked in, we decided to walk the mile to Munich Residenz and some of the nearby sites. It was beautiful but also very cold, as Munich got snow overnight (it was melted when we arrived). 

Then we came back to the AirBNB to hit the store for some groceries so we could make dinner. Honestly, we never cook on vacation but the streets were weirdly empty and restaurants were super sparse. Also, high school German is not super helpful 30 years later. I couldn’t read any of the menus. Mr. Moody would be so disappointed. lol 

One of the reasons we like AirBNBs, besides the extra space, is that it gives us a place to do laundry. This is important as Brian and I travel light. 

We spent the evening in our place just relaxing and watching a movie while our laundry got washed and dried. Despite not doing a ton we walked 7 miles today. Our feet are definitely feeling so many hours pounding the pavement and cobblestones. 

Since we left Amsterdam, I want to share a few of our thoughts:

- Big beautiful windows. The Dutch love huge windows and as much daylight as possible. It’s right up my alley! Some of the houses on our bike ride had almost full walls of windows on both side of the house, so you could see all the way through. It’s pretty neat. 

- The historic houses are gorgeous! We stayed in a canal house. Like many canal houses, it is narrow because the Dutch were taxed on the width of their homes. Our unit was on the third floor, which meant walking up three flights of VERY narrow stairs. We had to walk sideways because they were so narrow. Once up on the third floor, there was barely room for a couch, small kitchenette and tiny bathroom. The bed was in a loft, which meant climbing a ladder to get up. It’s a very stacked way of living. Super unique but maybe not our favorite way to go. We are glad to have experienced staying in a canal house at least once. 

- Smoke, smoke everywhere. Our American smoking culture has changed, but that hasn’t carried over to Amsterdam. There are a lot of smokers everywhere you go and cigarette butts litter the cobblestone streets. Plus you have to add in marijuana, which is openly smoked in public as well, despite the signs saying it’s a 100euro fine. It’s just a shift in perspective that we forgot about. 

- The weather is crazy unpredictable! It’s sunny and gorgeous one minute, the wind is whipping the next, then it gets calm and starts to pour down rain. Five minutes later it’s sunny again. I wore a coat and a sweatshirt plus a stocking cap. At times I wore them all and at other times I was just in my t-shirt. I even got sunburnt even though I put on 50spf sunscreen twice! Tip for travelers: layer up and prepare for all possibilities. 

- Language is not a barrier here. Most signs and menus are in both Dutch and English. Most people speak English if needed. That has made Amsterdam very friendly for travelers. 

- We pulled out Euros in case we needed them but there’s really been no need. Most places don’t even take cash! But keep some on hand for bathrooms, as many (even in some restaurants) charge around 1 euro to use. 

- Apple Pay is the way to go! So easy to pay for everything from your phone and everyone here takes it. I haven’t had to whip my card out yet. 

- Bikes vs cars vs walkers. It’s a bit of a game of chicken here. Whoever doesn’t chicken out gets to go first. We only biked in the city center about half a mile, but it was a confusing maze of wall to wall bikes. There are 1.5 bikes for every person here in Amsterdam! In Oregon we are fairly bike friendly, but nothing like in Amsterdam. 

- Amsterdam is just another reminder of why we don’t love big cities when we travel. It was interesting to see once but just too crowded and touristy. We are ready to get out of the cities and see more of the country. That’s why we loved yesterday’s bike ride. After Munich, we don’t stay in another big city for quite some time and we are looking forward to that.