After coincidentally arriving on 4/20 to spend 5 days in the Netherlands, I can only think of one words to describe this country – picturesque. There’s a feeling as if you’ve stepped back in time with the way the city centers of Leiden and Amsterdam are built on the banks of the river.

Personally, I think Amsterdam is overrated (unless you’re really into drug use and the prostitues). Granted, not all of Amsterdam can be judged by The Red Light District but in comparison to other European cities, I didn’t think it was anything special. I more so enjoyed my stay in Leiden with a co-worker and his family. It was wonderful to finally meet Koen who I was somehow able to develop a nice friendship with through the barriers of a remote company and a computer screen in the past three years. He is such an inspiring, kind human and his ladies (his partner and daughters) were so welcoming and full of life.

I liked seeing how people live here, the day to day. People are so kind to one another, very patient and helpful. I somehow survived steep stairs and bicycle lanes (even if you don’t think you’re in a bike lane, you probably are but don’t worry, the crazy bell dinging will let you know you are). Though, overall, the cars, bikes and pedestrians share the road very well.

Moments in Leiden:
-walking through the park with Koen near the house with Nikki, the family’s scruffy little maltese mix
-having dinner in the evenings with Koen’s family, witnessing their interactions, the genuine love and support they have for each other
–renting a bicycle and riding around for hours… seeing windmills, an outdoor market, houses on canals, an abandoned industrial area and boutique shops along cobbled streets

Moments in Amsterdam:
–Anne Frank House: I arrived half an hour before opening, waited 90 minutes in line and was about 15 minutes to the front when a woman offered me a free ticket with a 10am entry (if she hadn’t, I would have missed my walking tour at 11:15am!)… the museum was beautifully laid out and incredibly moving… walking past the bookcase and up the steep, narrow stairs as Anne had, stepping on creaky floor boards… it was chilling… A few weeks have passed and I have not yet written about my time in Auschwitz because I still can’t wrap my head around the horrors that occurred. I purchased a copy of the diary as it’s been some time since I’ve read it and I was really inspired by a quote from Emma Thompson they end the museum with, “All of her would-haves are our opportunities.”
–NewEurope Walking Tour Highlights: Usually you can walk up without booking and have no issues but apparently that’s not the case in Amsterdam! The tour was full, but I was able to talk my way into ‘shadowing‘. We learned about the history of Amsterdam through politics and culture and as we walked passed Dam Square, the Old Church, the Red Light District, the Jewish Quarter, the Royal Palace, the Dutch East India Company, and the narrowest house in Amsterdam.
-I met two Indian doctor brothers from San Jose on the tour and we met up the next day at the Bulldog “Coffee Shop”. I was paranoid to order an iced coffee there but I luckily survived the experience. We strolled around the area bar hopping and met a man from Arkansas who I could not believe was real since he was such a stereotypical character, we actually had to ‘leave’ (then sneak back in and hide in the corner) to escape his booming voice and incessant talking. After this bar closed, we were directed to the San Francisco Bar (naturally I had to check in on Facebook to confuse my friends). When this bar closed (seriously, how many last calls did we have that night?), we were led to the only after hours bar in the area by the bouncer in a hostel that you had to ring a doorbell to enter. We sat for awhile then grabbed a road beer and strolled around until the trains re-opened.
-After a late night of drinking, I grabbed a pizza loaf at the train station for the walk home. I got three bites in when a huge seagull swooped over my shoulder and snatched the food from the bag as it was in my mouth. I let out a piercing scream in surprise, then stood cursing the bird for about two minutes. And people wonder why I hate birds.

Food Highlights:
-tasting a variety of Dutch cheeses at different shops
–Café Sonneveld for a traditional Dutch meal of stamppot (mashed veggies and potatoes topped with gravy and served with meat)… I chatted over lunch with one of the tour guides
–Village Bakery in Leiden where I and a delicious bagel sandwich and a huge cup of ‘slow coffee’
-I bought a traditional dutch pie for dessert, it had a rice filling as was surprisingly delicious!

Language Highlights:
-Thank you: dank je wel

AIRPORTS: 18
FLIGHTS: 18
TRAINS: 14
BUSES: 3
STATES: 7
COUNTRIES: 11
CONTINENTS: 3
DAYS TRAVELING: 139
CURRENCIES: 5