Goodbye Amsterdam

We had no idea the intensity of biking in Amsterdam. Lucas’ description is perfect “white knuckling it & damn right scary.” There’s said to be over 250,000 bicycles in Amsterdam alone!   Bikers are the rulers of the roads. Pedestrians stop for them and if not they get an obnoxious ding-ding from the bell on the bike and called a “stoop!”  Even cars yield for them. We did manage to find Vondel Park and rode bike through its winding sidewalks. We saw a lot of children playing on playgrounds and a lot of wildlife and animals; apparently they don’t have leash laws for pets here. Oh and no one picks up their dog’s doo doo! I find myself tattling on them to Lucas whenever I see this unfortunate event. 

We did get a chance to walk around The Red Light District. It was still early evening so the window’s red lights weren’t on yet.  They still had hookers inside but they didn't look like the A class girls, if there are any? I was appalled at how unattractive they all were! We planned to go back in the evening but were too tired when the time came.

Now it’s Saturday morning and we’re showered, packed and patiently waiting for our free breakfast at 8:30. Then we have to catch our train at 10:26 for a 5 hour ride to our first farm in Peine, Germany. We are both very ready to leave Amsterdam and see what WWOOFing is really about. I hope all is going well for everyone at home.

Here is the website to our first farm: 

www.lahmanns-bioland.de

                                           

Here is the quote around the wall in our room:

WE TRAVEL NOT TO ESCAPE LIFE BUT FOR LIFE NOT TO ESCAPE US

Amsterdam

After our very long flight we were both exhausted. We then had to carry our 50lb packs from the airport to take a train to Central Station downtown Amsterdam. Finding our hostel proved to be a little harder than we thought. We did not have a map of Amsterdam yet, therefore we walked in circles around our hostel. By the end we were ready to throw our packs in the garbage or just plain abandon them. When we stepped into our Hostel room of 16 people and saw that everyone had packs just as large as ours we had a little glimmer of hope that with time hauling things would get easier. We were starving so we went out to find some food and ended up in a little restaurant. I ordered a martini and got what we think was Martini Rossi on the rocks. I was a little thrown off by the brown liquid that was served to me but it proved to be ok. After eating we went back to the hostel and crashed.

This morning we got up early and took advantage of the free breakfast. Then headed to the tourist center and got ourselves a hop on, hop off boat tour. They have 3 different lines with 16 stops. We visited the Van Gogh museum and Anne Frank Annex. Both were well worth the trip! We ended our day of touring the city with some raw Herring from a truck. We were a little skeptical about trying it, but it was on my list of things to do while here. We were both surprised by how yummy it was and may even go back for more!

                                           Lucas and I infront of Anne Frank Annex

Tomorrow we plan to rent bikes and see the rest of the city, including take a ride through Vondelpark. Wish us luck with navigating the city on bike!  We will post again tomorrow with news on our latest adventure.

A tulip outside the Tulip Museum

One year ago, I felt inspired to do something different with my life: I opened myself up to the possible opportunities to make a difference in my life and in others. Then, one day, I met a couple who "WWOOFed" New Zealand for 6 months. I asked them, “what the heck is 'WWOOF?'” They told me that it stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms. Instantly, my ears perked up - (we all know how I am about the Organic movement)! I went home that night and spent hours online researching their site. I read that you can "WWOOF" anywhere in the world! “How amazing,” I thought. “I am totally doing this!”

So, here I am one year later and one day away from hopping on a plane to Amsterdam to spend one year of my life traveling around Europe.

Through my blog, I will share with family and friends my experiences, both the good and the bad, on this next journey in my life.