Honeymoon 2.0 started the morning of our 1st
anniversary. We spent the night at my parent's after a wedding in Del Mar the
night before. I remember leaving our apartment the day before thinking the next
time we're home, we will be changed. Travel does that. The morning of our
anniversary, we woke up, and busted out the top tier of our wedding cake, which
according to everyone was going to terrible after a year in the freezer, but
ended up tasting exactly how it tasted at our wedding: amazing. Chocolate cake
with chocolate ganache and chocolate whipped cream. We like Chocolate. I
couldn't wait to use our wedding flutes for mimosas and "I do" and
"me too" forks to eat. It was nice. I sort of felt like I'd suddenly
received a new annual holiday like Christmas or a birthday just for being
married.
So after cake, we load up our car and head to LAX. My brilliant husband has the idea to avoid gross and expensive airport food so we stop at Whole Foods for lunch along the way. In all the times I've flown internationally, I've always felt like you don't need to leave the country to feel like you've left, you just need to enter the international terminal at the airport. This case was no different.
We boarded our Air Berlin flight to Dusseldorf, Germany and every stereotype I'd had or heard about Germans was quickly confirmed by the flight crew. First of all, they are incredibly efficient! Nate would always joke "watching them work, you can see how they almost took over the world". And I hate to say it, but it's true. They seem to have this no nonsense, can-do attitude about them. From the way they literally took tongs and reached over each row to snap the window blinds closed, to the way German kind of sounds like you're always being yelled at. I wonder how English sounds to them?
11 hours later we land in Dusseldorf and between the German language and the background I know of the city, I can't help but see World War II. I've been to Europe before but never to this part. Dusseldorf was completely destroyed in the war so the entire city has been rebuilt into an industrial powerhouse. It made me wonder how scary it would have been there in the early 1940s. It made me try to remember back to the details of AP euro because I was sort of in the heart of it all. I'm probably being totally politically incorrect, but it made me think of Hitler, concentration camps, marching soldiers and Kindertransport - a play I did in college where I played a little Jewish girl transported from Hamburg to the UK before the Holocaust.
Going through immigration control felt equally as eerie. We definitely felt nervous approaching the big German guard and telling him the purpose of our tripe was "vacation". After immigration patrol, we found our way to the connecting train station, bought tickets, ate a pretzel and boarded the ICE, or "bullet train". Definitely not as fast or cool as Nate had described. Despite the crowd of rowdy teenagers shouting in German, the little boy in front of me reaching over the seat and poking my arm, and the beautiful German countryside, I managed to sleep almost the entire way to Amsterdam.
Amsterdam
I realized within moments of arriving in Amsterdam that I needed a way to document this trip, to remember and record all that I had seen and learned. The Amsterdam train station is old and beautiful. And luckily our hotel was steps away from it. We got into Amsterdam right at rush hour and were greeted by hoards of people exiting trolleys and riding bikes. As happy as I was to be in Europe, it sure felt nice to see the Hilton Double Tree sign. Nate's diamond status got us upgraded to a suite, given access to the executive lounge and 6pm checkout on the last day (seriously? yeah). Basically my husband is Hilton royalty, and for all the nights I've had to spend alone in the past two years, I'm royalty by extension. In part, I felt like I was living someone else's life. Wondering how we swung this great deal while being so broke. In part I felt like we'd totally earned this.
Our room felt more like a flat. Chic, modern, and big! Totally not us, but totally cool.
We showered off the past 20 hours or so of travel and got a second wind to go explore. Not knowing the city too well, we walked around the red light district with pot wafting in the air. I had known about the prostitutes and expected them to be dirty and older, not very attractive. The fact that most of them were my age and look just like slightly more glamorized versions of my friends and I really disturbed me. They were just like me. They looked no more than 30, they were young, attractive, and completely normal looking. Not to mention they came in all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities. I couldn't quite wrap my head around the normalcy of it all.
The smell of pot into the air made me feel like I was back in a freshman NYU dorm. I felt like Amsterdam must be the Las Vegas of Europe. And all this was on a Monday night! It was a little overwhelming, but Nate assured me we were in the touristy part and would explore more tomorrow. We searched for something to eat for a while. Nate had to pry me away from the cheese shops- lined from floor to ceiling with cheese wheels. We found a vegetarian falafel place and shared one for about 4 euro. It was good.
That night we slept for about 3 hours then both woke up around 3am energized ready to start the day. We were still on California time. We talked about World War II's impact on Europe for two hours then fell back asleep.
The next day we walked the city and explored for hours. It was lovely. Here's what I saw and learned:
First, and most importantly. Amsterdam is known for aged Gouda. It is, to put it simply, to die for. It has a strong bite packed with tons of flavor, and the really good stuff has these salty, aged, crunchy bits in it. Just so good.
We explored Jordaan, a west village type neighborhood home to artists and families with specialty shops and tree lined streets. It was dreamy. I took approximately 1000 pictures.
There are hidden courtyards throughout the city. Below are pictures from one we found. It was quiet and beautiful.
Prosciutto, one of my favorites before going veg and one of my biggest temptations, is literally slices of flesh stripped off of animal legs. We saw this process, hooves still intact in a shop, and the temptation was extinguished. Apparently the severed animal leg on a counter with slivers taken out of the calf is totally normal because we saw it later in Germany and Italy. Nevertheless, I found it very disturbing.
The first morning, I experienced fresh liege sugar waffles for the first time at breakfast. I ate about 4 that day. They are crispy on the outside and soft and sugary in the inside. Completely addictive. I'm now realizing 3 of the first 4 facts are about food and I'm totally ok with it.
Amsterdam is the most bike dominant city I've ever seen. The city has thousands upon thousands of bikes chained up waiting for their owners to commute into the city and ride them. There are very few cars and the cars that do exist are little. I think we can learn a thing of two from Amsterdam. It makes walking into the city a little difficult as you have to watch out for bikes, little cars, and the occasional motorcycle all traveling towards you at different rates. We were astonished we never saw a single accident the whole time we were there. Parents commute with their children in big wooden barrel type things on the front of their bikes and it's not uncommon to see 2 adults on 1 bike' 1 riding' the other along for the ride. Oh, and no one wears helmets. Crazy.
Our favorite experience in Amsterdam was eating at a cafe we found. Conveniently located off the beaten path off a small intersection by the canal. Our waiter, a tall young blonde man seemed more American than Dutch was so friendly and nice. The pace of the cafe was slow and leisurely. I ordered an open-faced sandwich with Old Amsterdam cheese, Dijon, tomato, and red onion. Nate ordered the soup of the day, without a clue what it was. We shared frites with mayo- classic European and sinfully delicious. It was lovely.
As a whole, we loved Amsterdam. Personally it was way prettier and quainter than I ever imagined. The people were so nice and friendly and all spoke English. The Dutch language has a pleasant almost jolly sound to it, despite that fact that almost all we knew how to say was "donk uu". The quality of life seemed high. The speed seemed slow and enjoyable, and the city picturesque. And although we were only there 3 days, I still felt like we were able to experience a lot. It was also the prettiest city in an ordinary way. There was no grand architecture or cathedrals but the canals were breathtaking in the simplest way.
We left Amsterdam on a night train last night. An idea my husband became obsessed with as it would "save us time and money on a hotel". We didn't realize how small our 4 person couchette would be, how dirty the blankets they gave us would be, how loudly our roommate would snore, or how delayed this 16 hour turned 19 hour train would be. To know we could have taken a 1 hour flight infuriates me. I keep telling him in the time it's taken us to go from Amsterdam to Prague we could have flown from the US to Australia. For future reference, I don't recommend the night train.
Unable to sleep, and feeling claustrophobic by our tiny shared compartment, we stepped outside that night. As we passed through Koln, Germany we were able to see this giant gothic cathedral! Brilliantly lit amongst the dark skyline and domineering over the city.
Passing through Germany I saw a large building with matching dark red curtains in every window. At first I thought it was some kind of weird hotel until I saw lingerie-clad Asian women posing in the window sills. I still feel the shock when I realized it must of been some kind of brothel. I thought about the darkness of those women's lives, who they were, and how they came to be there. My opinion of Germany sank further. Things always seem darker, bigger and scarier when you view them through at night from a fast moving train. Not seeing the small details, but the vast darkness of a large city you barely know. I felt the same way every time I'd ride the Long Island Railroad at night through Queens.
The next morning, or should I say, afternoon (ugh!!) we arrived in Prague. We'd only travelled a day but it felt like we'd entered a different world...
Amsterdam
I realized within moments of arriving in Amsterdam that I needed a way to document this trip, to remember and record all that I had seen and learned. The Amsterdam train station is old and beautiful. And luckily our hotel was steps away from it. We got into Amsterdam right at rush hour and were greeted by hoards of people exiting trolleys and riding bikes. As happy as I was to be in Europe, it sure felt nice to see the Hilton Double Tree sign. Nate's diamond status got us upgraded to a suite, given access to the executive lounge and 6pm checkout on the last day (seriously? yeah). Basically my husband is Hilton royalty, and for all the nights I've had to spend alone in the past two years, I'm royalty by extension. In part, I felt like I was living someone else's life. Wondering how we swung this great deal while being so broke. In part I felt like we'd totally earned this.
We showered off the past 20 hours or so of travel and got a second wind to go explore. Not knowing the city too well, we walked around the red light district with pot wafting in the air. I had known about the prostitutes and expected them to be dirty and older, not very attractive. The fact that most of them were my age and look just like slightly more glamorized versions of my friends and I really disturbed me. They were just like me. They looked no more than 30, they were young, attractive, and completely normal looking. Not to mention they came in all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities. I couldn't quite wrap my head around the normalcy of it all.
The smell of pot into the air made me feel like I was back in a freshman NYU dorm. I felt like Amsterdam must be the Las Vegas of Europe. And all this was on a Monday night! It was a little overwhelming, but Nate assured me we were in the touristy part and would explore more tomorrow. We searched for something to eat for a while. Nate had to pry me away from the cheese shops- lined from floor to ceiling with cheese wheels. We found a vegetarian falafel place and shared one for about 4 euro. It was good.
That night we slept for about 3 hours then both woke up around 3am energized ready to start the day. We were still on California time. We talked about World War II's impact on Europe for two hours then fell back asleep.
The next day we walked the city and explored for hours. It was lovely. Here's what I saw and learned:
First, and most importantly. Amsterdam is known for aged Gouda. It is, to put it simply, to die for. It has a strong bite packed with tons of flavor, and the really good stuff has these salty, aged, crunchy bits in it. Just so good.
There are hidden courtyards throughout the city. Below are pictures from one we found. It was quiet and beautiful.
 |
| I found a juice shop! |
The first morning, I experienced fresh liege sugar waffles for the first time at breakfast. I ate about 4 that day. They are crispy on the outside and soft and sugary in the inside. Completely addictive. I'm now realizing 3 of the first 4 facts are about food and I'm totally ok with it.
Our favorite experience in Amsterdam was eating at a cafe we found. Conveniently located off the beaten path off a small intersection by the canal. Our waiter, a tall young blonde man seemed more American than Dutch was so friendly and nice. The pace of the cafe was slow and leisurely. I ordered an open-faced sandwich with Old Amsterdam cheese, Dijon, tomato, and red onion. Nate ordered the soup of the day, without a clue what it was. We shared frites with mayo- classic European and sinfully delicious. It was lovely.
Unable to sleep, and feeling claustrophobic by our tiny shared compartment, we stepped outside that night. As we passed through Koln, Germany we were able to see this giant gothic cathedral! Brilliantly lit amongst the dark skyline and domineering over the city.
Passing through Germany I saw a large building with matching dark red curtains in every window. At first I thought it was some kind of weird hotel until I saw lingerie-clad Asian women posing in the window sills. I still feel the shock when I realized it must of been some kind of brothel. I thought about the darkness of those women's lives, who they were, and how they came to be there. My opinion of Germany sank further. Things always seem darker, bigger and scarier when you view them through at night from a fast moving train. Not seeing the small details, but the vast darkness of a large city you barely know. I felt the same way every time I'd ride the Long Island Railroad at night through Queens.
The next morning, or should I say, afternoon (ugh!!) we arrived in Prague. We'd only travelled a day but it felt like we'd entered a different world...
