Amsterdam

The Pilgrims were crazy to leave Holland. There they were, sitting pretty in Leiden. The economy was great, the Dutch were tolerant of the Pilgrims protestant ways, and they had all the cheese they could shake a stick at. But no! Two months later they arrived sea sick on Cape Cod and the term “Flinty New Englander” was born. I actually have an ancestor from the Mayflower, Degory Priest, but the poor guy did not last through the first winter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degory_Priest He should have stayed in the Netherlands and enjoyed the Heineken.

Speaking of Heineken, that was the only museum we visited in Amsterdam last weekend, and the kids LOVED it. It was like a beer drinker’s Disney Land; it even had a ride. We were magically morphed into beer bottles for an up close and personal ride through the brewing process. Talk about marketing! No wonder the Dutch are so wealthy. We paid 15 euros to get in, and then paid to buy stuff with “Heineken” plastered all over it. By the way, the CIA ranks the Dutch 12th and the US 17th in per capita income.

It sure does not rank high in size with only 16,000 square miles (US is 3.7 million square miles!). But the Netherlands does pack in the people… 1000 people per square mile (we have 80). Of course, if the Dutch had not reclaimed land from the sea, it would be a lot more crowded. 27% of the Netherlands in below sea level. They make use of every inch. Amsterdam was especially crowded, though it is a relatively small city with about 750,000 people, and I guess an equal number of bikes.

So, besides introducing our kids to the magic of beer, we also dutifully led them on a walking tour among the beautiful houses and along scenic canals. Of course, Holland is still very tolerant, and that tolerance is very, very evident when one walks by a “Coffee Bar” with a menu of various types of Marijuana and the scent of burning leaves wafting out across the street. Another sign of tolerance can be seen in shop windows throughout the city, where woman in negligee gaze out at passers by. Hmmm, how to explain that one to Cam. Actually, he was quite astute and turned quickly to his right to comment “isn’t this a pretty church”… yup, the brothel was next to a historic church.

The highlight of our stay in Amsterdam was visiting Danielle’s family. We stayed with her cousin Bob and friend Jerry in their beautiful apartment not far from “the Skinny Bridge” and attended a huge family reunion at another cousin’s farm. With three aunts and six uncles, there were a lot of folks to catch up with. No wonder there are 1000 people per square mile! :-)

Monday night, after a great visit, we jumped on our KLM flight for the one hour hop back to Berlin, rested and happy. Thanks for a wonderful weekend Bob and Jerry!