The Amazing Adventures of JJ and Donna: Eurotrip 2007

For our summer vacation, we took two weeks off to go to Europe. Our trip started with Amsterdam, but we flew in and out of London. We had to travel around to several cities in our trip so we decided to carry backpacks instead of trying to roll around luggage. Our flight from Chicago landed in Heathrow early morning but we were flying to Amsterdam out of Gatwick so we had some time to look around London.

10 pounds for the train into the city and then 4 pounds for a 5 stop subway ride? How do people afford to live here?

We had enough time between flights to do some quick sightseeing.

A short flight later, we were in Amsterdam. We stayed 4 nights and did all the usual tourist things. Before leaving for the trip, I asked Kush for a recommendation on where to eat in Amsterdam. He told me I had to eat at Maoz. It turns out it's a chain of falafel sandwich stores and stands. Who sends someone to a falafel store when you ask for a restaurant recommendation in a city half way around the world? Well, it turns out it really was the best falafel sandwich I ever had and I crave it all the time now.

Over the next 4 days, we saw a lot of Amsterdam.

The red light district.

We took a canal boat tour to see the disturbingly crooked buildings.

Another fine example of a house I would not feel comfortable in. If you stare long enough, you think you can actually see it tipping over.

Me in my size 50s.

Amsterdam was every bit as beautiful as people said it'd be.

The canals at night.

We knew they liked to ride their bikes in Amsterdam, but this was just crazy. They all look identical!

Some people told us we had to see the Heineken Museum. It turned out to be one of the better surprises of the whole trip. The Heineken bottle simulator is a must.

Rock Star.

Decoration at one of the 3 bars found inside the museum.

For 11 euros, you get a really fun tour, 3 free beers (extra fresh), and a really cool souvenir to take home. An excellent deal even if you went there just for the beers.

We also did a day tour outside of the city to see the countryside.
We saw some windmills

and stopped to see a clog factory

and also visited a cheese farm.

Other highlights of Amsterdam included the Van Gogh Museum and the Ann Frank House. I wanted to, but I could not get myself to try the raw herring sandwich. Perhaps next time.

That's the end of Amsterdam.