First day - Amsterdam!

Well, first off, after actually SLEEPING on the plane, I arrived in Amsterdam at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, October. 8th. Due to construction at Amsterdam Centraal station, I had to take TWO trains from the airport to get to the center of Amsterdam. On the way, I saw this funky building. They really have interesting architecture in Amsterdam:

The Dutch have a great sense of the interesting in their new buildings - far more whimsical than our stoic buildings in the US.

Then I arrived at the station and had to wait and wait and wait for Aubrey and Mitesh to find me. But I got to look at the inside of one of the oldest train stations in Europe. There was lots of construction, but this gives you an idea of the brickwork.

After I found them, we wandered the streets of the total beauty that is Amsterdam. During World War II, much of The Netherlands was bombed, but somehow much of Amsterdam was spared and there are all kinds of beautiful old buildings up against each other, leaning all directions, where people still live and work and play and eat. So many buildings are tipping and seem like they're about to fall into each other, but they don't. They make it. An apt metaphor for life. If you just keep standing there, you'll survive.

Here are some shots:

One thing I like about the Dutch culture is how everyone is outside all the time, despite the weather. People love to have long meals, eat outdoors and talk and just enjoy life. Everywhere you go there are people sitting outside cafes and restaurants:

Then we had a lovely dinner at a restaurant called Thijs before driving to Eindhoven. For my final picture, I will show you the quintessential Amsterdam with me included:

I love you! I love you! I love you!

Mom