We loved every moment during our time in the Dutch paradise of romantic canals, renaissance art, ringing bicycles, strong cheeses, and a cultural emphasis on having fun.

After a brief struggle to ensure our room had air conditioning during this European heatwave, we were checked in and began strolling the streets of Amsterdam, jumping right into the local culture. Our strolling eventually landed us at a hip, gritty dive bar where we played some pool and enjoyed the nuances of the edgier side of town. 

Everywhere we walked, there were wide canals full of boats lined with colorful houses, and each building was slightly tilted in a different direction creating a dizzying, whimsical effect. The streets were lined with flowers and bicycles as far as the eye could see, and the streets were full of bikers instead of cars. We saw and experienced many close encounters of bikers buzzing through the streets and almost running over pedestrians, which seemed to be a part of daily Amsterdam life.

After realizing that we couldn’t get into Anne Frank’s house because tickets sell out two months in advance, we opted instead to visit the Rembrandt Museum, which also used to be Rembrandt’s house for most of his adult years. We enjoyed iconic art and witnessed what it was like to be a wealthy painter during the peak years of Netherlands history. During another rainy day, we also spent some time in the Reichsmuseum where we saw originals by Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Manet, and Vermeer among others.

We experienced some of the best meals of the entire trip so far in Amsterdam: a burger with “old cheese”, pickled onions and carrots, and some sort of godly house sauce (the best burger of Alston’s life); spicy tonkatsu pork ramen that made a strong case to be considered the best ramen we’ve ever had; lamb jalfrezi at a family Indian lunch spot that exploded with flavor; and of course, the Dutch specialties like giant pancakes and stinky cheese.

Amsterdam was beautiful and fun, and was a great way to relax before the big week ahead of us. When we left the Netherlands for Norway, it was time to get married!