From Russia With Love

Welkom in Amsterdam!

The verdict is in - Amsterdam is one of the coolest cities in Europe. We loved it! Steve and I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Holland between some other adventures and we're so glad it worked out. The trip included sparkling diamonds, pretty flowers and plenty of sunshine. It was especially great because our first day in Amsterdam happened to be April 27th - a very good day in the history of Team Adams. Steve asked me to marry him on 27 April 2009, and to celebrate the event one year later, we made the diamond museum our first stop.

No need to purchase more diamonds - I've got the one I want.

A display of famous diamonds.

Rather cheeky, don't you think?

(There is a funny video to go along with this picture, but it was taking too long to load)

Re-enacting a scene from "The King and I" - does Uncle Tom's Cabin ring a bell for anyone? Oh the memories from WXHS...

The Rijksmuseum!!! I loved this museum and everything in it - Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, Maes and so many more Dutch/Flemish masters.

Most popular mode of transport - the bicycle. I was more worried about getting run over by a bicycle in Amsterdam than being hit by a car anywhere else in the world.

Old men playing chess near the museum district. This reminded us of our honeymoon - the resort we stayed at had a giant chessboard just like this one.

Dam Square was set up for Queen's Day (30 April) 2010 and had a bunch of rides set up for visitors.

Monument in Dam Square. Steve is standing in the back, in case you couldn't see him.

Gotta love Dutch clogs! Even more awkward than Irish hard shoes.

Not really sure why the mascot is an elephant, but whatever. We like elephants.

One of the sights on our canal cruise.

Enjoying the wonderful weather and beautiful sights.

Fashioning the new jacket. We really like the orange/blue color combo of the Netherlands national football team.

Cheese, anyone?

Cool architecture along the canal.

Part of an exhibit inside the Dutch Resistance Museum, displaying the experience of Jews during WWII in the Netherlands. We also got to tour the Anne Frank House, which was incredible to see.

Rembrandt's studio! How cool is that?!?! Lots of space and amazing natural lighting from East-facing windows.

Next stop: Keukenhof

Tulips! Lots and lots of tulips!

I've never seen tulips like this, but I really like them.

Bold stripes of colorful tulips cover the ground - it's like a rainbow on land.

The funky tulips remind me of miniature palm trees. Strange, but true.

Windmills!

Luckily, my shoe fetish doesn't include over-sized Dutch clogs.

One size fits all. Rare and unusual, yet very spacious. Good for floating and storage. Terrible for walking and running. Comes in various colors.

The Flintstones transcend all geographical boundaries. We sat on a nearby bench and enjoyed hearing "yabadabadoo" in various accents.

This reminds me of Monet's La Promenade, but with less wind.

The theme at Keukenhof this year is "From Russia With Love." I'd love to see St. Basil's Cathedral in person, but until that happens, I will happily take the flower version.

Reminds me of a desktop theme or screensaver.

Steve had to leave the day before I did to make it back to Edinburgh to meet a friend of ours from home (welcome to Scotland, Daniel!), so I spent most of my last day getting lost in the Van Gogh museum. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. Queen's Day decorations were all over the city by the time I left for the airport, but I'm glad I wasn't there by myself on the actual holiday. I'm guessing it gets pretty crazy.

And that is the summary of our trip to Amsterdam. Vaarwel!

(I hope I translated that correctly)