No, I'm looking for a COFFEE shop, you know, caffeine?

Ohhhh Amsterdam. Amsterdam. Amsterdam. Amsterdam. You crazy city you.

I was told that Amsterdam is the Vegas of Europe. It did kind of feel like a classy Euro-Vegas. Fortunately there are not garish lights everywhere, needless water displays, smoke filled casinos, and tacky people hoping to win the jackpot. Just cool canals, buildings, and people.

Well hello, I'm back. You didn't even know I was gone because this is all one post. But I was. I fell asleep while writing. Yup, 3 lines in I passed out. I'm tired. So anyway, where did I leave off? Oh yes, Amsterdam, the fantasticly fun city.

I loved the vibe in this city. The buildings and architecture are so cool. Did you know that you see Amsterdam homes leaning forward not because they are old and tilting, but because they are old and designed that way. In addition to being tilted forward, you can still see hooks at the top of them too. This is because once upon a time when these narrow homes were built, they needed to get large objects to the top floors. So they would hoist said object up using the hook and would bring items in through large upper windows. The forward lean of the home meant that the large objects wouldn't hit the home or windows below the top floor on the way up, thus preventing damage. Oh those clever old Europeans. I just found out too that much of Amsterdam is on stilts about a meter above water. And much of it used to be the South Sea which they decided was in the way of them living, so they dammed and diked everything and got rid of that pesky sea. Now it's gone...and we only have the North Sea. Then they built built built. I must say, you haven't heard of many major water related disasters there. They must pay their engineers much more money than we pay our Army Corp of Engineers to build dikes and levies to keep New Orleans safe.

It was interesting, other than one jackass I about fought over a photo (see Facebook), everyone seemed happy there too. Well of course, many were "happy"...nudge nudge, wink wink. Others were high. But even then, people just seemed happy there. And they all spoke English too, it was great.

I quite enjoyed The Coffee Company and their delicious coffee. They had some yummy iced coffee. And I am referring to my favorite drink, coffee, not Amsterdam "coffee shops." That is all I'm permitted to say about coffee shops at this time. I didn't do it, nobody saw me do it, you can't prove anything.

I spent the day at a beach nearby and relaxed, that was wonderful. I enjoyed just wandering,tasting cheeses, seeing the sights, biking one day, and just finally going at whatever pace I deemed necessary. I feel like I saw less here than in other cities and I'm ok with that. I saw what, at the point I got there, I wanted to see. Would I like to go back and go to the Anne Frank house or the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh museum, and other such sites? Of course. But for now, what I did and saw was amazing. It was enough for me to fall in the love with this city and start inquiring about jobs there. Ha ha. (This really is the city that made me REALLY not want to go home. I still don't want to go home and I want to go back there and live.)

So there you have it. I like Amsterdam (and I like cheese).

Between the Lakes

Between the lakes lies a town that is known as Interlaken. I decided I should visit it before I left for Euroland, so I did. I need a word even more fantastic than AMAZING! It was phenomenal. If it wasn’t so expensive in Switzerland I would totally live there. You are in a picturesque little town with glacier blue lakes and rivers. (I’ve never seen water like that in my life. It’s so beautiful.) Interlaken, the base town for so many activities, climbing, hiking, camping, mountaineering, ice climbing, canyoneering, river rafting, paragliding, hang gliding, snowboarding, skiing, sailing, swimming, waterskiing, wakeboarding, and pretty much everything but surfing in the ocean.

My whole purpose for going to Interlaken was to get some nature on this trip. And I am glad I did. My first full day I flew with the birds over the two lakes and their city nestled between them. I got to see the green Alps, watch the sail boats, and see the lakes, the rivers, and the town from the air. I went paragliding for my first time and it was amazing. I think I need to get rich and add another hobby to my collection. I was so nervous about running off a hill. But the instant the wind picked up and we took off running all fear went away then the next thing I knew I was flying. It was the best feeling to be airborne! I could totally start paragliding, it’s so relaxing, yet exhilarating at the same time. Plus the view…the view…that’s all I need to say about that.

The next day was saved for hiking in the Alps under the north face of the Eiger. If you don’t know why this was a big deal to me, might I suggest a Google search and some mountaineering books about the Eiger. Its history is pretty crazy, and it’s pretty deadly for being a peak less than 14,000 feet tall. That north wall is massive! It’s a giant peak that soars over the rolling green hills filled with streams, wildflowers, wild animals, and milk cows, to watch over the entire valley. The sheer immensity of this peak is something to behold. It’s difficult to believe it really is less than 14,000 feet tall. Maybe that’s because of the sheer size of the wall itself or maybe it’s the history, the failures, the tears, the successes, the records set on that piece of rock that makes it seem so much bigger. Or maybe it’s a combination of both of these things. Whatever it is it’s a sight to behold. And what else is there in the shadow of the Eiger? A ski resort. Yes… that’s right, a ski resort. I know what I’m doing during the winter someday. Skiing under the Eiger (or snowboarding) sounds like a great idea to me.

I hike for a few hours that day just marveling at the beauty that surrounded me. I love my Utah mountains, but these were completely different and beautiful in their own way. The Rockies and the Alps cannot compare, they are so vastly different it’s crazy. Who knew mountains could be so diverse? (Or their valleys?)

The next day it was off to Amsterdam so that’s “all” I got to do while there. Another trip is in order so I can hike, camp, waterski, river raft, canyoneer, and climb (but not climb the Eiger). Who wants to come with me?

(Pictures from the Golden Pass trains from Interlaken to Geneva)