Day 3: Amsterdam – Canals and Exploring

We got to know the city a little bit better today.  But before talking about Amsterdam, let’s talk about Samuel, Daniel and coffee (which bears mentioning again.)

Samuel

Poor Sammy. I think he is struggling with the time change and just being away from home. Last night he couldn’t fall asleep. It didn’t help that King’s Day was still being celebrated outside his bedroom window. (If you haven’t read any of my other posts on King’s Day, just imagine Beale street on steroids and with legalized drugs then spread that out through an entire city for a 32-hour span. That is King’s Day, and we were in the heart of it. Even at 10:30pm it was still a huge party outside. People were just louder and more intoxicated.)

You know how kids can be creepy sometimes. Usually it’s Miah. (She says crazy things like “Mom, there is a baby on the roof, and you have to save her.”)

Last night it was Samuel.

(Miah – in a turn of events – went to sleep immediately. I could write an entire post on how well she has adjusted and her 3-year old resiliency.)

Samuel was scared and couldn’t fall asleep. He kept asking to go outside. When questioned why, he said something about a fire, so we needed to get outside. … weird stuff and when a child says it with such seriousness, there is always the most tiny bit of wonder messing with your head –  “Can my kid see into the future, and should I be concerned about this inevitable fire?”

Lastly on the topic of Sam, be sure to watch the video of his reaction to his first boat ride posted below.

Daniel

The McGarry men aren’t adjusting well to losing 7 hours of sleep… and then some. Their circadian rhythm is still playing the blues in Memphis.  I imagine they will adjust about the time we are ready to leave.

Miah and I are making do. My internal clock is always set to mom-mode. So if a kid is up, and Daniel is down, then I am up.  And Miah is living like a native Dutchwoman – waking up at normal hours, eating any cheese you put in front of her and walking the streets of Amsterdam like she owns them.

Coffee

I can’t stress how dissappointed I get with the size of every cup of coffee I order. I can’t seem to learn to change my expectations. This cup costs 3 Euros, surely it will be large. But no. I am learning however, how to sip on it slower and longer.

Our Canal Boat Ride

We spent the morning touring Amsterdam by boat. Daniel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The kids endured it.

I sacrificed the audio tour in order to try to engage the kids through a game of I SPY. Daniel was tasked with sharing any fun facts with me. Thankfully the captain of the boat shared a few things every now and then.

Facts about Amsterdam:

• There are over 1 million bikes in Amsterdam
  • The #1 mode of transportation is bicycles. And there are no rules to where you ride them – it’s a quick and apparently unregulated way to get around.
• Each year they fish out about 10,000 bikes from the canals. The Captain’s explanation “drunk people… and uh… yeah, drunk people”
  • Not a hard sell after experiencing King’s Day
• There is a massive hotel near the bay. At the top of the hotel are two huge swings that raise up over the hotel and water. People swing on these huge swings (harnessed in). Miah asked to go next time we visit Amsterdam.
• Homes along the canals are tall and narrow and stacked beside each other.  One of the smallest ones we saw was one window length wide, and about 5 stories high.
• Thankfully many homes along the canal are adorned with statues or some sort of moldings along the walls. This provided many opportunities in our game of I SPY.
• Lots of house boats!