Friday, September 16 - Amsterdam, Munich

Day One -

On our journey to Germany, we had a few hours to kill in Amsterdam. Arriving at about 7 a.m., we all agreed that we had enough time to take the train down to the city via train. A quick 15 minute ride or so and we stepped off the train to a sleeping city. The time change sunk in quickly when we all realized that no one was up yet for work! We continued onward and walked through the streets. On of my first observations were how colorful everything was. Each building was stacked almost on top of each other like large lego blocks to create a beatiful view of the street.

Behind my Mom, Justin and I you can see the beautiful view of the buildings in Amsterdam. The big building on the left is one of their shopping centers!

Slowly the city began to wake up and in a few mintues we found ourselves walking with caution as to not get hit by a bike. I don't recall ever being anywhere in the states where the primary mode of transportation is by  bike. At one point we crossed a parking garage that was three levels high - all bikes! In the states we are so accustomed to large SUV's and/or mini vans. We take our kids to school one by one in these monsters of a car. In Amsterdam it was not uncommon to see a parent, dressed in their work clothes with one or multiple kids riding on the handle bars or in a seat on the back of the bike. Bikes truly ruled the streets even more so than cars or buses. Can you imagine?

Here you can see just a few of the many bikes that lined the streets of Amsterdam.

One of my favorite parts of Amsterdam was watching the vendors of the flower mart open up. A vast array of flowers, plants and flower bulbs are for sale at the Bloemenmarkt.

Established in 1862, this floating market can be found on one of the oldest canals of Amsterdam.

A few more hours of exporing this quaint city and a quick bite to eat at a local cafe then it was time to head back to the Shiphol Airport to continue our journey to Munich.

1:00 p.m. - We arrived in Munich (München) and desperately wanted to get to our hotel to drop off our luggage and set out to see the sites. We decided to have lunch at a local beer garden. I was please to find that they had my favorite Hefe-Weisse brewed in Munich, Franziskaner. Justin and I decided to split the schweinneraten - amazing. Our first German meal met every expectation I had. With satisfied stomachs, we took the U-Bahn down to the Marienplatz where the city hall is located. We grabbed a table located in the center of the square and watched the people go buy as they were coming home from work. I immediately took in how vibrant this city was - full of locals, tourists - young and old. So many of the people were wearing the traditional German Lederhosen and Dirndl. You could sense that people were preparing for the 18 day long Oktoberfest that would begin the next day.

Before heading back to our hotel, we had dinner at the Ratskeller. Ratskeller in German means tavern below the street that specializes in serving bear. In Munich, the Ratskeller sits below the towns city hall and also includes and amazing out door patio which rests with in the city hall square with a view of the back of the glockenspiel. Cheesy spaetzle once again filled me up and I'm pretty certain will fill me up for the activities that we have planned for tomorrow.