Europe 2022 Days 1 & 2: Amsterdam

 This year's European adventure started off with a visit to a new place for us, Amsterdam!  We started our adventure by flying to Chicago and spending a little time in the United lounge prior to boarding our overnight flight.

United Lounge drinks

Amsterdam on the monitors!  So excited to visit this new city.

Enjoying our welcome champagne on our flight. The flight attendant told us that saying no to champagne was a crime. I agree!

My favorite part of international flights is dessert and champagne.

We slept and landed in Amsterdam.  One of the moments of our flight that made me laugh was when the flight attendant asked Ken if she should wake me for breakfast and Ken simply replied with I wouldn't! So true!

The walk to our hotel was horrible because we went the wrong way and ended up on cobblestone streets with my wheelie bag. It was not delightful, but I was relieved when we arrived at our hotel and dropped off our stuff. 

We left and enjoyed coffee and pastries along the canals. We spent our first day wandering around the city just enjoying the scenery.

Boats and canals as far as the eye can see

I loved all of the flowerboxes along the canals

Bicycles were everywhere as well. It was unreal how everyone bicycles everywhere.

This was part of our daytime walk through the Red Light District. 

Our lunch view along the water.

One thing that I wanted to do in Amsterdam was visit the Anne Frank House. It was crazy to see the tiny Annex where they hid for so long. I teared up when I read about the Frank's and the other family that were in hiding rationed supplies to throw an anniversary party for one of the people that helped hide them. Such kindness and appreciation from people that really had nothing but they wanted to show gratitude. 

Across the canal from the Anne Frank House

After our tour, we decided to stay in the area for food and drinks. We quickly learned that the Dutch are not really known for their food. We tried a few unique food items that were local to Amsterdam.

These were sticks of cheese with friend crust around the cheese with sweet and sour sauce. There are called Kaasstengels. It may have been one of my favorite things I tried on vacation.

Bitterballen, which Ken really liked. These are basically meat with meat gravy that were fried.

The little place where we had bar snacks and drinks. I thought it was so adorable.

Decorative bikes were all over the city.

Walking back to our hotel via the Red Light District, which was quite interesting.

It was a great first day in Amsterdam. We loved how beautiful the city was with all its canals.