“Wait… so there’s no coffee at the Coffeeshop??”

Well, we’re headed to Germany this weekend so that only means ONE thing… time to write about our trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands last Saturday!  It was a rather eventful day that started out with a flat tire, included some eccentrically dressed locals, and ended with a full-on SPRINT to the train on the way home. Nothing is ever quite dull in the life of newlyweds, is it? Or maybe it’s just so for the Gantzers ;)

Jason’s coworker, Geoffroy, offered to drive us to Amsterdam since he was headed there for the weekend. When we had stopped for gas Jason offered to pitch-in for gas, but Geoff refused on the basis that “I don’t pay for my gas, so why should you?” Apparently, the JCI in Belgium not only gives each of their higher-up employees an outstanding company car (Audis, BMWs, Mercedes, etc) they also pay for their gas. Belgian economy for the win. But I digress….

While stopped at the gas station, we noticed a rather loud hiss coming from one of his front tires and realized he had a nasty piece of glass wedged in his tire and it was losing air pretty fast. An hour later, after waiting for the service man to come and getting to watch the fascinating process of plugging up a hole in a tire, we were back on our way. Let me just say, I love Belgians, I really do, but the driving here… let’s just say… they drive like people in Connecticut… only worse… (no offense, Esposito family, but you know you all drive like maniacs!) I think it has a lot to do with the fact that almost everyone drives manual instead of automatic, AND no one drives anywhere near the speed limit. Therefore you constantly feel like a passenger in the Daytona 500. Jason, of course, loved every second of it in the front seat, whereas I thought I just might lose my breakfast in the backseat.

The trip took about 2 hours, so we spent most of the time asking Geoff about things we should do/see while we were there. He recommended we visit one of the local “Coffeeshops, just for the experience.” I was a little confused by this at first, wondering how a coffee shop in Amsterdam could really be THAT different than one anywhere else. Well, he went on to explain that these “Coffeeshops” aren’t really coffee shops at all. It’s actually a place where you can buy and smoke weed… in a café-like setting…  hmmm “Yes, hi, I’ll have a venti joint, please…” Hard to picture. Apparently it’s not legal, but the police don’t do anything about it. Interesting. We saw these Coffeeshops everywhere but, no worries friends, we didn’t attend. The story was enough to satisfy my interest.

When we arrived, the city center was absolutely PACKED with people for the annual Pride Parade that travels down one of Amsterdam’s many canals. It was QUITE the sight to see, but we actually couldn’t see that well because the sides of the canal were so packed with people.  But what we did see was out of this world.

The rest of the city was, thankfully, not as crowded. So we spent some time in a lovely park just outside of the city center and then headed to the Vincent Van Gogh museum which was beautiful and very educational! (Read: we loved it, but almost fell asleep standing up)

Then, what became the highlight of the day, the Heineken Brewery Tour! Also known as “The Heineken Experience” (dramatic?) But it really was the most fun I’ve had on a brewery tour (and being in Jason’s life for over 2 ½ years, you can imagine I’ve been on a few…) It was very interactive and there was even a ride. Yes, folks, a ride. It was, I suppose, an “experience!” And the free beer at the end didn’t hurt, either. (Although I think I was more excited about the idea of sitting down way more than the beer)

The tour was longer than we expected, so we ended up having to book-it to get to the tram that would take us to the train station to get us back to Brussels. Nothing like a good sprint through the streets of Amsterdam to make a good end to the day :) We didn’t have very much time in the city, but it’s a city Ashley has always wanted to visit, so she and I will be heading back up when she comes to visit. So, many more shenanigans to come!

We’ve officially been here for 4 weeks, and just celebrated our 2 month anniversary yesterday! Time is just FLYING and it feels like we’ll be back in the states before we know it, so we’re trying to soak up every moment we have. Yesterday Jason brought home some beautiful flowers (glad I bought that vase at Ikea!) and took me to the restaurant “Belga Queen” which is an old bank they made into a restaurant. Gorgeous! It was a fabulous evening, and now we’re getting geared up for our trip to Cologne, Germany! ( or “Köln” auf Deutsch). We’re spending Saturday-Monday there since, in Belgium (and most of Europe), the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a National Holiday so Jason has off from work. Again, Belgium for the win! Love that Mary gets the attention she deserves :) 


Check out facebook for more pictures of Amsterdam, and stay-tuned for a post next week about our time in Germany!


Love,
The Newlyweds