Finally!!!  Here are some images from our time spent in this beautiful city.  Until a couple weeks ago I had not heard and did not know much about Amsterdam apart from it’s infamous stereotypes.  But as I look back on our weekend there, a couple items come to mind.   They are things that, for me, will always define Amsterdam.  The first thing has to do with architecture.  Take a look at the photos below, especially the third one.  Tall, squished, and colorful buildings run along the sides of each street.  Everything is just so crammed in there, and it is awesome.  Many of these buildings actually lean forward toward the top, and look as if they could fall over.  The second trait that I feel defines Amsterdam is the humongous bicycle culture.  In Amsterdam biking is not just a hobby or quintessential past-time, it is a genuine form of transportation.  One type of bike even has a wooden box built into the bike between the handlebars and front wheel, and is often used by parents to carry their child in.  It is called a bakfiets.  Pretty sweet
Oh, and I must thank Antje for taking the lovely photo of Jason and I below.  It’s not often that we get in front of the camera, so I thought I’d post it here.  And on a final note, I think that Dutch is a very interesting language.  I made sure the bakfiets link went to their Dutch site so you could see…

According to Wikipedia, the population of Amsterdam at the beginning of 2009 was around 758,000.  Compare that to the some 700,000 bikes in the city, and you’ve got an astonishing ratio of one bike for nearly EVERY person.  As we walked around Amsterdam we joked that there must be more bikes than people, and I didn’t realize at the time how true that statement really is.  And though Amsterdam was packed with people, bikes, and cars, it was so enjoyable to ride around in a city that is so incredibly bike friendly, with spacious bike lanes that comprise a large portion of the road in many places.
As you can see below, we decided to join the bike fun and rented two regular bikes and a tandem from the Yellow Bike place.  Riding tandem was TONS of fun and if you haven’t tried it yet, you really must!  Also, I would like to boast that I took the photo below on the left while riding my bike.  It’s a good thing it was fairly clear in front of me, or it most certainly would have been a disaster…
Check back soon for a few more Amsterdam shots!