Number of days in Amsterdam – 126
Number of days without a bike theft – 123
Days since it last rained – 0
Today we got a private tour of one of Amsterdam’s newest museums – Museum Het Grachtenhuis (The Canal House).
It’s in a beautiful old canal house, but the real star here are the upper floors, where a ton of interactive exhibits and multimedia presentations tell a story about the planning and construction of one of the best parts of Amsterdam – the bicycles canals.
I’d like to tell you all about what the experience is like in there, but it’s tough to describe, so instead, I’ll show you this little travel feature we made.
I want to thank the folks at the museum for taking the time to let us in when they were closed, and giving us our little VIP tour.
After the museum, it was off the American Book Center, where we felt that, in case we were missing something, we needed to get a copy of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care. It seems like it’s a pretty basic resource to have around. We also picked up a copy of the latest issue of Amsterdam Magazine:
It's me!
You gotta love that they called out my bike theft in big bold letters. You can read it online. Page 30.
If you further care about our shopping escapades, it was then off to H&M for some maternity clothes. Yes, we’re just a few weeks out from having a baby, but Nicole needed to get some new maternity jeans.
See, here’s the thing – maternity jeans are not built to last. Granted, a woman will only need them for a set amount of time, but it seems that the manufacturers never considered that it’s possible that a pregnant woman may be riding her bike a few miles each day. That kind of constant wear can cause the knees and such to rip, causing mama to look like a pregnant extra from a Whitesnake video. This will not do, and even if they’re only needed for a few short days, Nicole needed jeans.
And one other thing you may not have been aware of – the Dutch are, on average, the tallest people in the world. Don’t believe me? Click here. Or go to a concert in Amsterdam. Or try to buy a pair of maternity jeans. We found a pair though, and only had to cut off about eight inches on the bottom to roll a cuff on them.
In the states, there are big and tall stores. Maybe the Netherlands needs a small and short store.
Just saying.
