August in Amsterdam: A Short Post, Like Everyone’s Time in Amsterdam in August

August in Amsterdam is like an oxymoron for a local. The 31^st of July was a Monday. Everyone showed up to work on Monday. And then Tuesday, 1 August rolled around and everyone was…gone! The August holiday period in Europe, and in the Netherlands is no joke. People take 2-4 weeks off. They really do! This is something the American in me still cannot get over.

I spent the first two weeks of the month working, and wishing I was more European and had taken vacation earlier. But, nothing to complain about. It was nice and quiet, which allowed me to get a lot of things crossed off my to do list and to have a little fun in the sun in the city (while it lasts).

Here are a few brief highlights:

·         More canal cruises: One beautiful evening I was strolling home from work and just didn’t want to go home. I reached out to my friend Jenna to see if she wanted to do something and as luck would have it, she invited me to join a few friends on a night time boat trip. My fav!

 

·         Girls nights and birthday celebrations: I am lucky to have made some really great friends so far in Amsterdam all through friends of friends of friends from the States. It’s so nice to grab dinner with the girls on a Monday night, or celebrate a friend’s birthday. I’ve never had an issue making friends, but for some reason I was a bit terrified of being alone all the time when I first moved. Thankfully, that has not been the case J

 

·         Amsterdam Pride: I am not sure when the Pride festivities in Amsterdam started, but in recent years Pride has become a city-wide celebration where, similar to King’s Day, Amstedammers come out in droves to celebrate in the streets. The canals become host to parade floats and it’s a day-long celebration that effortlessly flows into night. This year my friends Megan and Katharine hosted a brunch and then we all headed out to catch the canal parades. The night ended with a birthday celebration for my friend Scarlett at her apartment overlooking Dam Square, which was hosting live music events throughout the evening. It was really cool to experience Pride Amsterdam-style!

 

  

 

·         And of course, visitors! One of my best friends and roommates from college, Heather, came through Amsterdam on her way home from an 18 month experience living and working in Thailand and Vietnam. It was so nice to see Heather and her friend Kaden, and to hear about their adventures through SE Asia. Months could go by without seeing Heather, but when we’re together we always pick up right where we left off. With Heather and Kaden we did the typical canal cruise, but they got to experience the crazy parties from Pride and we took a fun trip to Rotterdam and Kinderdijk, which are the old-school windmills about 35 minutes outside the city. After Rotterdam Heather and Kaden continued on south to Gent and Brugges, while I went back to a week of work. Heather returned for a few days at the end of the week and we got to celebrate her birthday together!

 

 

 

·         Save the best for last: Perhaps you may have caught the image on Facebook or Instagram of my latest purchase. If not, I’ll get you a hint: What has two wheels, handle bars and a bell? You guessed it! I am the [proud?] owner of a bike! Long story short, a friend of a friend was moving back to the States and selling her bike. Remember the night boat ride I mentioned above? I met her there and my friend Megan connected the dots: She’s selling a bike, and I was bike-less. So, I went to test it out and thought “What the heck?!” It was only a matter of time…I walked it home one night with Heather, riding the last few feet. And I have to admit, it was kind of fun. I think it might still be a while until I’m gliding up and down the streets of Amsterdam during rush hour, so don’t worry concerned friends at home. You have time to get those packages in the mail with the bubble wrap, helmets, knee pads and elbow pads J

 

And now, off to greet a very special visitor, my mom, at the airport so we can begin our journey to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, St. Petersburg and Helsinki. I am ready for my August holiday to begin!