Amsterdam!

Well, we survived our first trip to Holland in fine form and the verdict is in: M. and I looooooove the Netherlands! We hopped on a train Friday morning and rode to Amsterdam, which takes roughly 5 hours including one train switcheroo in Frankfurt. An added bonus is that the hauptbanhof in Cologne is situated right next to the cathedral, so you can squeeze in a little sight-seeing on the trip as well, which is always good! We arrived on a beautiful, hot day and people were in a generally great mood in Amsterdam, which, now that I think about it, they always seem to be...hmmm. Amsterdam? Yeah, it's got a reputation for being an, ahem, relaxed place by virtue of all of the coffeeshops around, but my assistant (who is Dutch) claims that people in Holland are just naturally friendly, and, you know, coffeeshops aside, I think that she might be right. We certainly found it to be true during our stay. Not to say that people in Germany don't have a sense of humor...it's just, um, well-hidden. People in Holland, we quickly discovered, are more than happy to let you in on the joke! This included the Dutch driver of a streetcar that M. and I found ourselves on, bumping along down a city street in Amsterdam Saturday afternoon. We were approaching a stop called "Spui". I don't know how this is actually pronounced in any language, but the driver says "Neeeeext stop" (in Dutch...okay, I'm not sure that's exactly what he said in Dutch. Bear with me... and welcome to life as an english-speaker in Europe!) Anyway, he's loudly singing into the PA on the streetcar: "Spweeee. Spooooooooi. Spreee. Spreeech. Spreeeek." By this time, everyone on the tram is smiling a little bit, like, "Is this guy for real?" and then he topped it off with and operatic "SPUUUUUI!" which got a few people on the tram to snicker. There may have even been a few giggles. I won't say who. M., you know who you are! Okay, anyway, a few people get off, and a few people get on. But it's pretty much the same crowd of riders (and it WAS a crowd!) when the whoooole scenario starts again. The driver says "Neeeeeext stop!" (or the Dutch equivalent!) and begins to sing: "Dom duh dom dom. Dom dom. Dum diddly dom." Ah yes, this must be the Dom stop! "Dum duh duh duh dooooooom." Now people are really chuckling...apparently, funny translates well into many, many languages. It was a nice, relaxed change from Germany, where, believe it or not, people cannot figure out why in the world you would say 'hello' to someone that you don't actually know and give the term "stiff upper lip" a whooooole new meaning. We were even treated to a rare Sunday of shopping (gasp!), which we thoroughly enjoyed. It's funny the things that you miss! We had been talking with a Dutch salesperson on Friday, and we asked about his store hours. He said, "Well, Sunday we don't open til later..." almost apologetically. I'm sure I looked like a big nerd, with my mouth hanging open as I listened. I was like, "Wait: let me get this straight: you're open on Sunday?" like it's some craaaaazy idea that I'd never considered before. But truly, in Germany, shopping on Sunday is considered to be an absolutely un-thinkable commercial arrangement. But if they'd seen the crowds milling about on the narrow streets lining the canals, I think they might agree: it's okay to shop on Sunday. It might even be, well, fun. And we can't wait until our next trip!