Amsterdam

We arrived in Stockholm from Paris at 11 pm on a Thursday, un- and re-packed and left straight from work the next day for Amsterdam.  Here we are, tired and on another plane.

We stayed at Hotel The Exchange in Amsterdam, and ended up with this all-white-everything room.  All knobs and panels and switches were covered with white boxes.  It was fantastic!  

We caught the William Klein at FOAM.

What a prolific artist!  I think I enjoyed his fashion photography best.

We got to catch up with some of our favorites!  Spent the day with Monica and the night with Celia, Frida and Jamie, Imogen, Amy, Leen, Richard and Kat, and on and on to celebrate Nick and Miz's getting hitched.  FANTASTIC-O!  We really do know the best people on the planet.

Stragglers from My Parents' Visit

Cafe culture in Amsterdam.

Canal tour in Amsterdam.

After getting taken on the houseboat "museum."

Parents at Montmartre.

Lunching in Annecy.

On the phone with one nun and in person with another!
This is a French Viz nun!

Me n' B on my favorite bridge in Paris, the Alexander III.

Paris with B (in his homeless sweatshirt) and mom.

Amster... damn, they lost!

Dear Amsterdam,
I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot.  But see, I've only really visited to meet with recruiters or go on interviews, so I've been tethered to your Centraal Station each time as there was always a return in sight.  Sure, I tried to explore, shopped a bit--even tried some herring--but you and I both know that we never clicked.  (Perhaps that's why you haven't found a job for me yet.)

Well, last Sunday was magic, Amsterdam.  I know we both felt it.  You were exuberant, oozing orange out onto your sidewalks.  I know this was a big time for you, but still you were quaint and charming (like a first date who didn't get too drunk at my cousin's wedding).  Even though it was your big day, I saw you for who you really are--neighbors leaving their doors open, tiny tapas places, floating gardens, quirky old architecture, boats snaking through the canals... oh, you knew exactly what you were doing, Amsterdam!  I'm so sorry I ever referenced you as a "college campus."  Really I am.  We just weren't able to spend proper time with each other until now.  So please forgive me.

Love,
Jodi

PS--I am still in love with that sandwich from the Hema at the train station.  I've had it 4 times now--twice on this last trip.  I've had it with dark bread and light bread, and though I prefer the dark bread, the light bread ain't half bad, either.  Sometimes I think of it, sitting here in Brussels and I feel sad that I can't just walk out the door and get it.  Not that it needs to be right around the corner, because this is a sandwich I would WALK for.  Oh, would you just hire me, Amsterdam, so I can eat the sandwich every day???

PPS--I didn't know you had so many mosquitos, but it figures with all of the water.  Anyway, it's not a problem.  I'm from the midwest, so I can totally hang.

Sea of orange.  Wish you could hear the techno music that was blaring, as well.  They were showing the game on those giant screens in the background and playing the techno to get everyone (except me) revved up.

Blow up couch.  Complete with beverage holders.

It's like a beer sombrero!  Well done, gentlemen.

Byro's winking because he really wants Paul the octopus to "win."

Nick and Miz (Team "Orange") all dressed up for the game!  Or for their show in Vegas!

Cruisin'.

Our lovely hosts, Mark and Celia.

My favorite fans.  The guy on the right kept springing up to open his lion mouth/flap, displaying what he hoped would do in the Spanish.

Me in my orange collar.

Loving Celia's apartment.

Aftermath of fireworks outside a Spanish restaurant.

Orange fuzzy worms strewn in the train tracks, the day after.

Amsterdam with a Dash of Paris

So Wednesday I had an interview in Amsterdam for a company called ModeDesign, which is a large Dutch company with 700+ employees.  That's all well and good, but what you really need to know is they have a brand called "Sandwich."  Yup, as in club, BLT, what have you.  A womenswear line called Sandwich.  How about that?  It made me REALLY want to work there.  heh.

Spotted this bus on "Pause" on my way into Gare du Midi to catch my train.  It's hard to see from the picture, but there is a steaming coffee cup (or maybe it's a cup o'soup?) icon right next to the word "Pause."  This is cute.

Here it is!  One of my favorite broodjes!  There's a yummy sandwich shop at the Central station in Amsterdam--nothing fancy, we're talking train station sandwiches here--that I just love!  This is the second time I've gotten this same sandwich (chicken [kip!.... haha if your name is Kip!  But then, translation aside, isn't that embarrassing enough?], bacon, rocket, tomato and wouldja look at that beautiful egg?).

I must admit I got excited as the train pulled into the station, bringing me closer to my true sandwich love. (Lies.  I have no true sandwich love.  I've been slutting around with a whole lot of them of late.)  I grabbed one and sat outside in the sun to eat it, watching all of the tourists walk out into the sunlight and take their first glimpses of Amsterdam.  (My favorites are the groups of backpacked young people huddling up and planning their attack on this city, which embarrassingly thwarts them in the end as they over-consume and end up stumbling around or incapacitated.  But here they are all bright eyed and excitable... tomorrow, bleary and feeling badly.)

The scene of the broodje-eating.

So, I had the interview at the company I now just call "Sandwich," and it went really well.  Great work environment and nice people.  It was a good experience and I got back to the train station in enough time to catch the first half of the England/Slovenia match at a bar there.  I had to watch the England match because no one gives half a crap about the US game that was on at the same time.  There was a group of 20-something British guys in there watching and if there's one thing that connects all viewing circles of British men watching their team, it's the shared tone with which they cry out, "Rooney!" when he gets the ball within scoring range.  It's done with the same breath and excitement and hope as a child would exclaim "Santa Claus!"  Magic.  Anyway, I quietly gave away my citizenship in the way I dramatically measured my breath or rolled my eyes.  Though no one noticed, it was satisfying to me, being that I was outnumbered.

So I board the train, getting updates from loyal friends on the game, and was feeling pretty good by the time we got to Brussels.  We were at the Gare du Nord in Brussels as I was thinking about what I was going to pick up from the market that night, waiting for the 5 minutes until we reached the South station.  (There are three main train stations in Brussels--the north station or Gare du Nord, the central station or Brussels Central, and the south station or Gare du Midi or Zuid.  If you think the fact that one station has two names and that the "Midi" station is not the "Central" station is a tad confusing, then surely you will be understanding of what happened next.)  I was lost in my thoughts and playing it cool so as not to get up until we reached the South station when the train started moving again and I noticed that it was the South--NOT North--station sign that was growing smaller........ SHIT!  I missed my stop!  Did I miss my stop?  I missed my stop!  Hey, do you speak English?  Was that the South station?  So... we're going to Paris???  What do I do?  Go to Paris?

Well, that's what I did.  Surprise!  Went to Paris.  I had never been so disappointed to go to Paris in my life.  The train manager was helpful and understanding (he could see in my eyes that I felt bad about my mistake, an honest mistake), whisked me off the train at Gare du Nord in Paris and turned me over to his colleague on the 9:20 pm train back to Brussels (the next train out), who sat me on the train back with less compassion and less conversation than Claude (my angel!) from the Brussels train.  But whatever, I didn't have to pay for my mistaken leg to Paris, nor for the return to Brussels.  The only thing I wasted was time, but without a job these days, I'm getting quite good at that.

Amsterdam Is The Most Beautiful College Campus

So, I've only been there twice. But both times I've been to Amsterdam recently, I've felt like I'm on a university campus. It starts with me thinking, oh, I must be in the college part of the city. But then I realize that I'm not and the city itself just reminds me of a college campus. And I think that's a compliment. I mean, college campuses are designed to be beautiful and inviting, with lots of grandiose buildings and places to walk, ride, and lounge. So maybe it's the ultimate compliment that I'm bestowing on Amsterdam. Because it is beautiful and inviting... and somehow just feels so quaint.

That said, I'm not quite in love with it yet.... but I also don't know it well enough. I'm a little nervous because I wasn't hit with the rush of excitement at the possibility of living there right away as I have been with so many cities--SF, Brussels... (There's this feeling I get when I first explore a city that I would like to live in. I imagine myself there immediately, start getting excited about finding my haunts, etc. But all of this really happens in microseconds... it really is a quick generalized feeling of excitement that this new place is going to be my HOME.) But everyone keeps telling me how amazing Amsterdam is--and I know it is! If I move there, I know I will find my stride and fall in love with it. But, well, I'm not there yet--literally and figuratively.

Anyway... all of the below align with my college campus comparison. At first I thought it was just the bikes, but it's everything!

OK, this one's not fair. It looks like the picture of a frathouse lawn on a Saturday morning.

Quick Eats in Amsterdam

Went to Amsterdam yesterday for an interview. Was rushing around most of the time, but did indulge in a couple of treats...

This is a "broodje," which I guess just means sandwich. It was yumtastical! I love the addition of hard-boiled eggs on the sandwiches here. This one contained chicken, bacon, lettuce, eggs and mayo... all on a delicious dark bread.


Um, doesn't that mean "warm fountain"... no thanks.


Herring sammy. Herring is just in season now in Amsterdam, and boy was it good. Had it on a soft roll with some onions and pickles. Just perfect.