Ring your bell, don't honk your horn

We started our day in strides, literally, with a morning run in Vondelpark, which turned out to be a very entertaining experience. We got an inside look at morning bicycle communiting and culture. Even though it was raining, we saw adults and schoolchildren pedaling through the park and making their way onto the city streets via the bicycle lights. It seems like everyone plays up the effortlessness of their biking, often riding with no hands or multitasking while riding. As outsiders it appeared there are unwritten and unspoken (literally, it was dead quiet in the park while we ran) customs that we were barely able to pick up on. Anything goes, and yet we still felt a bit out of place.


After our run and morning breakfast (yes, amie, as opposed to afternoon breakfast), we hit the town. We were on a mission to find bike maps, a bicycle shop, fuel bottle, notebook, pen, and internet (still lost in cyberspace). We first stopped in at Mac's bike shop and spoke with Bram and Sabine. They gave us an inside perspective on bicycling in the city:

-Amsterdamers own an average of 2.4 bikes per person

-obtaining a driver's license here is incredibly difficult

-according to Bram (who owns 7-9 bikes), there are two places in the world, Amsterdam, and not Amsterdam

-we should have finished our tour in the Netherlands, because apparently it's downhill from here (we'll report back)

-electric bikes are becoming more popular in the city (go mom and pop corso)

-there's a map-specialized bookstore about 3 blocks from our hostel

From Mac's bikes we hit the streets to acheive our quest. We explored a grocery store, saw dozens of "coffee shops," bike rental shops, "erotic entertainment," and utilized McDonald's free wi-fi. We made our purchases, took a lunch break in a small cafe, explored the incredible map shop for hours, and figured out our route for the next couple of days.

We opted for dinner breakfast (yes amie), stopping at Sara's Pancake House and devoured some spendy dutch crepes. We selected both their savory and sweet selections, including "the Italian pancake" topped with pesto, tomato, onion, mushroom, and cheese.

On our way back to the hostel, we had our first run-in with Amsterdam's notorious pick pocketers. Don't worry, nothing happened, but we had our first reminder that wallets don't belong in back pockets. We were walking down a busy street, just after McKayla and Erin had stopped at a nearby ATM. A man wearing a teal trench coat on a street corner holding a city map asked us if we knew where we were. Obliviously, Amie pointed out our location, although it did seem that the man was Dutch, and unlikely to be truly lost. We walked on unscathed, before McKayla informed us that a man that had been walking toward us on the street had pointed at us and made eye contact with the map man. McKayla kept her eyes peeled while Amie gave the directions, and nothing was stolen. It was the first time we felt truly unsafe in the city. As a result, we now have a group code for uncomfortable situations. The next time someone wants out of a situation, they'll ask, "Where did Anthony go?" Then we're free to "go find him" in a safer direction.

Back at the hostel we made plans to bike to Den Haag Thursday to meet Christiaan and stay with his family the next night. We looked at our bike maps and figured out a tentative route, it's approximately 60km from Amsterdam. We are ready and excited, although a little uncertain about what riding will be like outside the city, to start our first day of bike riding!