It has been 2 months since we last traveled together and we had been looking forward to our spring trip to Amsterdam in the country of The Netherlands. Our weekend finally arrived!
We were looking forward to a warm-weather trip in late April....or so we thought. We were surprised to see that the forecast for our stay in The Netherlands was for rain, wind and cold - while temperatures in Warsaw would be unseasonably high in the 80's!
One of the first things we noticed as we approached Amsterdam from the air was how very green the countryside was.... and though cloudy we could see the countryside canals, winding from left to right in the picture below.
We landed at Schiphol Airport....one of the busiest in Europe. 
At the airport, we found the train station and boarded a train that would take us to our hotel.
After settling in our hotel, we were ready to eat and see some of the city. We put on our jackets and toted our umbrellas...hoping we would not have to use them much!
To go downtown we headed back to the Sloterdijk train station next to our hotel....
After stopping in to check on the tours we would take the next two days, we asked about a good Dutch restaurant. Just down Damrak street was The Red Lion. Mark loved his Dutch pea soup with sausage (much like split pea soup) and I loved my pita-panini sandwich. Our first meal in the Netherlands was delicious!
Though windy, wet and cool...we walked the streets of Amsterdam...after all, it didn't get dark until 9pm - so we had plenty of time to explore!
We enjoyed seeing the tall skinny canal homes and buildings, crossing the bridges, and seeing such a unique and beautiful city!
On our trip to Germany in February we had noticed large numbers of bicycles parked in lots. But those lots did not even begin to compare to the thousands of bicycles we saw in Amsterdam - parked along bridges, rails, and almost anywhere a bike would fit.
We also found what appeared to be crooked or leaning tall houses...
...and narrow streets.
We were not to be alone this weekend. It was one of the busiest weekends of the entire year for tourists....the second biggest weekend to see the famous Keukenhof Gardens, and on Monday April 30th would be Queen's Day - the biggest party day of the year for all of The Netherlands!
The monarchy of the Netherlands is from the House of Orange, so orange is a national color....especially in preparation for Queen's Day.
Our first day in this unique European city was fabulous...we did not mind the weather, crowds, or the language...we were in store for some fun days ahead!
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