Day 7 - Bruges to Amsterdam

In the morning, we made a quick stop at a little pastry & waffle shop before leaving Bruges. It was now time to make the last push in the new BMW towards Amsterdam...our drop-off location for the car. Along the drive, we munched on Gallar chocolate and chicken McNuggets. On every trip, there is a point at which we have a craving for McNuggets. We never eat them back home, but for some reason, they always count as one of our European meals. Plus McDonald's had free wi-fi, so we got caught up on our email while dipping our nuggets. 

Crossing the border from Belgium to Holland was once again a non-event and only noticeable by the signage changing to Freaky-Deaky-Dutch. As Matt drove into the parking lot of the BMW drop-off office, there was a noticeable relief in his demeanor. He had driven us 800 miles through 3 countries without a single ding. Mom had to now say goodbye to her new Beemer. Her car would be put on a boat and delivered to the Bay Area in 4-6 weeks.

After saying goodbye to our wheels, we caught the train into Amsterdam city central. One of the first sights we were greeted with was a huge sign flashing, "Warning. White Heroine sold to tourists as Cocaine. 3 have died." --- Good Times. After a 15 minute walk we found the houseboat office. While I was checking in to get the keys to our boat, the staff informed me about a great evening activity called, "The Light Festival Water Color Cruise." Because tonight was going to be the warmest evening on our trip (a balmy 39) we decided we would give it a go.

Meanwhile, we made it to our little houseboat. It was on a beautiful canal in the Jordan. Swans visited us at our window hoping for a little snack. We shared our pretzels with them.  We also opened the bottle of wine from Bacharach. It was a great way to relax in our new home.

It was time to head out and show Mom some of the Amsterdam sites by night. We first headed down to the Dam Square. I expected it to be all decorated for Christmas, but it wasn't. That was because Sinter Claus was not arriving until December 5th. On that day, the square would be featuring a huge tree. Moving on from the Dam Square, we walked through the Red Light District. It took mom awhile to notice the women in the windows we were walking by. I think she was just surprised by all the party activities and noise as we weaved our way through the alley ways. The Red Light District was packed with bachelor parties celebrating on a Friday night. Some of the women were stunning. Some seemed not so much. A popular girl can make 500 euro per night. They are unionized, pay taxes and are regularly tested. (photography is not allowed in the RLD. These photos were from an online travel site.) Mom was also surprised by all the "coffee shops" and the pervasive aroma filling the sidewalks.

It was now time for our evening cruise. Everyone said we had to take a canal ride and experience the artwork on the water. Matt and I had never done it before, so it was something new for us to do and it only happens during the holidays. Most people in line for the Festival Light Cruise were locals. This helped support the idea that this would be a cool thing to do. Once on board, however, things quickly became comical as we all looked at each other and realized we were stuck on the boat for 65 minutes. The Festival of Lights by all accounts should be cool. 20 vetted works of Light Art were submitted from artists around the world based on the theme of hope and inspiration. The light exhibits did not make me feel hopeful or inspired. Instead, they made me wonder what the exhibits that were denied looked like. Each exhibit had a canned explanation that was played on the boat's audio system. The most exciting moment was when the windows began to steam up and we got to use our own personal squee-gee. When the tour was over, I apologized to Mom and Matt for taking us on the boat ride from hell.

The only thing that could make us feel better was a trip to the Apple store which just happen to be next door to Wagamama. We had dinner at Wagamama. Yeah!...and Mom is now a Wagamama fan too.