Dutch: 1, rest of civilization: 0

I’m not sure how it was possible, but our second trip to Amsterdam was even better than the first. Amsterdam is quickly becoming my favorite city in Europe.

Gliding along canals, cruising over innumerable cobblestone bridges … and then we left the coffeeshop. No, this time rather than sharing a last-minute hostel with 2 random Japanese girls, we opted for a comfy studio about 5 minutes from the train station and it was worth every euro cent. Plenty of room for the three of us: Molly, me and Rick (Steves).

We mainly cruised the streets and caught a few outdoor markets, and took a side trip to Haarlem, a quaint little town 20 minutes west of the city.

In addition to his usual humorous anecdotes and fun-facts (oh Rick, you’re such a kidder!), Rick provided one gem that really made our trip – a free ferry across the harbor to the north.

So we rented bikes and headed out into the countryside. The sun shining, sheep grazing, spokes spinning … It seems the Netherlands was made for bicycles – or they just built the country around them.

Amsterdam itself is so bike friendly it’s almost scary. As a pedestrian you really have to be more concerned with cyclists than cars, which are at the bottom of the totem pole. With a population of 750,000, the bikes in Amsterdam outnumber the cars by more than 2:1 (550,000 to 220,000), and cyclists are involved in 1/3 of all traffic accidents in the city.

We noticed a lot more Dutch being spoken this time and even tried our hand at it. It’s like a mix between German and … Japanese? For instance, “I would like / I will have” is Ik zou graag (pronounced “ich zoo hhhhaaahhhh”). Yes is “Ja” and no is “nee,” so you can see why we got pretty fluent quickly.

Back in the countryside we also noticed something interesting about their livestock: instead of chicken wire and posts, they fence their sheep with canals, so it’s like they’re grazing on little peninsulas.

After cruising effortlessly on superior Dutch bikes and smooth paths for a few hours, we stopped at a café for a sip and a snack.

Broodje met honing en brie? Mokka met slagroom?

Ja, alstublieft!

Our next trip will be by boat and we're always looking for a few deck hands and a first mate …