Pit stop in Amsterdam

On the spur of the moment, we decided to fly to Canada for a week in January to visit my family, who happen to live near Jeremi's brother and a number of our friends as well. While it's always nice to visit family, it was mostly so that we could tell people in person that I was pregnant, and also because I felt so crappy, I really needed a week off work where I could just lie on the couch. (And clearly, the easiest way to do that is to fly across an ocean before and after, right?)

Anyhow, we were able to get really cheap tickets on KLM that routed us through Amsterdam. On the way we had a pretty long wait between flights (like 6 hours or so), so we decided to head into the city. It was Jeremi's first time in Holland, however brief, and we weren't able to get too far beyond the train station and the immediate area, but it was a nice way to pass the time. And of course, he was impressed by the sheer quantity of bicycles...
Yup, that's a multi-level parking garage for bikes. Why isn't everywhere that awesome?

We also went for lunch at a pub, where Jeremi was able to try some Bitterballen with his beer, which he quite enjoyed. (I tried to look the other way, as deep-fried thickened beef stew was really unappealing at the time.) Our brief stop in Amsterdam also gave us a chance to pick up some waffle-like syrup cookies (which are so, so delicious) and some good aged gouda to bring to our family. While they've gotten to try lots of German specialties already, Dutch specialties are still a welcome novelty!