We started our trip, in earnest, at Haarlem Station. We bought day passes in order to take our bicycles on the train and it couldn’t have been easier. We cycled from our apartment to Amsterdam Centraal Station, hopped on an Intercity to Haarlem and were soon on our way. The Art Nouveau style at Haarlem […]
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Regardless of what you think of tipping culture in the United States, one of its clear advantages is that the rules are pretty consistent. Expensive, yes, but consistent. Service workers in the Netherlands get paid a livable wage so, in theory, tipping isn’t required. Perhaps if you’re particularly wowed by extraordinary service, you might be moved […]
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Living in Amsterdam necessarily means reckoning with FOMO in one form or another. There is so much that you could be doing that you cannot, within the limitations of space-time, do it all. Some weekends, T and I cope with FOMO by resisting the pressure to experience life and deploying a willfully ignorant response, buckling […]
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Indonesian food is prevalent in Amsterdam (Indonesia having been colonized by the Dutch), and one of the most popular Indonesian restaurants in town is Tempo Doeloe. According to their website, “Tempo Doeloe” roughly translates from Indonesian to “the good old days” and they are known particularly for their rijsttafels. A rijsttafel is a bit like Indonesian […]
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It’s a damn shame, but the Indian restaurants in Amsterdam are all pretty crap. Honestly, you can get better Indian food in Louisville. The Dutch have Indonesian food as their go-to takeaway and that, plus Holland’s fairly bland palate and intolerance of spicy foods, means that good Indian food is tough to find. I’ve tried dozens of […]
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I love Amsterdam, but every so often I get a hankering for my home town. Usually it’s not a specific thing I’m missing, more the general feel of the place. Sometimes it’s comforting to FaceTime with my friends and family, but I’ve discovered that nothing conjures up the feeling of being back in Kentucky like engaging […]
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I never would have found this place if my friend didn’t already know about it. It’s one of those restaurants in Amsterdam that’s totally unassuming from the outside with surprisingly delicious food. My theory is that these hidden gems have a higher density along Zeedijk (where WAU is located), but I need to do more research to […]
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I hate award shows with the heat of a thousand suns, but if giving Viola Davis the platform to say what she said means that me and the world have to suffer through more of those awkward marathon circle jerks, then by all means, I’m on board. The year is 2015, folks, and last week Viola […]
Read more...Before I get started here, let me just get some qualifiers and caveats off my chest. I’m not a journalist, I come from a comfortable life of privilege, I didn’t study political science, and I’m no more informed about the intricacies and nuances of the Syrian war and refugee crisis than anybody else who reads the […]
Read more...The man I love has many gifts. He is, without fail, kind to everyone he meets. He knows the make and model of every car on the road (in the US, anyway. He’s been adding new European models to his mental catalogue with great delight). He is steady and calm. I call him “my lighthouse” […]
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