From the day we started planning our trip, Amsterdam was one of the cities I was most looking forward to and I gotta say, she did not disappoint. I think I will   

Here’s are my research findings:

• Work hours are much more relaxed in Amsterdam. There is defiantly a weekday and a weekend schedule, but it’s not a rigid schedule.  Through the week, it’s a pretty typical work week, through Monday’s start a bit later in the day. Even most of the stores and shops don’t open until about 11am on Monday.  I also noticed that though some of the shops might post open at 11am, they might not actually open till about 11:20-ish.  I did find the weekends generally quieter. Shops close even earlier on the weekends and on Sunday’s most things stay close until after 12pm.
• The parks were everywhere, well cared for, and busy. Nolan and I explored several different parks though his favorite was Vondelpark and mine was the Amsterdam Forest.
• Endless coffee shops. More coffee shops than I could ever visit in a lifetime and I give it my best effort.  The coffee shops are full of people talking, reading, and enjoying the city. I didn’t often find people just sitting alone. I will fully acknowledge that Amsterdam is a huge tourist city, so it makes senses the people would be sitting in pairs or groups at coffee shops enjoying the city, but I also truly just want to love Amsterdam, so I’m sure I am missing some of what I don’t want to see.
• A sense of community is an interesting one for me.  I think Amsterdam is just one big, beautiful, amazing city. It’s also a very busy city, lots of tourists.  I was glad we stayed a bit outside of the city center.  We were able to ride into the city for anything we wanted, but also enjoy the quiet of our neighborhood.  I will say we did meet both our neighbors in Amsterdam.  Our back patios connected, so we would say hello almost daily and Nolan, of course, became fast friends with both neighbors.

Here are a few other general operations:  

• Again, I will fully admit that Amsterdam is a big tourist city, so most everyone seems happy to be here, but as an outcome, I find that I’m really happy.  
• The city is clean and well cared for. The streets are very clean, the city is beautiful, and I always felt safe. 

Here are a few of my favorite picture from Amsterdam:

^Our first family selfie in Amsterdam, courtesy of Jim.

^Friday Night, Family Night Pizza Cruise with Hannah Kane.

^What my family selfies look like … hahaha!

^My favorite family picture from Amsterdam.