It's Christmas Market Season and this year we spent the weekend with the Haley's! First stop was in Auchen, Germany. The markets here are a bit spaced out amongst great shopping, cafes and bars. We immediately hit up our first bratwurst and gluhwein stand and followed up with many refills throughout the town. We collected many themed mugs and devoured reibekuchen like you wouldn't believe.
The markets are full of yummy eats, beautiful antique ornaments and cocoa and mulled wines! My favorite treat this year - noodles followed up by seasoned mushrooms with hollandaise sauce. The night ended with beers and schnitzel.
The next day we drove to Dusseldorf (about an hour away) and spent the day stuffing our faces with more German cuisine and shopping at Kathe Wolfahrts for nutcrackers and ornaments!
Once back to Amsterdam we went to the Ajax vs Real Madrid official Champions League match - finally! Honestly, it can't get any better than that for our first futbol game in Amsterdam. The arena is amazing, the fans were loud and entertaining - we had excellent seats and overall a wonderful time!
Christmas season means many Christmas parties! Kirk's annual work party was held at the Pump Station. Upon arrival we were served refreshing mojitos and little bites. The candlelit restaurant was a beautiful place for a gathering. Dinner was followed by more drinks and dancing! Fun times!
The next week our lovely friends Emily and Matt made it out for their second visit! Emily was spending some time in Romania for work and decided to swing by before flying back to the States. Matt couldn't help himself and thought he should join in on the fun!
While here we took Em and Matt to our favorite dinner spots - Castell's for steak and ribs and Mulliner's for tapas and fondue. Drinks were at various places including De Dokter, Thijsens and Elandsgracht Cafe. We also made time for some cocoa at Chocolatl.
Over the weekend we trained out to Antwerpen for the day. Like Germany, Belgium also had their own markets with food and ornament stands. We discovered a tiny local bar and sipped on belgian beers while we waited out a rainstorm.
For dinner we consumed mol frites - so yummy! Em & Matt, thanks again for making the trip out - we love having friends out to visit!
This year we decided to spend Christmas in Amsterdam. We bought our first tree and ornaments and decorated our apartment!
We had a lovely low key Christmas Eve prepping food for the next day, taking Indy for a stroll around Vondel park, and walking around the Rembrandtplein Wonderland. More gluhwein and bratwursts and then finished the evening with a movie!
Christmas Day is finally here and it's time for our first attempt at making a tasty Christmas feast! We were joined by friends Judd and Elena. The day consisted of snacking, sipping, watching NFL football and NBA basketball.
Our friends Lisa and Per popped by for late night drinks! An overall successful and super day!
A few days after Christmas, Kirk and I spent some time in the Hague (Den Haag) walking around and enjoying the scenery. This is our first visit to the capital city of South Holland. It is the third largest city of the Netherlands and is also the seat of the Dutch government and parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands which is Amsterdam. The hague is one of the major cities hosting the United Nations.
We walked thru the Binnenhof (where the Parliament is located) and made our way to Escher In Het Paleis to see the life and work of M.C. Escher exhibit in the former winter palace of Queen Emma. Each room has its own theme and on the second floor there are various innovative interactive attractions. The palace also shows off beautiful chandeliers by Hans van Bentem - very stunning! The Winter Palace is the only public building in The Hague where the original royal ambience of a palace has been maintained.
If you want to experience what it is like to be in a war zone - then Amsterdam's New Year's Eve is the place to be. Throughout the day, and a few days leading up, it is normal to be walking down the canals while running errands and dodging a M80 or some other explosive. The Dutch don't seem to mind while we think it is crazy and not safe.
For our first gathering we swung over to a pre-party at a co-workers. Then we biked frantically to the next stop, while keeping an eye out for darting fireworks! Ali had a lovely gathering and we had our final countdown there followed by standing out on the balcony overlooking the Prinsengracht canal, watching Amsterdam light up in all directions, and dancing and drinking the night away!
We are looking forward to 2012 and all the joy and love that it will bring!
Our friends Lisa and Per popped by for late night drinks! An overall successful and super day!
A few days after Christmas, Kirk and I spent some time in the Hague (Den Haag) walking around and enjoying the scenery. This is our first visit to the capital city of South Holland. It is the third largest city of the Netherlands and is also the seat of the Dutch government and parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands which is Amsterdam. The hague is one of the major cities hosting the United Nations.
We walked thru the Binnenhof (where the Parliament is located) and made our way to Escher In Het Paleis to see the life and work of M.C. Escher exhibit in the former winter palace of Queen Emma. Each room has its own theme and on the second floor there are various innovative interactive attractions. The palace also shows off beautiful chandeliers by Hans van Bentem - very stunning! The Winter Palace is the only public building in The Hague where the original royal ambience of a palace has been maintained.
If you want to experience what it is like to be in a war zone - then Amsterdam's New Year's Eve is the place to be. Throughout the day, and a few days leading up, it is normal to be walking down the canals while running errands and dodging a M80 or some other explosive. The Dutch don't seem to mind while we think it is crazy and not safe.
For our first gathering we swung over to a pre-party at a co-workers. Then we biked frantically to the next stop, while keeping an eye out for darting fireworks! Ali had a lovely gathering and we had our final countdown there followed by standing out on the balcony overlooking the Prinsengracht canal, watching Amsterdam light up in all directions, and dancing and drinking the night away!
We are looking forward to 2012 and all the joy and love that it will bring!
