📍Spakenburg & Utrecht, Netherlands 🇳🇱

“Nice to meet you, we’ll come visit you in December.”—Us to Kim and Job when we met them in September while we were all in Albania.

“Great, see you then! By the way, our town has amazing fish.”—Kim and Job

Okay, they didn’t respond exactly like that, but that was the gist.

Fast forward to December. We’re hereee! Our flight from Vietnam to Amsterdam was super easy. We had a 7 hour layover in Taiwan, so naturally we rushed out of the airport directly to Din Tai Fung and had ourselves some a lot of soup dumplings. We then took a 14 hour flight from Taiwan to Amsterdam, which was absolutely empty and we each got a whole row to ourselves again. MAGICAL.

Day 1: We landed early on a Friday morning and Kim and Job were working. So, we got some breakfast, ran some errands, got haircuts (per previous post, much needed), and walked around a market we stumbled across. Ok, it wasn’t the healthiest day of eating but there was sufficient time between these two American sized meals.

The Netherlands was cold, but coming from Vietnam is felt even colder. Not to mention I did NOT have the appropriate clothing. We were FREEZING. Kim and Job kindly came to pick us up from the city and we drove to the beach to take a look. It was the quickest look I’ve ever taken. A blink if you will. It was way too cold so we heated up in the bar/restaurant right by the beach for a warm drink and some hot food.

We drove towards their house in the small town called Spakenburg, which was a 50ish minute drive. Wouldn’t know because both J and I fell asleep in the car. At 6:30 pm. Jet lag at its finest. We hung out at the house for a bit and went to bed. On my way to bed I knocked a ball off their Christmas tree and shattered glass everywhere. That’s why I can’t have nice things.

Day 2: After sleeping (a lot), we woke up refreshed and ready for a big day. The US was playing the Netherlands in the World Cup (convenient time to be in the Netherlands). More importantly, as mentioned, they had told us their town was a fisherman town and the fish was always very fresh. We had been thinking about this since hearing it in Albania and had requested to try the fish upon inviting ourselves to their home. Their hosting skills are superb: They let us stay in their home (even if I break things) and they had a full salmon ordered and ready for us for lunch on day 1! Squatters rights are a thing in Netherlands too, ya?

After gracing our mouths with the salmon, we got ready for the game and headed to the “downtown” market. I use quotes because downtown is about two streets. We tried some traditional Netherlands foods, ya know just to experiment, and I found a warm scarf and socks to buy. We also made a quick stop at the biggest dam in Europe (I think that’s right, but don’t fact check me there).

And then it was game time…

And the aftermath…

We were drinking the whole game and each time the Netherlands scored we got free shots. Needless to say, we weren’t feeling the loss. Luckily for my stomach, the restaurant across the street from the bar, La Familia, had a table for the group of us that watched the game. We scurried our way over and indulged.

We went from another bar to Kim’s and Job’s house to continue the party. We played beer pong with some NASTY drink Job had purchased for an unknown reason, listened to Dutch people sing American songs, and danced. Not the worse way to forget about USA’s loss.

Day 3: Ouch. We did not move…the entire day. We ate the leftover salmon, laid on the couch, played some board games, tried virtual reality (which is actually wild), and ordered some pizza and ribs.

Day 4: It was Monday so we left with Kim when she went to work. We walked to the bus stop and noticed a grocery store. We stopped in and they had fresh seafood prepackaged. Don’t mind if we do. While waiting for the bus, we made our own little lobster rolls and they were actually great.

Can’t leave out this important part of our stay: In September, Job and Kim left us a (not so nice) present when we left Albania…a bottle of raki. We have since been traveling with said bottle and have taken pictures of it everywhere we went. We printed these pictures (referenced in the previous blog) and hid them all around their house (good luck finding them all!). Here are a few of the pictures. Anyway, thanks for hosting us friends!

We made our way to Utrecht and checked into our hotel which was located inside a mall. Lovely location when it is much too cold outside. We walked around the little city, got some poke, and then chilled at the hotel for a bit.

We had met Sofie in Vietnam, who lives in Utrecht, so we met up with her for dinner and an evening walk.

Day 5: Frederique, our friend we met in Croatia (who is from California but born in the Netherlands…following along here?), is currently living in Amsterdam so we took the train in and met her for lunch. We had an amazing apple pie at Winkel 43 and caught up with each other’s travels.

We walked around the city until she went to work out and we went to…well…eat. We met up with Sofie for sushi in Utrecht and, much to our surprise, it was all-you-can-eat so I was thrilled.

Day 6: On our final full day, we spent the time shopping around for warm clothes. Again, our hotel was in a mall so it was very convenient. I was able to find three warm sweaters, a stroopwafel (picture below), and really good Asian street food at The Street Food Club. That is my kind of shopping.

J went to the movies. Movies shown in Holland are in the language they are filmed in and have Dutch subtitles, so he was able to watch a movie in English. I stayed in the hotel and did not take more than three steps for the rest of the day. Blissful.

Day 7: We woke up, went to look for a magnet (we are getting one in all the countries we visit), and grabbed some food before heading to Amsterdam to meet my parents. (Finally!!)

We arrived in Amsterdam a day before Amy and Richard (they were busy getting 30,000 steps in Paris after taking a red-eye) so we went to the Bols Museum. I didn’t even know what Bols was. Turns out it’s alcohol and the museum is very nice.

We ended our night at Cafe De Klos with the best ribs and French onion soup.

Love,
AK & J

Of course, it’s time for the best part. Outtakes…