Kickin' it Dutch-style

Lucky us, we have some friends from Louisville and Dallas (we've all lived in both cities because our guys work for Yum!) who are now living in Amsterdam and they invited us to visit! 

So off we went to the Netherlands the first weekend in May. M, K and S generously let us stay at their flat, which was in a great, central location. We had incredible weather and a fantastic weekend. The city was very, very accessible and the locals (who almost always spoke English - woohoo!) seemed relaxed and happy. It's only about a 3 hour flight from Moscow since we're both so far north already, but it felt like a world away, and just being there for a few days was like taking a deep sigh of relief.

A typical scene in Amsterdam: us (me sporting a 28+ week bump), bikes, boats, and a canal.

WHAT'S MORE DUTCH THAN TULIPS!!! We made a day trip out to Keukenhof Gardens to see the tulips, which, thanks to a cold spring, were in FULL bloom!! 

Another Keukenhof flower collage.

Us with rows and rows (and rows!) of tulips behind us, waiting to be harvested. So cool!! What a spectacular performance by those tulips.

Back in the city, we did a cheese tasting at Reypenaer. What's not to love about 5 different types of GOUDA CHEESE!?

Technically it was a wine tasting too, but I didn't get to participate in that due to the aforementioned bump.

I did, however, get to declare myself an "expert in cheese tasting" after all was said and done. :)

Another typical Amsterdam scene.

Our sweet friends, M, K and S, hanging out by the Rijksmuseum.

K in front of 1/3 of the dishes from our "rice table" feast. Who knew that Indonesian food was so prevalent in Amsterdam!?

The four of us and a full view of the meal.

And to round out the weekend of good eats, we went for traditional Dutch-style pancakes - kind of like a crepe or blintz with stuff cooked inside (this one had apples and I put jam on top). Very tasty and probably a little better for you than the typical American-style "hot cake."

Thanks for a great weekend, M and K! We had a blast. Cheers to good friends and coworkers around the world!