[Female Post]  Just finished our three full days in Amsterdam, which we love more with each visit.  (Too bad it´s not affordable to live in for long!) Walked miles and miles, feet and knees and backs screaming for ibuprofen. Three tries at finding the perfect coneful of frites covered in imaginative sauces, none of which was quite as ethereal as I had remembered. But this morning I discovered the most delicious food item of my life... next to pate, that is. It´s called Poffertjes, a cross between a crepe and a dumpling, served with a big chunk of butter (see photo of the "mother block") and covered with powdered sugar.  These people know how to live, yet they´re not fat because they walk and cycle rather than drive.

On the other hand, the youth culture´s a bit disturbing, something like Seattle´s... lots of stoned out, pierced and tatted types lounging about the central touristed areas. Out farther it´s  more peaceful, and the canals never seem to lose their beauty and class.

Side note... we witnessed a few scenes of hostility on the part of Dutch serving German customers. They don´t forget, not even the young ones.

Now we're on board the Viking Sun, listening to the Rhine slap under our water-level windows. Snug little cabin with all we need, but as usual we're awake in the wee hours with jet lag. We are praying this cruise will look better in the morning: we may be poorly matched with these Old White People...