Day one for the Americans by Regan Davenport:
We arrived in Amsterdam ahead of schedule.
The clean air, the clean stores even in the airport, instantly took us aback
and of course the drive out to the bungalow was incredible. Before we even saw
where we were going to be staying, or meeting anyone from Germany Norway and
Jessica of the Netherlands in person, the drive from the airport was beautiful. I didn’t mind even as tired as I was for the detour letting the second van catch up, because it gave
me a chance to stare at the roofs and landscaping of all of the little houses
in the passing neighborhoods. The roofs with vegetation growing on them, the
driveways with drawbridges and canals surrounding some lawns, the manipulated
landscaping (bulb ended trees with all of the branches cut off, and then
allowed to regrow), the old windmills and the shopping in Schoorl where we are
staying for grocery were an experience in of themselves. We went into some
small town bakeries, the fruit market, a book store, and saw the character
portrayal of Zwarte Peit, Saint Nicolas’s helper giving out cookies and candy
to the children in the street in full costume. There are playthings for
children everywhere. All people young and old ride bicycles, some with small family’s
riding all on one bike, even pizza delivery via bike!
