off to the library

we went adventuring today - an excursion to the main branch of the amsterdam public library. i decided to extend the journey by going by foot there with the promise of a tram ride back home, which excited the kids. we stopped for frites along the way - david is now a fan of french fries served in a paper cone. we chatted with a south african who has been here for 6 months while we stood under an awning and out of the rain. i asked him if dutch people ever smiled. he said no and if you do smile people assume you are a tourist. i am sure people think the kids and i are insane and loud or insanely loud. or both.

the kids held up pretty well with the walk considering it was dreary and drizzling. and the amount of foot traffic and bicycles to manage is exhausting given i have to hold 2 kids hands for most of it or fear losing them because they walk so painfully slowly.

we paused in dam square (pictured above) so the kids could chase pigeons. i was approached by 2 older women who asked if they could pray for us. they were wearing red vests with jesus something or other written on them. they wanted to know if i had jc in my life. i told them no and that it had served me well for 40 years so i was going to stick with that. but they were very pleasant and seemed to enjoy my bluntness. if i am ever starved for adult conversation i now know where to go.

we finally made it to the library and i even managed to get the kids free library cards! score! we can now check out 20 books at a time. naomi would have been heartbroken if we couldn't take books homes. we also stumbled upon an english speaking storytime! actually, i kind of knew about it but the person who told me the info said it was an english speaking book group - so i was imagining an adult thing. so now we have a tuesday activity we can count on!

naomi found a dutch princess book and insisted i read it to her. after countless times telling her i couldn't read dutch i finally said to her 'go ask that man to read it to you' and wouldn't you know she did! she went over to a man who was with his 12 year old son and he had the boy read the book to her. she happily listened to the dutch story. a princess is a princess regardless of the language!

and let me tell you, amsterdam libraries know how to run a restaurant. on the 7th floor there was a gourmet cafe where we had great tomato soup, a brie sandwich with pinapple chutney, a chocolate croissant and a latte. they had an assemble your own stirfry station, gourmet pizzas, deluxe desserts, and a gourmet coffee and tea bar. i could hang out there all day.

i finally bought david a youth strippenkaart (tram pass) and the kids had fun looking for tram #4 for our ride home. their public transportation is very reasonable - our trip back from the library cost 68 cents for david and 1 euro for me. and now we have a tram map so we can figure our the transfer situation. we have a playdate on friday which that will be useful for. more on playdates later this week.