Vlog #9 AMSTERDAM: Biking through tulip fields + eating Dutch pancakes!

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It’s been 2 weeks since our last blog post and A LOT has happened! First of all we should mention that we are in AUSTRIA! Our great friend invited us to be a part the Wings for Life World Run in Vienna and we couldn’t resist. Here we are being interviewed about our travels by the biggest news station in Austria/Germany!

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Secondly, we fell absolutely head over clogs in love with Holland! Whether it was the impeccable bike lanes, the incredibly kind and helpful people, the chill, laid-back vibes, the rows of brightly colored, dancing tulips, the picturesque windmills, the delicious food or the lush and peaceful nature… all we know is that we never wanted to leave and we can’t wait to go back.

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Before we whisk you away into the magic that is Holland, we want to mention the fact that last week was the first time in our 3 years of blogging that we weren’t able to post a new story! It was really hard for us to accept, but such is life on the road in a new country with little knowns and a lot of wonder. As grateful as we are for wifi, we realize how much power it has to disconnect us from our present moments, and while our tep is a God-send for our day-to-day wifi needs (seriously), it’s the hardcore wifi days that remind us how much harder it is to be a #digitalnomad when you live in a van…

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Here’s Vlog #9 which will help fill you in on the insights we gained while enjoying our (mostly) wifi-less days connecting to Holland in every way possible!:

While Amsterdam is known worldwide for its liberal policies, there is so much more to discover beyond the coffee shops, smart shops and red lights, which are really only located in the highly concentrated city center, or “stadscentrum.” Amsterdam reminded us a lot of Black Rock City, with so much going on we were truly able to choose to see, or not see, whatever we liked.

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So, how about those tulips and pancakes?! Let’s start with the tulips, the very reason we decided to take the ferry from England to the Hook-of-Holland in the first place! And man oh man was it worth it:

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Keukenhof is literally the Disneyland of flowers. With 7 million carefully hand-planted bulbs and over 800 varieties of tulips spread over nearly 80 acres, it was a full-day experience filled with so much beauty we wished it never had to end:

The famous tulips are only in bloom from late March to mid-May, so while there were thousands of people all around, we still managed to enjoy a few quiet moments with each other and the flowers:

Around every corner the flowers seemed to be arranged in a vibrant assortment more stunning than the next! This made for an endless array of incredible picnic spots to choose from:

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From the peaceful whispering boat ride, which took us up and down the rows of brightly colored bulbs, to our 20-mile tandem biking adventure, which took us all the way to the sea! By the end of the day I thought I was a tulip and Drew had the pleasure of watching me bloom:

If Keukenhof is at the root of Holland’s magic, from there it only grows… and grows, and grows. All this talk of growing has me HUNGRY! So, how about those pancakes!

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While the alleyways may be lined with pizza, donuts, kebabs and munchies galore, the real tastes of Holland are found on brighter streets, but this 3-tiered mess below was too insane not to share:

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Back to the Pancakes! While we are usually found sprawling out in a park with a tasty little picnic or cooking up something yum in our van, Pancakes! Amsterdam called our names in a way we just couldn’t resist. The only place that flips a gluten-free Dutch pancake, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on their magic mix!

With so many incredible options to choose from, we debated over the pine nut + goat cheese + garlic oil, the bacon + banana + chili pepper (!?!) or the always solid NUTELLA, but in the end we were more than pleased with our choices. I went for the gf veggie + pesto and Drew went for the smoked salmon + guac + creme fraiche :

We savored every single bite, giving gratitude for the incredibly fresh tastes and authentic experience we were getting to share. To top it all off we decided to end on a sweet note, but not too sweet, juuuuust right. A light and fluffy (gf) Dutch pancake topped with fresh strawberries + yogurt + a drizzle of house made lemon honey. Mmmmmmm:

While tulips may not always be in season, luckily pancakes are! With so many more gems to discover we found ourselves extending our stay in Holland, and while we knew our time would eventually come to end, we decided to focus on the present, which thanks to the beautiful colors and warmer weather, was much easier to do: