TLDR – Roxi and Dad went to Hamsterdam to meet Wes and Carie, collect a suitcase full of American food stuffs for the kids, eat a whole lot of chips, take a boat around town, and hunt for The Potato Eaters.
Hamsterdam with Roxi
Roxi calls Amsterdam Hamsterdam, so that is what it is called now in our family; Officially. We headed over for a few days to see Wes and Carie, collect the suitcase of American food stuffs they had brought for the kids, and have a little Dad-and-daughter adventure at the same time.
We started properly: pancakes in the Liffey Lounge, Roxi in her Minecraft creeper robe and travelling giraffie. After landing we stooped at an airport shop for the first giant Dutch shoe photo happened before we had even properly left the airport. Roxi has needs and we’re going to satisfy them
Datacenter, chocolate, and Tonys
First morning Roxi and Carie got to hang out, chat, , have breakfast together, and generally do the much more interesting part of the trip for them. Wes and I had a trip to a data centre: rows of racks, cables, blinking lights and very serious-looking machinery. A perfectly reasonable Dad and Wes adventure, but I suspect the girls had the better time at the hotel then we did.
We also found ourselves in the middle of a very busy Tony’s Chocolonely shop. Walls of chocolate, loads of people, and Roxi looking like she had discovered the world’s most important cultural institution. Never looked into the Tony’s chocolate story before. Want to buy more not to support them.
Amsterdam, boats and Potato Eaters
We did the proper Amsterdam bits too: Amsterdam Centraal, the canals, the big old sailing ship, trams, wandering about, and a boat tour looking out at the city from the water. Roxi had a mission: find The Potato Eaters. That meant a Van Gogh Museum stop, because apparently we could not be in Amsterdam and skip the painting hunt for Roxi’s favourite painting. We also went to the science museum, did a lot of walking, and ate plenty of chips along the way. Important research into dutch culture; chips in cones.
The shoe pictures
The shoe photos were not random tourist shoe nonsense. Roxi was recreating photos her mum took in her 20s: first the giant red clog at Schiphol, then the huge yellow shoes in town. Same kind of picture, different generation, same willingness to climb into oversized footwear for a photo. Pretty cool, really.
Heading home
The final morning involved breakfast, watermelon, a tram ride with Carie, and trying to fit a few more moments into the trip before heading back to the airport. Roxi was back in the creeper robe for the journey home, Dad looked slightly more travel-worn, and giraffie was still on duty.
A few days in Hamsterdam: friends, family, data centres, boats, museums, chocolate, chips, giant shoes, and a suitcase full of American snacks for the kids. Good trip.
