Anchors Away

Ahoy Captain!

We bought a boat! One of the most distinctive aspects of Amsterdam are the canals that crisscross the city. In fact, a tour of the waterways on our first trip here was one of the things that got us really excited about moving.

Some other Expat friends who we've met were selling a boat, and it gave us the idea to get one earlier than we originally thought. While we didn't buy the boat they were selling, it was a good impetus to start searching for one to enjoy for the rest of the summer. Similar to Seattle, August and September are sometimes the driest months. We found this one on the "Dutch eBay" Marktplaats. It's a copy of the popular Boston Whaler, with a small 9 hp outboard motor, and enough room to easily fit 6 people.

The day Brent brought the boat home, hapned to also be the day of the largest annual boat parade. Boats were everywhere, and being first-timers, we were happy to just get the boat home and get it tied up before the madness kicked off! We found a place to moor along the canal just outside our apartment, so the location couldn't be more convenient.





The best part about having the boat and living along the canal is that it takes virtually no time to get down to the boat and take her out for a spin. Unlike most cities where we'd have to take it to the water, unload it from a trailer (and don't forget gathering all the snacks), here we just grab a Coke, stroll down to the boat, and we're off in a flash. We've had the boat out twice in the evenings after work for picnics and both days this weekend. While we haven't had very many true summer days, its easy to be content down on the canals (as long as it's not raining!).


We've found that the views from the canals, and the slow cruising speed, make for great people watching and checking out the beautiful scenery. We find it hilarious that we are now playing a starring role in at least 20 family vacation videos, from all the tourists who like to snap pictures of the boats on the water. Everyone on the water is friendly, with the exception of the HUGE canal boats who give tours of the city. They pretty much go wherever they want and barely notice the smaller boats as they always have he right of way. Luckily our boat is very agile so we're able to zip out of the way of the lumbering giants.


The boat has really helped us to find some joy in the midst of all the transition. As we celebrated our wedding anniversary today (yep, 6 years goes fast!) we felt lucky that we were accomplishing our goals together, ones we had set in the months before getting married. Marriage definitely makes the bad times easier and the good times even better, and we've been experiencing that through the last several months of this adventure.

Thank you so much for all the comments and messages, keep them coming! We're off to Paris next weekend to celebrate our anniversary in style (like anyone needs a reason to visit Paris).

Is there a place you've visited and loved in Europe? Drop us a note and give us the inside scoop on your favorite European destinations!