One of my concerns before my trip was about fitting in Amsterdam. Not fitting in figuratively but literally. Being a big woman I have to consider the space I take up in the world. I remember years ago my parents went on a trip to Paris. When they returned my mother told me that I would love it there but that I wouldn’t fit. I remember thinking, “Really!? I wouldn’t fit in the entire city of Paris?!” The imagery in my mind was that of my picture up a the customs desk with a big red circle around me with a diagonal line…kind of like a “No Fat Chicks” bumper sticker. The truth of it is that it is an honest concern. People here aren’t as large. The chairs at cafes are small and flimsy to our standards. There is also much less real estate for things. The buildings here are close together. The streets and sidewalks (if there sidewalks) are much more narrow. The cars are tiny. Everyone here rides bicycles or scooters or walks. The bustling sounds you hear aren’t that of a morning commute with cars and horns but of rickety bikes that are rusty and squeaky from the rain and bike bells and of people talking on their cell phones as they walk the streets to their destination.
Yesterday, my sister and I walked to the center, The Dam. There was a carnival there. They had a HUGE Ferris Wheel. There isn’t a chance I would go on it but it was amazing to see. They also had food stands. There was a bratwurst stand, a frie stand, a fried dough stand that I would liken to a donut or fritter. 
I had been hearing about the fries here since my sister moved here. I couldn’t wait to try them. They are served in a big paper cone with mayonnaise. The mayo here is sweeter than ours and much thicker. Of course, I had to share some with my sister. What a great treat to have cold hands and eat piping hot, crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside fries with this tangy seasoning salt lightly dusted on them with this thick, almost gelatinous, squirt of mayo. Oh, and be sure to not call them “French” fries. Here they are frittes or fries or Belgian fries.
Walking further we passed a stand where they were making waffles and these tiny pancakes called poffertjes. I have seen them called fritters but they really aren’t to me since they are not deep fried. We got a small order with butter and powdered sugar. WOW!!! is what my taste buds screamed as popped this little tender light brown pancake in my mouth. I have never tasted anything like it. We stood there with the crowds of people moving around us as if we were the only two people in the world. It was a great moment – two sisters, giggling, both of us covered in powdered sugar, eating these yummy treats. I took a picture of them on the pan. The cook reached over so I could hand him my camera. He took a picture of us looking through the glass while they cooked. It was a kind gesture and now we have this moment memorialized.
We headed over to a large department store here to get some new coffee for the Nespresso machine. That is another blog in itself. Here you have to pay to use the restrooms. Ostensibly, it is paying to keep the bathroom clean after each use. The stall was small and it seemed to me the toilet was quite a bit smaller than our standard toilets at home. What has amazed me the most here is how solid the toilets have seemed. Watch, now I will use a toilet somewhere and it will come crashing off the wall when I sit on it. But so far they have seemed MUCH more solid than some of the toilets I have used in the states. I am sure even “averaged” sized people have heard or felt the telltale creak when they sit on a public toilet attached to a wall. Even if you don’t actually sit on them you can see they aren’t attached as well as one would like. Is this TMI?
A friend told me I had to try Indonesian food while I am here. We went to a little neighborhood restaurant last night for beer and snacks. They actually call them snacks which pleases me! I love snacks. I love the term snacks. It is evocative to me of something tasty and fun without the air of prentention that the hor’dourves or even appetizers has. Snacks are exactly that. They don’t can stand on their own. These did!! We had cheese snacks. They took chalk sized pieces of gouda cheese then wrapped them in filo and fried them. Those cheese snacks have now taken their rightful place on the list of my favorite foods of all time. They had these little croquettes of a beef ragu that are also fried called bitterballen. Imagine the tastiest stew you can imagine with a hint of Indonesian spice then fried like an arancini (an Italian rice ball). So, you end up with this crispy on the outside, hot and steamy and soft on the inside. They are served with this spicy smoothe mustard. We had other snacks too. All great but not nearly as memorable to me as the cheese snacks. And, did I mention beer? We had many ice cold beers to go with our snacks. Then it was a quick walk back over the bridge to the boat.