I amsterdam.

My first visitor!

My friend Drew from high school is backpacking Europe this summer, and he found himself in the Netherlands for a few days. He stayed with me for two nights -- as luck had it, I only had to work a few hours on one day the whole time he was here. We hung out at the lake, had a Heineken, and shopped the market in Den Bosch. Then we went to Amsterdam to meet up with his friend, Aaron, who is going to be with him for the rest of the summer.



We went to the Heineken Experience, which probably isn't something I'd have done alone, so I was glad for the opportunity. You know me. I don't like beer that much. I didn't expect much from the museum. But I had a blast. I was non-stop delighted.

It provides a history of Heineken beer making and all sorts of fun diversions for the kid-at-heart type of people. You can join a music video and email it to your friends. There are all sorts of random Heineken things with which to photograph yourself. There's a hologram of a beer maker -- he catches you looking in the window at his work and he rushes to shut the curtain. You have a moment where you sort of freak out in embarrassment -- "Oh, my gosh, he caught me, I'm sorry, man" -- and then you freak out in embarrassment again because he isn't real. There's a 3-minute show where you find out what it's like to be a Heineken beer bottle. I love this place.







We spent the night in Haarlem, and then did some shopping there this morning -- which included a visit to the world's greatest used book store. I love that place, too.

I think I'll be spending many more free days in Amsterdam. So much to do.

And it was great to see Drew and Aaron.