They've Got the Beat

I love GIFs

Steaks, Planes, and Four Friends Saying "Cheers"

The Lighthouse

I could see it from my front yard growing up. At night,

I would watch the beam of light running across the land

out to sea and back again.

Little Did I know, that twenty years later I would be

proposing to this crazy lady at the top of what I

used to think was the tallest building in the world.

60 M(ore Pictures from Europe)inutes

Bike trip (with some help from a train or two) from Amsterdam to Berlin, almost to Copenhagen and back to Amsterdam...

A well-marked bike path leads from the airport to Amsterdam. The route runs beside a major highway, drops you off onto a small path leading between to green fields, guides you through a small neighborhood complete with its own windmill, and then dumps you at Oosterpark.

Bike parking at Central Station, Amsterdam.

The door to Niels and Melanie's houseboat.

You saw bikes like the one above everywhere in Amsterdam.

Tough guy on a bike is a little less tough.

Just one of the areas dedicated to overflow bike parking at the Central Station

I took the picture above in the courtyard of the Occii, a show space in Amsterdam. A communal style restaurant shares the courtyard with the Occii. You make reservations, show up, and eat whatever food they decide to give you.

The bike path running south from Amsterdam through a suburb community. The people on the path to the right are walking home from a rail station that connects this area with central Amsterdam.

My first night out of Amsterdam could've found me sleeping in the woods somewhere if it wasn't for an incredibly friendly and welcoming couple just outside of Arnhem. They let me set up my tent next to their caravan and we spent the evening drinking red wine, eating cheese and crackers, and listening to stories about people we didn't know.

A full day of riding got me as far as Enschede. Thanks to the friendly couple I had reservations at a large campground on the outskirts of town. For the second evening in a row I was invited to visit with the couple in the caravan next to my tent. They offered some good advice and I ate most of their cheese and crackers.

The next day I jumped on a train headed to Berlin.

I covered most of Berlin during my four day stay. One of my favorite moments in the city was my lazy afternoon in the Tiergarten reading the Three Musketeers.

On my way out of Berlin I picked up the Berlin-Copenhagen bike route. Each one of the signs below represents a different bike route running through the area. Incredibly convenient. Extremely confusing.

The route didn't mention anything about a ferry crossing. Then again, when was the last time I crossed a huge canal in Germany while riding to a campsite that didn't exist?

If this shadow could talk it would say something like, "Why didn't I take the train?", or "I have 30 minutes to ride 20 kilometers"....

You would think Italian food would get better the closer you get to Italy. I swear the red sauce was dressed tomato soup.

The tops of the pine trees in Germany glowed.

Amsterdam Central Station

Yes, you and a dozen of your closest friends can rent a bar on wheels while on vacation in Amsterdam. Sure, you have to pedal, but isn't that half the fun?

I was sitting on the roof of the houseboat one evening when I heard a group of men cheering. The group was getting closer at a rapid pace and before I knew it this four-wheeled party cruised by the boat. I really wanted to ride on it, but I couldn't find enough partners in crime.

A bride and groom get pelted with bird seed by friends and family.

The miracle that is the Amsterdam Public Library...

Nick, Caspar, Niels, and Gijs are on a floating dock.

Amsterdam Public Library bike parking