Amsterdam, Netherlands - 4 November

For those of you who don't already know, Amsterdam is Kate's "home away from home." She, along with her colleagues from across Europe, have been working a project in Amsterdam since early August. Kate normally flies to Amsterdam on Monday morning and flies home on Friday night. Bachelor life for me. Lots of travel for Kate.

The weekend of November 2nd, Kate's team had to work on the weekend in Amsterdam so I went to visit!! I dropped the dog off at the kennel on Friday morning. (By the way, I love the new kennel - it is only ten minutes from our flat and is on my way to work. The kennel has two sections. One section is for pets and the other section is for the working dogs at the Frankfurt airport. I think working dogs are awesome... so cool stuff).

After work, I went to the train station to catch the 7 pm train to Amsterdam. For those of you following my train riding experience, this time around was much easier for me. I was all prepared, unlike last time, for when the conductor said that half the train would go a different direction in Düsseldorf. This time, I was sure that I was in the right car. Can you imagine being on the wrong train, the last train of the night to Amsterdam, and realizing you got on the part of the train that split to go to Dusseldorf?? I can imagine it ... thankfully it hasn't happened to me yet.

When I arrived in Amsterdam, I cabbed it to our hotel (Kate normally stays near the airport, but her team moved hotels this weekend into the actual city of Amsterdam - Kate moved to the Amsterdam Marriott). It was right next to Leidseplein which is a big square/pub/restaurant area. I met her team just as they were finishing dinner at Trattoria Toto and then we all went out for a few drinks.

Kate had to work on Saturday so I went for a 6 mile run around Vondelpark. (Training for my next marathon - February 3, 2008 in Appledorn, Netherlands). We had great weather so then I walked around the city in the afternoon and met up with her team at an Indonesian restaurant, Indrapura. Indonesian is our new favorite food choice....so different! Saturday evening, we all went to an improv show called Boom Chicago. Very funny stuff.

Sunday, Kate had to work again, so I went for another run ... 11 miles through Amsterdam. My main goal was to visit Beatrixpark but I needed more mileage so I weaved my way through Amsterdam and along the canals.

Following a run and a stop at a cafe I headed back to Frankfurt. Although we didn't get to hang out much, it was a nice weekend to catch up and be in a different city. Alles klar.

Tschuss,
Shaun and Kate