Windmills without waffles...

One image sums up Holland:

Official cutest husband award given here!

First stop in Netherlands: Amsterdam

First order of business: find a stroopwaffel stand like in the Best Two Years.

First order of business is an impossibility, as there are NO fresh stroop stands in Amsterdam! Or so it seemed to us.

Canals are beautiful, and the city is accurately known as the "Venice of the North."

Now what else is this city known for? That's right. Weed. 

I didn't think much of this, but the 200 other teens squished into our campsite sure thought a lot of it. I had no idea what marijuana smelt like before (and proud of it), but I guarantee that I can pick out the smell that skunk now! I might have gotten high on the fumes that leaked out of every "coffee shop" and bar and hung above my head while I slept...

Flower market.

Luckily Amsterdam had good things to offer too. At this time of year they did have some fresh flowers, but they also had a lot of bulbs and seeds for next year!

Anne Frank's house.

Waited in line to go inside a museum...something we never do! And yet this was worth it. Seeing the small spaces this poor family was living in for 2 years during the war... Imagining the Frank family and so many others living in fear every day made me feel quite undeserving of the life I live!

Forbidden for Jews - signs that appeared more and more as Hitler gained power

Holland was beautiful! Flower fields!

And swans swimming in the river right by the temple!

The Netherlands temple in Den Haag. As we were taking this selfie, a man offered to take our picture. Guus was out walking his dog, and he made some new friends. We talked about the history of the area, about finding fresh stroopwaffels (he said to go to Gouda), about the best scenery in the area (he said Kinderdijk), and about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Güus wanted to receive a Book of Mormon, and we took down his information. A missionary experience outside the temple...how sweet it is!

And the temple was stunning as the sun set.

Following the temple, we followed Guus' advice and went to Kinderdijk! We rented bikes in Rotterdam and biked over.

Cute Harmon

Kinderdijk! 

Windmills as far as the eye can see!

Netherlands has greatly increased its land area by pumping water with these windmills. Some people live in areas that are "younger" than they are!

Beautiful scenery here. It was just picturesque! 

And obviously more ice cream was needed. We bought this from a man who sold ice cream from a fancy cooler contraption built into his bike.

From Kinderdijk we moved on to Gouda, HOPING to find some fresh stroops. Gouda, inventor not only if Gouda cheese, but also of stroopwaffels, was a very cute city!

Church in Gouda.

We searched and searched for fresh stroopwaffel stands.... We found one after it was already closing up shop! One. And still no fresh stroops.

So we settled and bought some from the supermarket... It's sad but true. The freshest stroopwaffels we will ever eat will  be from the Boise Farmers' Market.

Traveling Wisdom:

If you want to find fresh stroopwaffels, go to a street market. We heard from multiple locals that this is the only place you can get them. We just never found them! Or you can hit up the shop in Gouda, just be sure to be there before 5:30 pm!

Opportunities to share what you believe are everywhere!

Coffee shops are shops that sell marijuana. Cafes are shops that sell coffee and pastries.

If you hate the smell of marijuana as well, a crammed youth campsite or hostel in Amsterdam is probably NOT for you.