The Dutch way to say "get out"

To travel from Copenhagen to Amsterdam is more complicated than I thought. Turns out Copenhagen is on an island! In the Northeast of Denmark! Very far from Amsterdam! All this means that to travel via train would take 17 hours, four connections, and one brutal night. No thanks. I'll fly instead. I take Norwegian Airlines, which wounds fancy and old but is your run-of-the-mill discounter. But everything is on time, and smooth, and I find myself heading from Schipol into the Amsterdam city center late on Sunday night.

I make it to my abode, a studio apartment I've rented from the week. Turning knowledge into action, a recent New York Times article that highlighted peer to peer housing has given me a home. Using AirBnB.com, I find a guy in Amsterdam with a studio for a relatively reasonable price (especially given the pricey accomodations in this town!) I settle in and phone my friends, Preeta and Patrik. We head out and get a drink until they are overwhelmed by the jet lag. We makeplans to meet up the next morning for a healthy breakfast.

We find ourselves at a little cafe and make our orders.

I select the uitsmijter, a Dutch classic. The name actually translates as "bouncer" and it is a dish served in the early AM when hosts want to tell their guests it is time to leave. It is composed of rye toast, roast beef, fried eggs, and cheese. Ok, so a different kind of healthy breakfast! It is very good. I am especially impressed with the method and quality of the fried eggs, which were perfect and also had melted cheese somehow integrated into them. This dish almost makes me want to stay over at my friends' houses until 4am just to get a good meal.

Preeta and Patrik opted for a two egg, bacon, and toast breakfast paired with a bowl of yogurt, fruit, and muesli. They got closer to the healthy aim of the morning meal. Both were good, with the yogurt and fruit especially being a good pairing.

And with that, we were sated and we were off, on our bicycles, pedaling up, down and around Amsterdam.