Zurich and Amsterdam

We woke up early (story of our lives!) and a cab took us to the airport.  We got on our first plane to Zurich, Switzerland and about 2 hours later, we were there.

Now, you're wondering why we're flying to Zurich if our end game was Amsterdam.  Well, I'm cheap and found a super cheap flight if we flew to Zurich first.  I know, lame, but oh well.
We thought since we had 5 hours, we would have a little bit of time to see the city.  Unfortunately, a cab driver informed us that the actual city center was 60km away from the airport, so we opted to wait in the airport for our connection.  Too bad!  However, the airport had a lot to offer in the way of shops and restaurants.  We got some Swiss Francs (they're one of the only countries not on the Euro):

I got a salad with shrimp (yum!) and Aaron got McDonald's (he's determined to try it in every country...sigh).

We shopped a little.  I almost bought a Swiss army knife:

They had so many different kinds!  

I DID buy some chocolate!  They gave us a free sample on the flight and I was hooked:

I almost bought Toblerone at the Duty Free Shop (so many kinds!):

Then I saw Lindt and this lady was stirring chocolate by hand:

She said they make their chocolate at the airport and even in the city you can't get it!  Only at the airport.  SOLD!

I asked if Lindt in The States is made in Switzerland and she said she heard it's made in Canada and the reason Swiss chocolate is so much better is because of the milk from the cows.  They worship cows here, you can buy all sorts of cow souvenirs.  I just bought chocolate:

It wasn't cheap though, this set me back 20 Euros!  Worth it though, it was like no other chocolate, so creamy.

Then onto Amsterdam!

Woo hoo!

We grabbed a cab to the center of town, about 20 minute drive.

We got to our hostel and showered and changed and went exploring:

We found a crazy street party!

What Amsterdam is known for:

A free, outdoor movie theater!

They're playing Up!  ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!!  What are the odds?

It was late (about 11pm) and most restaurants were closed, so we found an Indonesian restaurant still serving:

We got a mixed plate of stuff, no idea what any of it was, but it was so good I can't even explain it:

Each part was unique, but a lot of it had coconut milk, so it reminded me a little of Thai food, but so much better than anything I've ever had at a Thai restaurant.  OMG!  We tried some local beer, not great:

We're definitely not in Ireland anymore!

Then we walked around and explored the city:

As you would expect, weed is everywhere and it's not a big deal.  No one really cares and no one was acting all crazy and high and eating people's faces.  I'm not a smoker myself, but I'm a big supporter of letting people do what they want.  Get with it, America!

You can buy weed stuff everywhere and all the bars have it.  You can smoke in the streets, in bars, cafes, almost anywhere.  It's really different than anywhere we're used to.

We went to a bar called Bulldog and tried Heineken:

We're not really fans, but it's the local brew, so we had to try it.

Check out what they serve at the bar:

Candy bars and ice cream!  Munchies!!  Hilarious!

Then we walked along the canals:

It was actually freezing, so we went back to the hostel and off to sleep.  Today, we're getting a late start because I'm blogging, but we have to do laundry and maybe try to hit up some museums.  I'll try to post again soon, but no promises!