This afternoon, our family watched the Dutch national soccer team improve to 2-0 in World Cup action.  Everyone's saying that they're disappointed that they haven't seen "the real Dutch team"  show up yet -- that they're not attacking enough, not flashy enough, not aggressive enough -- but I say that if we've won both games without even allowing our opponents to score a single goal, we're doing pretty well...

This time, we watched the game at the H88 (our church's ministry center).  It proved to be a great spot for such an experience:  plenty of room for spectators, comfortable seating, a massive screen with a crystal-clear digital image, a powerful sound system, and a wide array of inexpensive snacks and drinks (since we could bring the stuff ourselves).  But of course with this situation, the disadvantage could be that we're not enough mingled with the rest of the city -- that we're too much inside of some "Christian bubble" (even though, naturally, we'd be very welcoming of any guests who were invited in to share the experience with us).

It all got me to thinking, though:  Where is the best place in Amsterdam to watch the World Cup? If you have any suggestions, I'd be very glad to hear them (and maybe even give them a try over the next couple of weeks).

I've watched a couple of the games (not involving the Netherlands) in my house -- which is very comfortable and convenient, but I miss the companionship of other soccer enthusiasts when I watch games at home... And honestly, it's just not that fun.

I watched the first half of the Netherlands' first game of the tournament at the Hotel Arena.  It's a beautiful cafe, with large screen televisions situated out on a lovely terrace.  The crowd's level of enthusiasm was medium (noticeable but not quite manic -- which I actually found to be a comfortable level of energy).  And it was nice to be in a cafe environment, where we could be served a variety of drinks and snacks.  But the disadvantage was that the screens were hard to see for all the sunlight, the service was poor, and the drinks and snacks were absurdly expensive (about 12 euros for two drinks and one small snack).

And finally, I watched the second half of the Netherlands' first game at my kids' school.  There, it was fun to be with my kids -- and with a bunch of extremely zealous children in general -- and it felt like it was a truly Dutch environment.  But it wasn't the most comfortable.  The viewing experience was sub-par.  And, well, there were also some annoyances being in a room full of extremely zealous children, too!

So all of the venues that I've experienced up to this point have had their strengths and their weaknesses.  But I'm curious to hear:  Are there any other good places I should check out?!?  The next game is on Thursday evening...