After a 13 hour day on trains, we finally arrived in Amsterdam! Because of the obviously long day, we crashed around midnight as soon as we got to our room.
We woke up the next morning and, you guessed it, went on another free walking tour. We took it through the same organization that we did in Prague and Berlin. Its called New Europe Tours. They were actually started by a college graduate a little while back. They are great so we highly recommend them to anyone else who decides to do the backpacking thing.
The tour took us around pretty much the entire city. To our surprise Amsterdam is also a city on water, a lot like Venice. They proudly boast, however, that Amsterdam is better because the canals dont smell in the summer time like they can in Venice. This is because they actually drain them every 3 days which is pretty impressive. Even so, a swim is not recommended. We learned there is a lot of public peeing in this city haha. But it is still pretty! The buildings tilt
like in Venice because of the sinking ground. Some of them also lean forward. But that is architecturally strategic. It was done to be able to lift heavy things outside the building and not hit the building when Amsterdam was a huge merchant and naval trading city. The buildings also look different than any other European city we have seen. Stay tuned to facebook for pictures. But the city definitely has its oan unique personality. We liked it a lot.
On the tour we saw the red light district briefly and learned about the legal prostitution in the city. We saw the Old Church and the New Church. We saw the old main square where they used to execute public beheadings. We saw the Jewish Quarter, which now looks different than any other part of the city because the buildings were designed by architecture students and are way more modern. This is because the entire Jewish Quarter was demolished during the war because people had to cut down their houses for firewood to keep warm in the winter.
We took a break at the Coffee Company, the local coffee chain there. We also stopped and had some free cheese tasting. It was yummyyyy. We then leatned about the hash...of course. There is a marijuana and hash museum which we heard a bit about. We learned about the coffee houses, which is where you can legally purchase and smoke weed, or eat a "space cake" if you so desire.
On the tour we made friends with 2 scottish guys. The tour guide took us to watch the World Cup game at a large bar slash theater called Boom Chicago. Being the lucky girls we are, Holland was playing and we were once again in the home country during one of their football games! (yes i said football...correct!) It was nuts of course because Holland won. The entire place was packed and in the national colors of orange and black. Hup Holland hup! We had a late lunch during the game. It was a sausage and mashed potatoes dish that was a Dutch commodity, along with some Dutch beer. The shape of it was very suggestive I might add. You will see in the pictures haha.
After a quick pit stop at the hostel we headed to have try some pancakes, which Holland is fa,ous for. Mmmm they were good. We then went back to Boom Chicago to see a comedy show. The performers were American but the theater is apparently a cool thing to do in Amsterdam. It was pretty much like Whose Line Is It Anyway...a bunch of improv. It was really funny! We then met the Scottish guys for some beers and went out to some bars and dancing with them in Leidsplein, a big square. It was a good time!
The next day we woke up and went to the Van Gogh ,useum. We saw a lot of his famous paintings and read about his life. We then grabbed a nice relaxing lunch at a restaurant along the water before heading to the Anne Frank House.
Anne Frank was such a surreal experience. Remembering reading the book and visualizing the "secret annex" which Anne and her family hid in, and then being in the actual house, was just crazy. One of the things that really got to us was seeing the pencil marks on the wall where Anne's parents marked the children's heights as they grew. You can also see the pictures Anne put up in her bedroom to decorate it. It is crazy that 8 people lived in there for years and they hardly ever said a word. They had to walk up those creaky, narrow wooden stairs and try not to make any sounds for fear of being discovered. Then hearing about how her father, Otto was the only one to survive and how hard he searched for his family and then how he made himself get through Anne's diary. He fought to save the house and publish the book....he made such a good thing out of something terrible. He is truly a hero. Now Anne's book is translated into 65 languages around the world, second only to the Bible. It was a truly moving experience.
Needing a bit of a pick-me-up we hunted down some sushi for dinner! We had a craving. We then wandered around and took pictures of the sunset over the canals...which by the way doesnt happen until about 1030 pm. We went back to pack and turn in early to catch a 5:50 am train to Paris! Bonjourrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!
Stay tuned for updates about our last stop. Crazy! We are getting really excited to see everyone though. Miss you all!
Love
Nicole, Tricia, Christie
