Amsterdam!

Marfo and I are back from our fun trip to Amsterdam! We arrived in Amsterdam, Holland, on Sunday night after a VERY bumpy plane ride. The turbulance was awful...it nearly made me sick! Luckily, the flight was only an hour long, so that was nice. We checked into our hotel (a Best Western...those things are everywhere!), and went to sleep. The next morning, we headed to an area called Rembrandtsplein to have brunch. The main modes of transportation in Amsterdam are 1) bicycles 2) trams. The trams are really nice, and pretty fast. I couldn't get over how many people ride bicycles...I've never seen anything like it! Many people drive cars, but I saw almost as many bikes as I did cars. It was kind of funny to see a line of cars stopped at a red light, with a long line of bikes stopped right next to them. Marfo and I almost got run over like 14 different times, because the bike paths look like pedestrian sidewalks...oops! We wanted to rent bikes one day to see the town, but the weather was too cold and rainy for that. The entire time, it was about 60-65 degrees, rainy, and windy...not your typical May weather! After brunch, we headed to the Rijksmuseum, which has all kinds of paintings by famous artists like Monet, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. Then, we went to the famous Van Gogh museum. Both museums were really neat! We went to the Bloemenmarket, where they sell beautiful flowers (mostly tulips, of course) and bulbs. We walked around the southern part of the city, and tried to find somewhere to eat supper. We randomly decided to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant, just to try something new. I don't recommend Ethiopian food. The portions were tiny, and we had to eat with our hands, because they don't use utensils! It was quite an experience, but it's nice to say that I've at least tried it. We finally wandered into the Leidensplein area, which is SO cool! Tons of restaurants from all over the world, and fun little shops. Marfo and I ate a nice, big dessert at none other than Haagen Daz! :) We walked around Leidensplein a little longer, and then called it a night. Our hotel room had a TV in it (this is not always the case in Europe), which, sadly, was very exciting for Marfo and me, since we don't have TVs in our room in England (thanks to the 280 pound TV license you have to buy). So we happily fell asleep at night to the sounds of MTV and BBC. :) On Tuesday, we woke up, returned to Rembrandtsplein for brunch, and then went to the Anne Frank House. The building where Anne Frank and her family hid during World War 2 has been preserved and turned into a museum. This was probably my favorite part of Amsterdam. It was a very surreal feeling to actually walk around in the Secret Annex where the Franks and van Pels hid for 2 years. The moveable bookcase which hid the door to the hiding place is still there, too! Anne's movie star pictures are still on the walls where she hung them...only the furniture is no longer there. Wow. Her actual diary is on display, also. The hiding place is bigger than I thought it would be, but not big enough to live comfortably with eight people for two years, without ever setting foot out of doors. After the Anne Frank house, Marfo and I walked along the canals and admired the town. Amsterdam is full of canals, and the Dutch houses look so cute lined up in a row! We took a brief stroll through the infamous Red Light District, which was very...interesting. The Red Light District is in a very pretty part of town, but it's like nothing I've ever seen! Prostitution is legal in Amsterdam, so scantily clad prostitutes stand in windows of buildings along the road, next to sex shops. Needless to say, we didn't stay in the Red Light District too long! Our next stop was the beautiful St. Nicholas cathedral, followed by more canal walks. We ate dinner at a delicious Italian restaurants, and it was probably the best meal I've ever had! Italians sure do know how to cook! Afterwards, we walked through the Leidensplein area again, and then hung out by the Amstel River, and walked back to our hotel. The sun doesn't set until about 10:30 p.m., which is really cool. On Wednesday, Marfo and I stopped by a bakery to grab some pastries, and strolled through town. Marfo wanted to go back to the Van Gogh museum to see another exhibit, so I decided to walk around town a little longer, and then meet her back at the museum. As I was walking along, I happened to pass a friend from Madison who is backpacking through Europe! What a small world! We stopped and chatted for awhile, and then I had to go back and meet Marfo. After the museum, Marfo and I went to Coster Diamonds to take a tour. Amsterdam is one of the diamond capitals of the world, so it was neat to look at the beautiful jewelry. After the tour, we caught a tram to Centraal Station, and then took a train to the Schiphol Airport, which just happens to be the fourth busiest airport in Europe! I'm not sure what the first three are, but I'm willing to bet that London Heathrow and Paris DeGaulle are topping the list! We arrived back in Birmingham to a very rainy England. Michelle was sweet enough to pick us up at the train station in Stratford and drive us home so we wouldn't have to walk in the rain. All in all, a very fun trip! EVERYONE speaks English, so luckily we didn't have to learn any Dutch. Dutch sounds very similar to German, but with fewer "hocks." A few Dutch words we learned: "ja = yes," "nee = no," "Dag = hello/goodbye," and "Dank u = thank you." I'm going to post pictures tomorrow, because I'm going to London on Saturday to meet up with Kate McIntosh, Katie Witthauer, Walt Cain, and Ashley Parker. Fun!!