Dec. 24- Amsterdam

     Saturday morning, Ellen L. took me back to the train station in Utrecht. Arjen was meeting here to take the train to Amsterdam for the afternoon. I was feeling pretty tired after the night before since I hadn’t really had a night out like that since before Halloween! So I got another Starbuck’s. :) I should have kept a count for all the coffees that I drank on this trip. All I know is that it was a lot!

Our first stop in Amsterdam was the Anne Frank house. I wish I had pictures to show you, but you aren’t allowed to take any. If you are ever in Amsterdam though, I highly recommend going. It was really awesome! It is basically a self-guided tour through the actual house where Anne Frank and her family were hidden. There are lots of different artifacts still in the house along with quotes from Anne’s diary all throughout. I have never read her diary, but now it is definitely on my list to read.

Here are some pictures from other sites I saw along the way:

The Queen's Palace.

A memorial for WWII soldiers.

Arjen eating a whole herring!

A wooden shoe, of course.

Another view of the Queen's Palace.

Famous coffee shop aka place to smoke weed.

     Most of my time in Amsterdam, I could always smell weed. People don't smoke on the streets, but they keep the coffee shop doors open. It didn’t bother me at all though. It is not something that is over powering, but just something that you notice. I also took a walk down one of the red light district streets. It really was not as big of a deal as I expected. Of course, it was still disgusting and one small street was enough for me. I probably saw 5 girls in lingerie standing in windows. As far as Amsterdam being compared to Sodom and Gomorra, there are certainly parts of Amsterdam that are very sinful, but overall, it is a very cool city with lots to see that is both historical and moral.

     Arjen and I also tried to visit the Heineken brewery. We thought they were open until 16:00, but they actually closed at 14:30 since it was Christmas Eve. This is the second brewery that I have tried to go to in Europe. I have not been able to tour either of them because I got there after they were closed. Fail!

     We headed back to Tiel. Arjen had been sick for over a week. He had gone to the doctor, but only told that he had a bacterial infection. I could definitely tell that he was sicker than that as he fell asleep on the train ride home. I have to give him a big thanks for sticking it out with me and still showing me around! He went to the doctor again after Christmas and found out he has pneumonia. For dinner that night, we had Dutch pancakes. They are similar to crepes, but a bit thicker. I had two with taco meat inside and one with powder sugar for dessert. Like all the other food I had, they were delicious! Arjen and I sat around after dinner talking and drinking some beer. I had a Grolsch beer that was 11.6% alcohol! It is called Kanon, because it hits you like a canon! Needless to say, I slept great that night.