Amsterdam, Netherlands Aug 19 thru 21

Where we are staying: Qbic Hotel Amsterdam

So I am about two weeks late on updating this blog. Hopefully those who have been following along aren't too disappointed but as you can imagine, we had quite a lot to do when we got back.

We took the night train into Amsterdam which was a much much more pleasureable experience than in 2000. We booked a private double which meant instead of a small compartment with 4 bunkbeds, not much else and a small lock on a sliding glass door, we had one bunkbed, a sink, complimentary bottled water, an attendent that we could call with any issues, a key to our "room" and two extra lock bolts. Of course, we still had to deal with the constant stops and loud train noises so sleep was difficult. It was very nice to know we were safe though.

Day 1 in Amsterdam, we went to our hotel , a good 25 minute tram drive outside of the city, and checked in. The rooms are like the pictures in that link, very minimalistic with a queen sized bed, flat screen tv and small bathroom. We tramed it back into the town and met up with our friends from Munich Lindsay and Lisa. They were on their 3rd day in Amsterdam and showed us some sites in the Red Light District which neither one of us will ever forget. The prostitutes in the windows soliciting business is very weird. But even more strange are the coffee shops where kids roll blunts as cops walk by. We had a few beers, got some NY Pizza and actually had to head home early 7pmish as I was exhausted from the train ride. It was nice to relax in our room after a long 48 hours, we actually watched Usual Suspects and had some dessert that we bought on our way home.

Day 2 in Amsterdam, after getting a very good nights sleep, we headed to the Van Gogh museum. Overcrowded as it was, the paintings were impressive and we bought the audio guide so we were able to understand quite a bit about the life and work of the master artist. Next up was the Anne Frank huis (house). A long wait but well worth it. It was my second time in the famous house and the experience was just as powerful. To think that two families spent years in that small area is truly amazing. On a sour note, there was an idiot American woman who actually answered her cell phone while walking through the Anne Frank house!!! To have your phone on is disrespectful, to keep your ring tone at its loudest is ridiculous, but to answer the phone and discuss your plans for the night, in a loud voice mind you, is incredibly embarassing. I don't think I have ever been less proud to be an American.

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That night, we headed back to the RLD as both Nicole and I wanted to see the night life. We went to a bar right on the main street of the district for some beers. Russia was playing the Netherlands that night and we got some prime seats where we could watch the game and look across the canal at a high class brothel where a nice looking lady was selling herself. I am not sure what Nicole enjoyed more, cheering for the Dutch or tracking the men who entered the whorehouse and left exactly 15 minutes later. Later on, a couple Russians sat next to us and with about 10 minutes left in the game, Nicole and I had to root for the Reds as neither one of us wanted to get killed by these scary KGB agents. Finally, we got some pastries and headed back to our hotel after a well spent day.

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Day 3 - Our last day here, we grabbed a great breakfast at Bagels and Beans, a Brueggers knock off that hit the spot. We found the Rembrandt house after a decent walk, it turned out to be a very cool place, Rembrandt was a rich man and the house was kept like he left it. I actually liked this museum better than the hustle and bustle of the Van Gogh museum. After, we went to the Horticus garden which as you would expect, was a large garden full of plants and flowers. It was impressive the amount of types they had and there was a cool butterfly house as well. Our next stop was the National Zoo. A very wide range of animals, some of my favorites were the monkeys, leopards and large turtles. It was an expansive place and we spent a good 2+ hours walking around, enjoying the nice day. After, we swung into the main shopping center and got some souvenirs. We then walked around at the huge park and unfortunately contiuned to walk back to our hotel. I say unfortunately because we didnt really know where we were going and ended up walking around for an hour. Finally we found our hotel and decided to get some Burger King to cap the night off. All in all, a very enjoyable day with twice as much walking as we probably needed.