Amsterdam

The past two days have been about exploring other cities in the great
nation of The Netherlands.

Yesterday we had a surprisingly eventful voyage into the city of
amsterdam as our train made a stop at the airport, and would not
continue becuase of technical problems. Even though we don't speak a
word of dutch, it was not hard to read the expressions of our fellow
traveler to know that we had to prematurely disembark. After some time
studying the schedules and figuring out which trains were in fact
going to Amsterdam, we made it in one piece around noon.

The first major sight to see was the Anne Frank Huis, which we found
after a leisurely stroll through the streets and canals of the
neighborhood. Once there, we were happy to only wait 10 minutes in a
line that can be hours long. The house and story of Anne Frank is
extraordinary and powerful. It is a time warp to a period of history
that is hard to believe actually occurred.

From the House we found a nice cafe along a canal to escape the cold
and fill our belly. Without surprise the cheese sandwich and Heineken
on tap hit the spot. After warmth and nurrishment we took a stroll to
the other side of town. The difference this time is that we made sure
to walk through an area infamous worldwide, the red light district.
The "district" is smaller than it used to be and we were walking in
the daytime, so we avoided (happily) the full effect. However, even in
this state, the character and reputation shine through plenty clear.


We were simply passing through on our way the Jewish Quarter, with no
clear objective in mind. We happened to find the Rembrandt House, and
decided that for a small fee, it was worth exploring the house of one
of the most famous Dutch artists.

After Rembrandt we made our way back to the train station so we could
get home for dinner. We felt we had accomplished a lot for 5 hours in
Amsterdam. There are museums left on our wish list and we should have
time on Monday to explore another part of town. The last event
yesterday was dinner at a local Thai restaurant. Normally I would not
highlight such a meal, but two things make this different. First, it
was recommended by the Thai ambassador himself, so curiosity was
running high. Second, since there were six of us, I had to drive my
moms car with my cousins and me. It was my first foreign driving
experience and I'm happy to report no incident. I'm also glad I didn't
have to park next to a canal (imagine that embarasment if you take the
car swimming before dinner).

So that ended our travel day to Amsterdam. We will be back in a few
days, and can't wait to walk around such an interesting old European
city. There are many great cities, but the character and charm of
Amsterdam are second to none.