Hello faithful followers and friends! Let me once again begin with an apology for my lack of posting and a promise to try and get better. I plan on going back and blogging about the past month even though it has past. It has recently occurred to me that this blog is not only a way to keep my friends and family informed, it is one of the best ways I can document my experience. So. I am going to try and make these postings more of a priority as I hope will be evidenced by the fact that this posting is happening at 11:30 PM when I should certainly be in bed.
So to begin, a little background on how I happened upon this trip to Amsterdam. Back when I first got here and was spending my days traveling back and forth between military bases, I met a woman in the housing building who likes to organize trips for American soldiers and civilians living on base. She gave me a flyer about the trip which my mentor teacher said seemed like a good deal. I was able to get in touch with another student teacher in the area who agreed to go and split the price of a room with me. So, I boarded Friday without any idea who I would be traveling with, looking for a teacher like me but not knowing what to look for.
The bus left from the base at 10 PM Friday night. I met Shelby and we spent the first few hours getting to know one another. It was really nice to have someone my age and in the same kind of situation as I was in to talk to. We spent the rest of the weekend bumming around Amsterdam and are planning a trip to Prague together for November. It is wonderful to have someone I can start traveling with!
We drove through the night and I slept fairly well. Our first stop Saturday morning was to a wooden shoe factory and cheese farm. These were not places I would have ever chosen myself to see but I was so glad we did! The farm has been owned by a single family for hundreds of years and it was really interesting to see how the cheese and shoes are made. We entered first into a room that was covered wall to ceiling with wooden shoes. These were apparently first so popular because they are great to wear on farms and in areas where the ground is damp because they do not sink. The husband of the family showed us how he makes the shoes and talked about how much more efficient the business was now that they had modern machinery. He explained that the shoes he sells now are mainly to tourists but he did recently get a large order from the local High School. These shoes were not to become part of their school uniform, but rather were being given as gifts to students so they would have somewhere to rest their cell phones while in school! Too funny. It was then cheese time. The process of making cheese was more complicated to me than making wooden shoes. The wife went through all the steps with us and it was evident to see just how much time and effort goes into making it! She shared a story of a time when her and her husband decided to try making cheese with peppers and spent their day crying over the machines cutting the peppers. The tour ended with a free sampling and everything was great! I didn't end up getting any of their highly acclaimed cheese mainly because it was so fancy and you needed all kinds of fancy gadgets to cut it. And you have to "let it breathe" and rotate it on a cutting board and all that. There were too many directions for me to remember for having spent the night before on a bus. But, it was a great time and I bought a stupid amount of things while there.
We were then released to have free time in the city. I broke off from the group with Shelby and another female soldier who was traveling alone. We stopped at a Turkish place for lunch which was tasty and featured some very friendly, not bad looking servers. Then it was off to wander the streets. As you all know, Amsterdam is most well known for its liberal attitude. Every street we came to housed at LEAST one "coffee shop" where customers could indulge in things that have nothing to do with coffee. Every souvenir shop was complete with the fixins you would need for a good high which was really pretty crazy to see first hand. Our guide on the tour we took Saturday explained the reasoning his home country had for their laws legalizing things like marijuana and prostitution. He explained how keeping these things out of back alleys made things more safe and better regulated by the government. This kind of thinking really made sense to me and it was evident even to tourists that these kinds of activities were not a big deal and that everyone should go about their day however they see fit.
As we were moseying through the city we happened upon the Anne Frank house. The line to get in was a little long but they provided those who were waiting with a brochure in their native language which passed the time quickly. To prepare for this trip, I started reading Anne Frank's diary but wasn't able to get through it all. I left that day with a renewed interest in finishing. I have found that it is sometimes hard for me to envision what things were truly like when they are completely different now than they were then. Anne's father, the only one of the eight who were in hiding at that address to survive, insisted that the rooms in the now museum be empty to symbolize that the members were no more. In these empty rooms, it was easy to see just how small and dark the hiding place was. The floors were made of wood causing creaks with every step you took. It is hard to imagine how the inhabitants were able to stay quiet enough during the day that their location was not suspected until two years after they went into hiding. The house was really moving, in some ways even more so than Dachau. The diary really gives insight to the faces and personalities of those that were in hiding here and who lost their lives to the Nazis. It makes the crimes feel more personal. While there I just kept thinking about how lucky I am to have this experience. I am getting the opportunity to see things most people only read about. It is incredible.
After this, we wandered through the streets back to the train station which took us to our hotel. We had to be back by a certain time to get our bags off the bus and into our rooms. Though it was already pretty late, Shelby and I decided to ditch our things in the room and head back into the city to see the night life. Rick Steves told us that we needed to try Dutch pancakes while there so we set off at 9 PM to find them. What we found instead was the Red Light District. It felt really strange walking on the sidewalk with only a thin piece of glass separating you from a half naked woman. It was a Saturday night so it was prime work time. I felt more sorry for the men who went in there than the women. They somehow seemed classier than your typical prostitute. We finally stumbled upon a diner where we ordered stacks with ice cream and Heineken to drink. Typical Saturday night in Amsterdam! We then wandered to a bar where we got free drinks from a lonely but not terribly creepy man who left us alone after buying them. We then managed to get a man kicked out for being a bit too touchy when we were sitting at the bar. Shortly after we headed back, stopping to splash in puddles, take pictures of the city, and call hello to men dressed in costumes to celebrate their bachelor party. We got back at one AM and day one was a success.
The hotel we stayed in was very nice! The beds were very comfortable and "free breakfast" has a whole new meaning in Europe. They have things to make sandwiches along with other breakfast buffet staples like eggs and hash browns. It is much more than toast or a yogurt to go. The day started with a bus tour of the city. It was poring which made taking pictures next to impossible which was upsetting. The guide had planned for us to walk much more than we were able to because of the weather as well but we tried to make the best of it. He took us to a diamond shop, Amsterdam is famous for them, and we got a free tour. Wasn't very exciting or interesting to me as diamonds seem like something I will be getting very few of and not anytime in the near future. After the tour we grabbed lunch before heading to the Van Gough Museum. We purchased tickets ahead of time for the museum which was supposed to help us skip lines but we were still made to wait about an hour outside in huge crowds in the freezing, pouring rain. By the time we got in we had less than an hour and a half left to see everything. Van Gough was I believe one of the first painters I ever came to know thanks to a trip to the Saint Louis Art Museum one year. I remember her saying he cut off his ear and kids don't forget crazy things like that. Still, there was much to be learned about the different techniques he used and the many different kinds of creations he made. This was a man who tried his hand at sculpting, shadowing, sketching, painting and more! We had to race through the last of the four floors due to time constraints but we were still able to see everything and learn a lot along the way. We then wandered around in the rain taking pictures before stopping in the gay district at a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I had been warned several times about not trying to get Mexican food in Germany because they just don't get it, but we tried it anyway. The restaurant was gorgeous-filled with white and light blue lights that set a very relaxing tone. The food was great actually and we were able to get margaritas which I haven't seen since my dollar marg days in Kvegas. We again wandered, taking pictures until we got to the train station and headed home.
This morning we began our 11 hour journey back to Vilseck. Things were going well until we were about 2 hours out and realized the bus had a very bad gasoline leak. This led to an hour delay while we waited for a different bus to pick us up. But we were fortunate that was the worst that happened the whole weekend. Shelby and I were able to make the most of things despite the weather and long lines. It was a weekend filled with seeing things that are famous for all different reasons. I wouldn't have normally chosen Amsterdam to visit on my own but it proved to be beautiful and offered something for everyone. And, I can now officially say I have been to two countries while over here!
As I said, I AM going to start giving this blog the attention it deserves. There will be pictures of Amsterdam up on FB to accompany this entry soon. I hope all is well with all who have taken the time to read all of this and I thank you for your continued thoughts and support! Much love!
