Amsterdam and birthday
I think I have finally caught up on my jet lag. I feel fully awake for the first time since I got back on Sunday. Flying to Amsterdam wasn't as bad as flying back. Here is a quick run down of our trip:
Sunday: left for Amsterdam with a stopover in London. Note to self: will never fly into Heathrow again.
Monday: make it into Amsterdam. Have enough time to have a nice dinner and then pass out at the hotel.
Tuesday: We toured the Ann Frank House and the Dutch Historical Museum. I love Amsterdam! The buildings are just so old and awesome looking. The canals are pretty. The only truly dangerous thing is avoiding all of the bicycles. Then for Ben's birthday we took a dinner cruise on one of the canals. Love it! Afterward, we stop in a coffeeshop for some "coffee."
Wednesday: Belgium tour to Ghent and Brugges. Both very mediavel towns with castles and cathedrals.
Thursday: We just walked around in the morning and toured the side streets. In the afternoon, we took a guided tour to the seaside villages of Marken and Vollendam. The countryside is beautiful. The lakes are gorgeous. Stopped at an authentic Dutch cheese farm to learn how cheese is made. Bought some Dutch cheese for my parents. Saw the traditional Holland windmills. Casually walked around the Red Light District that night.
Friday: We toured the Dutch Resistance Museum and the Jewish Historical Museum. The Dutch Resistance Museum was by far the best museum I have ever seen. There was so much information and documents and exhibits. It took more than two hours to tour and we even skipped some of it. The Jewish Historical Museum was good, but the people who run it didn't tell us we were only half an hour from closing so we didn't get to see as much as we wanted to. That night we took an official guided tour through the Red Light District and learned about the history of prostitution in Amsterdam. Turns out, they had a trial run of male prostitutes, but no women would pay for sex, lol.
Saturday: Went all out crazy in souveneir shopping. We each got a piercing (the ultimate sourveneir) and then saw a "The Hangover" with Dutch subtitles. We opted to take it easy that night because we had to leave early the next morning.
Sunday (my birthday): Trek home.
I can't believe I'm 27. Ach! I feel hopeful, though. I always do around birthdays.
Sunday: left for Amsterdam with a stopover in London. Note to self: will never fly into Heathrow again.
Monday: make it into Amsterdam. Have enough time to have a nice dinner and then pass out at the hotel.
Tuesday: We toured the Ann Frank House and the Dutch Historical Museum. I love Amsterdam! The buildings are just so old and awesome looking. The canals are pretty. The only truly dangerous thing is avoiding all of the bicycles. Then for Ben's birthday we took a dinner cruise on one of the canals. Love it! Afterward, we stop in a coffeeshop for some "coffee."
Wednesday: Belgium tour to Ghent and Brugges. Both very mediavel towns with castles and cathedrals.
Thursday: We just walked around in the morning and toured the side streets. In the afternoon, we took a guided tour to the seaside villages of Marken and Vollendam. The countryside is beautiful. The lakes are gorgeous. Stopped at an authentic Dutch cheese farm to learn how cheese is made. Bought some Dutch cheese for my parents. Saw the traditional Holland windmills. Casually walked around the Red Light District that night.
Friday: We toured the Dutch Resistance Museum and the Jewish Historical Museum. The Dutch Resistance Museum was by far the best museum I have ever seen. There was so much information and documents and exhibits. It took more than two hours to tour and we even skipped some of it. The Jewish Historical Museum was good, but the people who run it didn't tell us we were only half an hour from closing so we didn't get to see as much as we wanted to. That night we took an official guided tour through the Red Light District and learned about the history of prostitution in Amsterdam. Turns out, they had a trial run of male prostitutes, but no women would pay for sex, lol.
Saturday: Went all out crazy in souveneir shopping. We each got a piercing (the ultimate sourveneir) and then saw a "The Hangover" with Dutch subtitles. We opted to take it easy that night because we had to leave early the next morning.
Sunday (my birthday): Trek home.
I can't believe I'm 27. Ach! I feel hopeful, though. I always do around birthdays.