Hello again I'm Cole Prevost. That was a really long break from writing and I'm sure you guys have tuned out by now which is sad because the story goes on. I just got really busy after we got back from Amsterdam because the next weekend we left to head back to the United States. Anyways............ Amsterdam!!
I'm not for sure on the entire history of the city of Amsterdam, but I do know that is a really cool city visually. The train station that we rode in on is a man made island. I think a lot of Amsterdam might be something similar. The city has a series of canals that ring out from the center of the city. So the deeper you go into the city the more canals you have to cross. But the first thing you really notice about Amsterdam is the bikes! There are a billion bikes everywhere. They have special bike lines enough for like 5 bikes across and they have bike traffic lights. It's purdy wild. It would have been fun to try it out but we didn't think we were ready for intense city biking. Even though our hotel looked a ways off on the map we walked to it in approximately 15 minutes. The city is surprisingly small which we would really find out later. Our hotel was called the Bulldog Hostel. It was apparently started by some British guys in the 1970s so everyone that works there (and most of the people who stay there) speak English. Not that it was much of a problem because everyone in the city spoke English along with Dutch (and probably German and French too). We got settled into our room and headed out to walk around for a little bit. We then started to notice interesting things about the city we were staying in. Our hostel just happened to be in a little place called the Red Light District.
The Red Light District is Amsterdam's famous neighborhood. The area is designated by, you guessed it, Red lights on posts. Inside this little area you will find all the lovely ladies of the night. It's real classy haha. They each have their own window and people apparently window shop. These windows are everywhere. They are on the main street and in all the alleys. The district is also home to tons of "specialty shops." Shops to buy everything you need for your wildest fantasy haha. There is marijuana history museums, cafe's, and "special" theaters. Funny thing about the cafe's in the RLD, they don't just sell coffee they also are distributors of the ganja. This was a lot to take in all at once. We did notice a restaurant that we would frequent throughout the weekend. It was called Wok to Walk and I will describe it later. After snooping for awhile we headed back, had a few beers and headed to bed.
Saturday morning we got up early, like nine-ish. Our first stop of the day was The Anne Frank house. It was a really powerful museum about the Holocaust and intolerance. This was the house that Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis from 1942 until they were captured in 1944. The family and a family of close friends hid for over 2 years living in fear in a tiny apartment. Anne Frank kept a diary which was later published by her father when he returned from the concentration camps. It was really sad but it was really powerful as well.
After we went to the museum we did a little shopping on the way back to the hotel. When we went back to the hotel we had a few beers, it was noon after all. We walked around a little bit and hit up Wok to Walk. This is like HuHot if you are familiar with this restaurant but it's to go. You choose your type of noodle, veggies/meat, and sauce. They have a nice asian man complete with samurai headband, working the wok. It takes about five minutes and you have an awesome meal that is almost too much to eat. It's that awesome.
After Wok to Walk we headed back and took a nap. We got up a little later and went to a little Wine and Cheese cruise on the canals. It was way cool, it was just a little cruise around the city. We had two bottles of wine, a selection of cheese, and some mixed nuts. Very classy little cruise. Right after the cruise was over, it started to rain hurricane style. So we were forced to stay in the bar and have some drinks until it stopped. When it finally did stop, we went back and walked around the Red Light District since it seemed like the thing to do at night.
Sunday we only had a couple things on our list. One was the Van Gogh Museum and the Heineken Museum. We took our sweet time getting around to things. We actually took a cab to the Van Gogh Museum because we were a little lazy. It was about a 30 minute cab ride to the Museum that was at the very edge of our map. We layed in the park bordering the museum for awhile before we headed in. At the park they were setting up for the World Cup Final between the Netherlands and Spain. They were setting up huge screens and getting ready for a party. The museum was purdy cool. Lots and lots of paintings and what not. We then went to the Heineken Museum! They brewed Heineken in the building for over 100 years but now the building is a museum and they brew the beer elsewhere. The tour was self guided but it was way cool. There was a video/ride that put you as beer getting brewed. We got three free beers and went through the entire history of the Heineken brand including their advertising campaigns and innovations such as the mini keg. We also got a bottle of Heineken that has our names on it. Brewed by Jenny & Cole.
On the way back we decided to walk. Instead of a 30 minute car ride, it was a 20 minute walk back to the hotel. We fought our way back to the hotel through all the partiers and soccer fans to get our bags and head back to the train.
All in all it was an awesome weekend and I'm really glad I went. Next up will be Versailles.
Booyah.
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