Day two of Amsterdam began with the best raisin bran I’ve ever eaten (there were dried bananas in it!!) and some hilarious stories from the pair who were adventurous, or maybe crazy, enough to be in the Red Light district late at night. Next came a tram ride, and feeding some pigeons (not my best idea, although I did make several feathered friends) while waiting to get into the Anne Frank House. Once we did get into the house it was an amazing experience! It was incredible to think that we were in the same house as those 8 people who hid to try and save their lives during WWII. We got to see their rooms, watch some interviews from the people who were involved, read quotes from Anne’s diary, and even see the diary itself! It made me think of how much we take our basic freedoms for granted and just how much people suffered during WWII. The Frank family spent two years in that annex before being arrested, and only one of the 8 survived the concentration camps.

Next we went and waited in an even longer line for the Van Gogh museum. Once in, we got to see a large collection of Van Gogh’s paintings, drawings, and learned some more about his life and the way he created art. There were some beautiful and interesting paintings. While it wasn’t completely my cup of tea, it was still pretty cool.

After that we were again free to roam around Amsterdam! After wandering aimlessly for a bit, a group of 12 of us decided to board the tram and ride around for a while. However, we ended up riding for a little too long (about an hour and a half), and ended up on the edge of the city. We got to see more of the residential and business side of Amsterdam, and luckily were able to find our way back with little trouble. We spent the rest of our time in Amsterdam exploring shops, finding neat places and things to eat, and trying to navigate successfully.

Some of Amsterdam’s high points: raisin bran, stoop waffles, pigeons, European ketchup, not getting run over, and making new friends!

So we’ve said goodbye to Amsterdam and are now or our way to Prague! We boarded an overnight train, which I had been very excited for! However, it is a bit different than I imagined. We are in couchettes on this train, which consist of 6 bunk beds, three on each wall. There is about a foot and a half between each one, and with six people and all of our luggage it is a pretty tight fit. Hopefully we can fight off the claustrophobia, make the best of it and get a good night’s sleep. It is definitely the most interesting way I’ve traveled or tried to sleep, and has forced the six of us to get a little closer. I do enjoy riding a train, and have already made several Harry Potter references 🙂

One city down, several to go. Talk to you soon!