Amster Amster Dam Dam Dam

Fun facts about Amsterdam/The Netherlands:

• Amsterdam is the largest city and capital of the Netherlands
• There are over 1 million bikes but only 700 thousand Amsterdammers
• I kinda want to be an Amsterdammer just because they're called Amsterdammers
• There are over 300 coffee shops which can legally sell up to 5 grams of drugs to each person
• Amsterdam boasts more museums of any city in the world per square meters (40 museums from famous painters to museums on the history of sex and marijuana)
• The Dutch people are the tallest in all Europe and second tallest in the world
• Amsterdam is below sea level.
• It has the largest Van Gogh collections in the world
• Over 70% of the world's bacon comes from the Netherlands (Which is why there are so many pig farm workaways...I could NOT bring myself to do that)
• 7 of the world's top 500 companies including Philips and ING are based in the city
• 3.66 million visitors annually
• Been around since at least 1275
• More than 100,000 Dutch Jews were deported to Nazi concentration camps
• Anne Frank hid here!

I went to bed at 12:30. For once I was not the first person in bed! I shared the hostel room with thirteen other girls. Maybe five were in bed before me. I was so totally OUT that I didn't even hear the other nine girls come in throughout the night, and my bed was right by the door!!

I woke up at 8:40, got ready, and ate more toast for breakfast. I snuck an apple in my bag for later. Shh! The milk here is disgusting. So is the yogurt. Ew! It tastes sour.

I took my time packing my bags and hung out in the lobby for a bit after I stripped my bed. I was going on a free walking tour at 10:40 and they had a pick up right at my hostel!! I knew there was no way I could show myself around Amsterdam, and I'm glad I went on the tour because it was fantastic!! Side note: it was freezing today.

My tour guide was Angel, and he was from California. He knew Utah, obviously, and we chatted about how pretty southern Utah is as well as Mitt Romney. I made two friends in the tour group...a nice girl from Korea but living in Germany and a girl from California but living in Brussels doing an internship with the US Embassy. She goes to Duke. I lied and told her I went to BYU when she asked because I knew she would have ZERO idea where/what UVU was..she even knew that BYU was in Provo. They were both traveling alone like moi. There were thirty people in my tour group.

We went all over the main parts of Amsterdam. Dam Square. The Red Light District. Spuiplein. Leidseplein. The Anne Frank house. Etc. Angel, the tour guide, was hilarious. He warned us about pickpocketers and said, "you know you're in trouble when you feel a hand in your pants, and you didn't pay for it." He also called the locals "cycle-paths" which is exactly what they are. Apparently they own the roads. And the bike paths. And sidewalks.

We started on Dam Square where the City Hall/Royal Palace, National Monument, and New Church stand. These buildings are from the 14th and 15th centuries. If they're grand now, I can only imagine how grand they were back then. The Royal Palace was once considered the 8th World Wonder of the World! Amsterdam was once the financial center of the world! This place has history written all over it. Dam Square is full of two things: tourists and pigeons. I wore my hood cause it was cold but also just in case I got pooped on.

We went on to the Red Light District...i was nervous. We stopped at the Old Church (1306) and were told that it was built with the money that sailors paid when confessing their sins...which is why it's so huge. We were headed to the scary part and were warned about taking pictures of the ladies in the windows. Apparently they chase you down and throw your camera in the canal or stomp on it. Some even keep a jar of pee close by and give you a nice golden shower. Here my tour guide said, "and you really don't want that because you don't know how many countries are in that jar." :/ Prostitution is straight up legal in Amsterdam, and ladies 18+ years old rent rooms for 75-150 euro/day. They make about 50 euro in 15 minutes!! The oldest prostitute that my tour guide knew of (I don't know or want to know how he knows) is 84 years old. He pointed out that she wouldn't be here if she wasn't getting business. And with that I will stop grossing you out. :) I won't post the details of my journey through this part of town, but feel free to ask me later if you're a perv. ;)

There are approximately 1,281 bridges and 100 km of canals in Amsterdam. We probably crossed 100 on the tour today. The canals are just 3 meters deep. Flood, fire, and disease are the three enemies of Amsterdam which is why the buildings are brick and also why they lean. They have hooks at the top because people would store their goods on the top level to avoid damage in floods. They tied a rope to the hook and pulled the goods up from outside. They lean forward because they didn't want the stuff to hit windows on the way up!

Like I said, there are around one million bikes in Amsterdam. 25,000 bikes are pulled out of the canals each year. Drunk people throw them overboard simply because they're drunk. My tour guide has asked around 30 locals why they do it and they all said it's just because they're drunk.

We stopped for a snack at a place called Febo. They have burgers and chicken sandwiches and things callled Roquette's vending machine style. I can't even explain...i got a Roquette with ragout from veal for 1.50 euros. If someone wants to google that and let me know what it is, that would be great! ;) It was deep fried somethin. Also, we ate cheese at one stop and it was delicious! I was surprised because the other dairy products have beyond sucked.

Next, we learned about the coffee shops. Selling/buying/smoking marijuana is not legal in Amsterdam, but it is "tolerated." Whatever that means. You can buy five grams at a time (If you're 18 and older) and you can have up to 30 grams in your possession. Since it's illegal to buy/sell, the shops get it just as illegally as anyone else. They have a phone number. They call. It's delivered. They pay. There were marijuana plants in a few windows. I guess one in three tourists come to Amsterdam wanting to try some...I'm glad I'm one of the sane two people. As we were talking about this, the tall English guy next to me pulled out a roll (or whatever they're called) and started smoking away. Haha! It was interesting. I was warned about buying any baked goods because they most likely have marijuana baked right in!

Angel kept reminding us of the three rules of businesses in Amsterdam: 1. Be private/anonymous, 2. Be respectful, and 3. Most importantly, make money/good business.

The highlight of the tour for me was the ending at the church across from the Anne Frank Museum. We talked about WWII and the deportation of the Jews. It was here that I finally caught the spirit of Amsterdam: the true land of freedom. The people in Amsterdam were the only ones to stand straight up to the Nazi's and tell them that what they were doing was wrong. This bravery and the belief that everyone is equal is just inside the people of Amsterdam. The East India Trade Company shared their wealth with everyone instead of just making themselves bigger and richer. Prostitutes have rights and are respected. Anyone can marry/love anyone. Anyone can smoke/drink anything. Anything and everything is tolerated. Every person is just as important as every other person.

While I still do not necessarily agree with those practices/ideas, i'm glad i was able to experience all that I did today. It was scary, and my nose, ears, and eyes have all been corrupted. But it was still awesome, and it was something I could never experience anywhere else. Maybe I'm high ;)

Remember when I said my posts wouldn't be as long as that first one? Well, I lied. I've decided that this blog is more for me than for you so I'll continue to write as much as I want, and it will be detailed because I want to remember this trip for forevers.

So the tour ended at the Anne Frank Museum. I got in line and waited a long forty minutes to get inside. I heard the church bells that Anne Frank heard while she was hiding. The museum cost 9 well worth it euros. There were pamphlets in about twelve languages. The actual building that her father's warehouse was in is now inside of another building. It is plain-no furniture-because that is how her father wanted it to be. The museum took you through the building and history of the Frank family, the Jews, and the Secret Annex. You don't know how much I wish i could have seen this back in seventh grade when I read The Diary of Anne Frank in school. it was absolutely amazing. I will be re reading that book when I get home. They had her actual diary on display, and I walked through the secret bookcase entrance and stood in the rooms she hid in for all those years. She put a face to the six million Jews that suffered during those years. She represents a lot. It was her dream to write/publish a legendary book, and I think she was pretty successful considering her book has been translated into over 70 languages.

After that life changing experience i headed back to my hostel to pick up my backpack. I stopped and got dinner at a little Italian place called Asiaggo. I got a Carpaccio on ciabatta which had
rundercapaccio, Parmesan cheese, balsamico, citroensap, and pjinboompitjes. As you can see, I was only able to translate the Parmesan cheese (an I assume balsamico is balsamic vinegar or something). Someone can google that one too and let me know what the heck I ate today. They don't have menus in English anywhere! I seem to be eating a lot of sandwiches. They're the best value I guess. It was good, whatever it was. The sandwiches here are all bread...there are like two slices of meat and one of cheese (if you get it). Headed to the train station now!

Thanks for skimming!! Enjoy the pictures since I know that's what you're really here for! ;)

"I know what I want, I have a goal, I have opinions, a religion, and hope."
-Anne Frank, 11 April 1944

"To build a future, you have to know the past."
-Otto Frank, 1967