Amsterdam, Netherlands

Adam, our tour director, surprised us with a stop at a small farm where they make cheese and clogs. We got a demonstration of both. Apparently, there are only three places in this country that make clogs, so of course I got some mini ones as souvenirs. It made the rest of the time in Amsterdam interesting because every souvenir place we went to most likely carried the shoes from the place we went to.

We made our way to the hostel generator then off into town. The main square by the royal palace aka dam square, had a mini bull riding contest going on. We got free time for dinner, so we got some pizza to go, so we could explore the city more. We took some photos by the canals, walked to the train station, got some weird warm tart smoothies, then met up with the rest of our group. We then were taken on a walking tour of the Red light district. It was different and really opened my mind. We walked first down a very small ally way where there were women prostitutes standing in windows, as here, its legal. We then continued to walk through its many blocks.

The next day was all about rain, rain, wind, and more rain. We had a walking tour around town, which was cool, but it was so rainy , cold, and windy that it was miserable. I didn't pay much attention. However, I did grab some coffee, wasn't that good, but it was warm. After the tour, the usual crew went to a pancake house. We were waiting in line for quite a while before getting in. Our local guide said it was worth the wait, and it was. Our next stop was the Ann Frank house. We had to get there at 2 pm, about an hour before they opened so we could be at the front of the line. Sadly the rain was absolutely down pouring, and the wind was crazy. We all cuddled together, formed many umbrella shields, and stood there for an hour. Although, Adam did buy us stroop waffles which became my new obsession. The Anne Frank house was a speechless experience. My heart felt heavy as we walked through as I could almost feel their sorrow, loneliness, and fear. I wasn't the only one feeling this way either. We got to see pages of the diary too. It was way worth waiting in the rain. At this point it was 4pm, and we were all so miserable, so we went back to the hostel. My friend and I stopped at the store to get enough stroop waffles to last weeks, and the best salad ever. A while later the crew met down in the breakfast area of the hostel and played a card game called things. It was so much fun and relaxing after the day we just had.

The final day in Amsterdam. It stared out in the best way possible. Myself and my two closest friends went on a walk around the park area by the hostel. Filled with plants, trees, statues, and walking paths around ponds. We also found a playground that was basically a small up and down slope running course. We ran around it twice which was more fun than you may think. We then took the metro to go on a bike tour. We went around the north side of town over some canals, and into the countryside. The villages were crazy beautiful and picturesque. The views were of giant fields, cows, sheep and creeks. We stopped to have a snack under a church in one of the unique villages. The bike ride made me want to ride my bike more. It was unbelievably relaxing. The girls and I walked through the floating flower garden, met up with the guys, got fries with mayonnaise, then left for the canal cruise.

Park outside hostel

Bike tour

Floating flower garden

Our whole crew fit in our own boat, and we got to drive it around ourselves. We received a bag of goodies containing: bread, chips, grapes, champagne, and Heineken beer. We drank it all. This is when most of our groups inside jokes came to be...a highlight of the trip for sure. Our boat was singing, dancing, laughing and the rest of the group thought our boat had the most fun. We then tried to go to a market, which ended up being closed, so we went back to the hostel, played more card games, and signed off.