Alone in the Big City

So, where did I leave off… just landing in Amsterdam! Oh jeez. Amsterdam was amazing- we’re currently in Hoorn staying with Geert, a distant relative. This place is awesome- and Alie and I have our own cute little bedroom on the 3^rd floorJ

We stayed in a hostel in Amsterdam- where they charged for EVERYTHING, including towels.. so Alie and I showered using just the one washcloth she brought to dry off. After that, we hit the town. We walked around, and were instantly hocked. Sex shops, and weed EVERYWHERE. We got delicious falafels and wandered around town, taking photos, exploring. We wandered to the Anne Frank Museum, and after an ordeal of finding cash, we went through. It was really awesome- but intense- and afterwards, we went back to our hostel to change for the night and walk around.

We went to the Red Light District.. a guy working at one of the “Live Porn Shows” told us to shut our mouths, because we looked silly walking around shocked. The girls were just wearing nothing-or practically nothing- in windows. Boys would go in, they would shut the curtains, and the guys would in would fork up 140 euros for 15 min. 15 min! Crazy. There was LIVE PORN shows you could watch, and every souvenir was definitely at least PG-13 rated- if not much worse. We ambled around for a while, decided we didn’t really want to be there anymore, decided to walk to the more tourist-y bar area of town, got halfway there, got tired, then went home and fell asleep like the super-fun crazy kids we areJ

The next morning, we woke up decently early, packed up our stuff, and went downstairs to ask if we could leave our stuff behind. They said no. So, we lugged our suitcases through the POURING rain to a coffee shop, sat and used the internet for a while, then trekked to the train station and paid like 12 euros to stash our bags in lockers for the day. We decided to head to the Van Gogh Museum, and ambitiously bought museum passes that let you go into any of 450 museums in all of Holland! Such a deal! We spend a few too many hours in the museum though- it was very well designed and the art was so diverse and fun to look atJ

We then went and got coffee, went to the flower market, got my phone fixed (so I could contact Geert, my awesome Dutch relative), and then decided to head to the Rijksmuseum. However- it closed at 6 PM, and we arrived at around 6:07. So depressing.

We wandered around, and Alie tried to find someone to buy her museum card off her, so she didn't spend double the amount necessary for one museum. We finally met Roy, who's from Boston and is traveling around for 3.5 months alone- all funded by unemployment checks. Gotta love America. He bought her museum pass, and then we all decided to take a canal cruise, even though it was raining.

We did the cruise, it was gorgeous, then we literally had to RUN to the train station to try to get our luggage, buy tickets, and make it on the train in 10 minutes. We spend 5 minutes trying to buy tickets, to no avail: their machines won't take our cards, because they're American and don't have a chip in them. The line to buy tickets at the counter is at least 10-15 people long, and we have to get our luggage still. We get our bags, and realize our platform is the farthest possible one away. Sprinting down the hallways, up SEVERAL flights of stairs (with bags in hand), and we make it to the platform just as the plane is pulling in. We don't have tickets, but we decide we can just explain to the guy on board what happened, and buy them on board (this happened once in Scotland as well, and it was no problem at all). I ask a random man leaning against the railing if this is the correct train, he says yes, and we run on board.

We settle in, I read a sweet book on Unicorns I bought for 1 euro!, and all is well- until the ticket man comes through. We explain our story, but then we realize that he is the same man we asked if it was the right train. He keeps asking us why we didn't ask him about tickets, and we keep insisting we didn't know he had anything to do with the train, and that if we had gone to get tickets, we surely would have missed the train. He starts yelling at us, and tells us we have to get off at the next stop. I then try calling Geert from my phone with the same number I used to text him earlier- and it says "this number is out of service." We panic.

Then, we hear the voice announcing that we are now entering Hoorn- and I realize that this is the name of the town that Geert lives in. I could have sworn he said to get off at another stop, but then I realize I was probably wrong. We get off the train, this nice guy explains that I put too many zeros in the phone number, and I try calling again, and explain the story to Geert- who explains that we were at the right stop, and he'd be there in 5 minutes. Our lives are blessed.

We get to Geert's, it's really cool, we sleep, wake up, and go to Zaanse the next day for a real Dutch culture experience- cheese, goats, windmills, and klompen- wooden shoes!

It was awesomeee, and I love it. SO MUCH CHEESE AND CHOCOLATE! Heaven.

I'm about to walk to the bus station, take a bus to the train station, and take the train into Amsterdam- alone! Wish me luck- pictures will come when I have more reliable internet:)