Amsterdam

Mollie----

So as we arrived into Amsterdam the first thing that we noticed was that the sun was out!!! So far we have been gone for about 2 weeks and it has been cold about everyday. So i just noticed that the kezboard here switches the z and the y. Therefore zou will just have to adjust because it is waaz to hard for me to do so. Anzwazs. we also noticed that when they say that biking is huge in Amsterdam they werent kidding. When we walked out of the central train station we first saw this three story bike parking ramp. yes, seriously. we will try to get some pictures up soon.

Anyways then we checked into our little hostel and then went about walking around the city and found some lunch. We walked around and enjoyed teh sunshine. Amsterdam is very interesting. I say this because it seems like the Trams, Cars, Cyclist, and Pedestrians all shared both the sidewalks and roads. Oh, and the cyclist have the right of way. So basically u cant walk on the streets because of the cars trams and cyclist, but you cant walk on the sidewalks b-c all of the mopeds and bicycles are parked on them. Therefore, the biggest mystery of Amsterdam emerged...where are teh pedestrians supposed to walk? We never quite figured it out. Anywazs. then we went and saw the Anne Frank house which was really neat to see. We went later at night to avoid the crowds and it was a good choice. The next day we went and again did the free walking tour that we have come to know and love. Mason was our tour guide and he had a great sense of humor. Amanda especially found him hilarious. He showed us three different generations concoctions that the Amsterdammers had created over the years to prevent people from....peeing in street corners. yes-seriously. pictures will come. The tour guide said that it is to fight the unending battle between men, beer, and nature. Basically what these do is when someone tries to urinate on it, the urine is reflected back onto the urinator....bahahah...evil laugh coming from the Amsterdam government.

oh btw in Amsterdam you have to pay .50 euros to go to the bathroom. Nothing is free in Amsterdam. We loved the canals in Amsterdam. They were sooo pretty and really added a lot to the city. Has anyone noticed that Im attempting to get the y and z's in the correct spot?

AFter the walking tour we decided to go the library was 8 stories tall, huge, and beautiful. At the top it had a restaurant and u could go outside and see a great overview of the city. Oh there was also a bar in the library... we were thinking that this was something the Americans should possibly integrate in our society haha.

Speaking of alcohol...apparently it is legal to drink in the streets here. We have seen a lot of it. It is rather interesting. Especially when your in London and the World Cup game is of England and the US. The Londoners reallz get into it.

We also did the infamous walk down the Red Light District. Again, interesting, but strange. Apparently the government is trying to decrease the number of windows that are being operated out of by 95% within a few years I believe.

We left the next day for Berlin. Our train ride took about 6.5 hours and we have arrived and checked into our hostel here. It was conveniently located right next to the Train Station that we came into the city on. It is literally in like the train parking lot area. Pretty nice for us. We ventured backed over there for dinner and found some good ole Pizza Hut and McDonalds. We got 15% off our food for staying at the hostel we are at so SCORE for us. haha.

Tomorrow we are planning on again doing the free walking tour. Then we will probably see where some of the Nazis, Stasi, and Gestapo people did some nasty bad stuff. Once I learn more about it...I will fill you in.

Shout out to the Muir and Olson families--love and miss you!