Amsterdam

Well, after a week full of "schnelling", I was extremely glad that we only had a half hour train ride to Amsterdam from Utrecht. The hostel was great! We had a bit of an adventure finding it because the directions that the hostel gives on their website were not very good. We missed the tram stop, so we had to walk back a couple of blocks, asked a taxi driver, and a nice man on his bike noticed we didn't know exactly where were going, and thanks to him, we found the hostel. I was grateful for a lot of sleep that night, and the weather was beautiful all weekend! On Saturday, we took a canal tour which was nice...except for the screaming child behind Melissa. I don't like it when parents ignore their children when their behaving like that, but anyway....Later, we went to the Anne Frank House. That was pretty amazing. The thing I noticed most is that no one talked. It was what Diana called a natural silence. There is such reverence for the Frank's family story told through the eyes of the younger daughter. I had read the diary in middle school, but it was a profound time to spend in their refuge.
That night, we were fortunate enough to come upon a live, outdoor concert in the city center. A band called "Catch" was playing, and they were so good! I love live music and had a great time listening and observing people around us enjoying the concert also.
On Sunday, we took a train out to Zaanstreek (I think), where the old-fashioned windmills and wooden shoe workshop were. We had quite a walk from the train station, but the weather was fantastic, so I didn't mind. As we crossed the bridge to go to the town, we saw the windmills and, of course, took advantage of the Kodak moment. The town was adorable, and I had tons of fun walking around to the different buildings, watching wooden shoes be made, and eating a delicious Dutch pancake! I guess that's one thing that surprised me in Amsterdam. There are quite a few pancake houses. They're not the types of pancakes we're used to, but they were still scrumptous!
The trip ended perfectly with a walk in VondelPark. It was just down the street from our hostel, and Diana, Melissa, Bridget and I had a beautiful, leisurely walk through it. Awesome!! :) Then, it was off to Hannover for more adventures!