Post #10: The Amsterdam Tours

Side note: we went on some tours yesterday as well, but I thought that it might make more sense to separate Amsterdam into history and tours, rather than by day. Thus, the last two posts are not separated by day necessarily.

Today we wake up early so that Jan can prepare our room for the next guest. Breakfast is the same as yesterday, but the sun has come out to make the conversation cheerier. It takes us a few hours to shower and pack after we eat, but Jan is patient. He is helpful as well, as he agrees to let us keep our luggage in the corridor until we leave.

We first decide to tour Rembrandt's house. It turns out that Rembrandt was kind of a rock star, as he was quite the sought after artist while he was alive. His first house cost 13,000 guilders when the average yearly wage was only 500 guilders (he defaulted on his loan 20 years later). His mastery of his art (he painted and etched equally well) is quite obvious, even to a lay person, and we found him so good that it was chilling. He and everyone in the house slept in beds housed in cupboards. Apparently, they slept sitting up so that they didn't suffocate (a common fear then). He also had quite the eclectic collection of art, which he apparently used to teach his pupils. We found his art spellbinding, and might just become collectors after this.

We had a tough time deciding, but our next stop was the Heineken Experience. A lot behind that had to do with timing, but we got a free canal ride out of it, so we thought it was worth it. As far as an experience, it was so so. The brewing process is the same just about everywhere, and you drink beer the same everywhere. However, what was cool was that they have a livery, and in Amsterdam they opperate like a Budweiser Clydesdale, pulling barrels of draught to different vendors. They have a cool slogan that says "horses have been a valued asset to our company since 1864," which I like. After several videotechnical presentations, we emerge on the other side ready for our canal ride. We are too late though (actually, the boat left early), so we put off the canal ride till the following day. It is well worth the wait. Amsterdam by canal is almost like seeing a different Amsterdam. All of the bridges and houseboats merge together to form an amalgamate of lazy sailors and brilliant architecture, which of course makes us jealous of the lifestyle.

We decided to hit up the Anne Franke house next. As you can imagine, it is a very somber couple of hours. No new information, just neat to experience the house that the Franke family and the others hid out in for so long. As I mentioned before, the Dutch feel very guilty about the Anne Franke ordeal, as it was a Dutchman who betrayed them (although they don't know who). The Dutch had allowed the Germans to live here peacefully for quite a while, and it had become a vacation spot for German soldiers that needed reprieve from the front lines. However, the Germans started enforcing stricter rules, and it was incidents like the capture of the Franke family that spurred the Dutch revolt against German occupation.

In between all of these wonderful experiences,  we spend a significant amount of time just wandering the city. All of the architecture and house arrangement is so unique and foreign that it is sort of fun just to walk down back alleys to see what we come across next. Along the way, we get a good dose of culture, human interaction, and the way that the Dutch think. Our lunch is a prime example of this. We inadvertently stop at a little cafe that is hidden in plain sight, right next to what must be a farmers market. Later, we discover that the patrons of this cafe are all the artsy type; you know, the kind who like to sit for hours in one spot to people watch and get inspiration. Thus, lunch takes forever, as no one in this place is in a hurry. We decide to embrace it and have fun anyway. This is vacation, after all.

Afterwards, we know that we need to leave, but we head to the farmers market to get some flowers for Jan. We head back to Jan's, pick up our stuff, and say our goodbyes before heading to the train station. Feeling very relaxed and not stressed in the slightest, we stop for some Dutch pancakes first. This hidden gem is something that is a mouthwatering experience. The cakes are as big as a Clydesdale's hoof, and melt-in-your-mouth good. This adds to the relaxed feeling, and the train station this time is not as intimidating. We have a c4 compartment (this train sold out months ago, so we were lucky to have this), and our bunkmates are a nice couple from Sweden. We all talk for a long time, and hunker down for the 14 hour ride to Copenhagen.

Drew and Nicole

Post #7: Travel Day to Amsterdam

With each consecutive experience on this trip being very new for us, joy and excitement spring up from around every corner without our searching for the nuance in the familiar. For instance, our train ride to Amsterdam is our first train ride, and as we enter the station we realize that our exprience will be entirely different from the metro that we have gotten used to. The huge departure board in the middle of the throughway and the people bustling to and fro remind me of something out of an old movie; the only thing missing are the smokestacks on the trains.

However, the magic is quickly dissipated when we landed on the other side. We stood expectantly at the doors, waiting for them to open, and as they opened our smiles were frozen to our faces. Literally. It is about 45 in Amsterdam right now. Add that to the fact that nearly everyone had warned us that Amsterdam Centraal is a pickpocketing madhouse, and what you have are two frozen, paranoid tourists. We shivered our way around the station for nearly an hour and a half as we tried to figure out the metro system (nothing like the one in Paris), until we finally stumbled on to the correct tram. I'm not sure if it was the vicious stink-eye that I was giving everyone within a ten foot radius, or if people just lie about Amsterdam Central, but no one even came close to us or our pockets.

We checked in to our bed and breakfast and met our host, Jan. Jan is 79 in three weeks, and just tickled pink that we have chosen his B&B. He keeps a very beautiful and comfortable establishment in the ground floor of an apartment building that is just a few minutes outside of the downtown area. Jan is great to talk to (in three languages, no less), and he makes us feel right at home with a grand tour of the place and a cup of coffee. 

After visiting with Jan for a bit, we head back out to search for jackets (otherwise we might have stayed inside for three days). Unfortunately, spring line-ups mean that most clothing stores don't have jackets anymore (except for Armani...but we could each upgrade to business class on the return flight for the cost of their clothes!), which means that the frozen tourist scavenger hunt is on!

It stinks that our first night in the city is spent in outlet mall-like stores, but we finally find jackets at H&M, and promptly turned our attention to food. Wait, did I mention that the train food was awful? Probably not, as we tried to make ourselves forget that it ever happened. Imagine the worst cafeteria food that you may have ever been served, then imagine that your puppy ate it and threw it back up. Now you understand why we were STARVING at the end of the day (we hadn't eaten all day, for those just joining us).

This, however, means that we are not objective critics of our dinner. There was something fried. There was soup. They gave us a salad at one point. The beer was decent. It was delicious! At the end of the day, we are headed back to the room to plan our day tomorrow and get a lot of sleep. Also, we will take many more pictures tomorrow as well.

Drew and Nicole

Post #7: A Day In Versailles

So how should we spend our last day in Paris? First, we chose to spend a few hours lounging on the sidewalk of a street cafe sippidng coffe and enjoying breakfast (to our surprise, virtually no one was awake, and the morning was cool and refreshing, much unlike the mornings in the southern US). We chose to visit the palace of the sun king, aka Louise XIV, in Versailles, which is incidentally home to the most expansive garden in the entire world. Our tour started in the gardens, which took a full 3.5 hour to complete, and we didn't see the entire garden! I think that it is truly impossible to convey the expanse, expense, and expertise displayed in this garden. However, the things that we were able to see were absolutely breathtaking.

First, special mention of the fountains should be made. there are fifty fountains in this garden, each gravity Fed by a special reservoir system. The system used today is the same system that King Louis commissioned. The exact same, as in no changes in piping or pumping. The fountains are arranged throughout the garden, and the garden is arranged in such a way that each corner relinquishes a new surprise.

Although we could perhaps spend an entire day on the allegories of each sculpture and each fountain, we must turn to the palace. From Louis XIV to Louis XVI, we can garner a remarkable insight into the impetus of the French Revolution. The grandeur and opulence of the castle is so overwhelming, that after a whilec our brains stopped taking in all of the intricate detail. By the end of the reign of Louis XVI, the French government must have been completely bankrupt from all of the palace building! Still, the craftsmanship and the detail and the history of the castle is remarkable to behold.

After a full tour of the Versailles gardens and castle, we headed to a restaurant to fill our hungry bellies. We brought some new found friendswith us to a cute corner cafe off of the main Versailles garden pond. Then, we took the metro back to Paris and enjoyed some DELICIOUS gelato in front of the Notre Dame. Lastly, we liked our NES friends so much that we convinced them to come to the Eiffel tower gardens with us to enjoy the light showz and conversation. As we speak, we have made a late night of things, and are truly happy. We cannot wait to see what adventure tomorrow brings!

Drew and Nicole

Post #... : An Entire Day at the Louvre

Wow! What more amazing gift can you give a nerd than an entire day in the Louvre? After arguing about the best place to get breakfast (turns out that in the city they are all expensive), we dove in headfirst. Our first sight was standing under the "invisible pyramid", after which we started pounding the pavement. Soon thereafter (or two hours later, however you want to look at it), we realized that we were just wondering around the Louvre with no hope of remembering what we saw. Also, we can't read French, so the placards detailing the history of each masterpiece were lost on us. In frustration, we stopped at a cafe for some cafe. As often happens, Nicole struck up a conversation with the table next to us (we overheard them speaking English). They recommended the Nintendo 3DS guided audio tour (in addition to several other tidbits, like job recommendations at Auburn!). What a lifesaver! That little guided tour was just what we needed to stay the whole day. Not only did it give turn by turn directions, but it also let us search the individual artworks for a brief history lesson. In the end, we wandered around the Louvre for a full 8 hours! Finally, we headed out with sore feet and happy minds, intent on finding a restaurant before heading back to the room. However, even though we started out with a battle plan, we got lost (this is starting to become a pattern...;-) ). But what a great city to get lost in! Everything is beautiful, ancient, and aesthetically pleasing, and we never have to worry when we get lost (we figured out the metro, remember?). So we grabbed dinner at the first appealing restaurant that we came to, and discovered another reason to love getting lost in this city: the food is great everywhere! You know how we hate tomatoes? This restaurant had tomatoes so good that even WE ate them (see the pictures below of me eating one as proof). In the end, we were satisfied, full, and tired, and eagerly anticipating tomorrow, where we hit the palace at Versailles.

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