Deutschland! Today was super fun, aggravating, and exhausting! It started with a really great hotel breakfast and a short bus ride to Edam, a small village in the Netherlands outside of Amsterdam. We took a bike ride through and around the town. Keeping in mind that I haven’t ridden a bike in some 5 years, I was quite impressed with my riding abilities. It was a nice morning despite the over cast skies and cool temperature (it got super sunny later!).
We headed back to the bus to the cheese and wooden shoe factory in another small town! Also note, these areas were super quaint, gorgeous, and traditional. We learned how they make cheese and then got to sample multiple types. It was DELICIOUS! I ended up buying the dynamite cheese, which is native to that region. It’s literally like a huge round chunk of cheese, but I couldn’t be happier with the purchase! Next we went to the wooden clog shop right next door and learned how they made those. We got to try some on too! They really hurt your feet! It was about this time that my camera battery, that said it was half full, died. Thank goodness Lindsey had her camera, but I was still bummed.
We went further into town to eat lunch. It was super cute with cats and chickens running around and was right on the water. I had a sandwich and coffee, and then we walked around to see more of the area. After that we headed back into Amsterdam! This is when the “fun” begins.
Lindsey didn’t bring any cash with her, so she needed a Western Union which she remembered being by the bus stop, so we go to find Central Station. We went all the way around our butts to get to our elbows. Seriously, we walked around half of Amsterdam, and it is NO small place! Finally got to it and figured it out (an hour and a half later). They really do need a better public transport system…tube, metro, something! I did get a rolo mcflurry from Mickey D’s though.
Then we headed back to the area we were supposed to meet the group (by now it was too late for the Van Gogh museum). We knew the road we were suppose to be on so we walked north, or so we thought, before figuring out it was the wrong direction and walking back about 12 blocks the other way. Sat down to rest our feet at a café, but Lindsey decided she wasn’t thirsty, so we got kicked out for sitting there….oops! Found a bench close by though, and a man asked if he could sit next to it, so we politely said yes.
We continued talking, but then the man interrupted, “Where are you guys from?” “Ohio and Georgia” we responded. “Really? I’m from Atlanta!” He was here on business! We talked to him for a long time. He was really nice and funny. He was telling us they had shroom shops and how even though he was 40 he thought about buying a pot brownie. Lol. He has two daughters and went abroad when he was our age. He told us he wasn’t encouraging us to do anything, and that we should postpone the real world for a while. Funny man.
We went to a traditional Indonesian dinner and a boat ride on the canals of Amsterdam. It was then we discovered that we covered about 3/4ths of that cruise by foot today. I think we may have walked a good 3-4 miles overall. It was still really beautiful though. My new thoughts on Amsterdam: The red light district is kind of dirty, but when it is sunny, the rest of it is absolutely stunning with beautiful buildings and breath taking canals. Definitely my favorite place so far (excluding London of course!) Got back to the hotel around 8, completely wiped! Tomorrow we head to Germany!
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