The thing we noticed first is that there are actually more bicycles than people here. The streets are LINED with parked bicycles, and there are just as many riding around. They even have their own lanes on the streets: and not like a little skinny lane that a handful of people use. This is more like a full lane that they have to themselves (that often times merges with the sidewalk and runs us off of the road as pedestrians). Crazy.
Brian and I got settled into our hotel, and Kevin into his hostel. We met back up, and headed for a late lunch/early dinner that turned out to be breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next week. On a recommendation from my friend Mel, we had to find this place called Cafe de Klos, which was just off of one of the side streets about 20 minutes from our hotel. We made the walk, sat outside, and got ourselves into a world of deliciousness.
First, Yost and I split some escargot that were clearly covered in tons of butter, garlic and cheese, and were delicious. But they are really famous for their meats: most specifically their ribs. Yost and Kevin went for the ribs, and I took a chance (after reading a bit about it online) on the lamb shoulder.
Everyone reading this – I can’t explain to you the amount of meat on these plates. There was so much food it was difficult (even for us) to finish them. The ribs were fantastic, and the lamb shoulder, while unbearably big, was also fantastic. The waiter then asked us what we wanted for our second main course, because everyone orders too. I couldn’t really tell if he was kidding, but the table next to us had just ordered more ribs, so it was entirely possible. As for us, we could barely move, so we opted for the check and took off to explore more of the city.
We ended up at the Anne Frank House (the irony of having pork ribs and then seeing the Anne Frank house was not lost on me, by the way), and decided that since the line was (relatively) short, we would take our chances and wait in the line, as this was the best we were going to do. As it turns out, the line moved pretty quickly, we met some really nice people from Italy, and we were in the museum in about 30 minutes.
The house was an experience that anyone who has the opportunity to do it should. It goes through the whole story of the life of Anne Frank in a very systematic and logical way, including her move to Amsterdam, the Frank family and their hiding place, and their discovery. All throughout the house, there were quotes from her diary, both inspiring and heart wrenching, but you got a feel for the kind of girl that she was. There were documents, pictures and movies all around, and you actually got to go through the secret door behind the bookshelf, up into the room where she lived, and get a feel for where she lived out in hiding. It wasn’t one of those museums that made you feel guilty or terrible once you left, but rather a feeling of appreciation.
We made our way back to our respective places of temporary rest, had a nap, and then went out for the nightlife in Amsterdam. We walked a little way around, grabbed a drink, and headed into a bar/dance floor/club type of thing, which was a lot of fun for the first hour or so. Then the music started getting weak, so we turned around, walked about the city a little bit more, and then went to sleep around 2:30, calling the night a success.
Now, I’m sitting in the lobby of our hotel, eating some breakfast and typing to you. Today, we plan to rent some bicycles (not from a damn machine, but from an actual company) and tour the city on our own terms.
-Josh
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