Since our flight was at 6am, we had to take a taxi from Coleraine to Belfast that left at 3am. Needless to say the 6 of us pulled an all-nighter. Once we got to Amsterdam there was a blizzard outside! We couldn't even see where we were going because the snow was blowing in our faces. It was miserable and all of us thought, "What are we doing here? Take me back to Ireland so I can sleep." Eventually we got on the right tram to take us to our hostel, but after about 15 minutes it stopped because the tram ahead of us broke down because of the snow...perfect. Miraculously we made it to our hostel and got warm and dry. We walked around the city and went to a Christmas market, coffee shop, and a Greek restaurant.
The next day we went on a canal tour of the city, which is surprisingly gorgeous. I had no idea. It is similar to Venice with all the canals, but I think its prettier, more lively, and diverse. We also went to Anne Frank's house where she lived for 2 years in hiding with 7 other people. It was really interesting, but the whole house was empty. Otto Frank, Anne's father who survived the camps, wanted to leave it empty forever. That part was a little disappointing, but I saw her original diary with her hand writting and doodles in it! It was amazing.
Once she filled up her diary she started writing on pieces of paper and created short stories that she wanted to eventually publish. Her, her sister, and her mother all died in a concentration camp, but Otto went back to the house to collect Anne's diary and decided to publish it for her. It's a touching story. There are clips of him talking about her after her death in the museum. He said he never knew that she had such deep, sad thoughts about the political situation at the time because she was only 11 years old. Its very sad to think about some of her quotes. One of them she says she longs to ride a bike, run outside and yell, sing, play, and feel free again.
Monday we saw the red light district. It is so insane! There are girls standing in full length windows waiting for people to come in their room. Then they just pull the curtain close. I still can't get over it, but it was interesting to say the least. The bridges in Amsterdam are lit up and provide a romantic atmostphere. I noticed too that everyone travels via bike. There are bicycle parking lots!
It was a fun trip, and now I am a broke college student again :) Good news is I come home in 2 days!! Saturday the 11th, I can't wait to see everyone. There is about 7 inches of snow here so it will be a nice break from all the slush that I have to trudge through. And people say it never snows in Ireland...liars.
