1/24/09 exploring and the red light district

At breakfast I had the chocolate and hazel nut spread called "Nutella" for the first time, which was really delicious. Andrew, JJ, and I rented bikes for the day and rode them to the Anne Frank house.

From Amsterdam Trip

Even though the original furniture was gone, the house gave a good representation of the cramped quarters and frightening atmosphere that Anne Frank had to endure while hiding their everyday from the Nazis. The museum also offered a fascinating insight into the side of Anne Frank that she only shared with her journal, her deepest thoughts, her own understanding of why her people were being oppressed, and her desire to run around outside and be free.

We met up with the rest of the SU students who came to Amsterdam on a different flight at 6am, and they were obviously wiped out from the early morning flight and lack of sleep, so we agreed to meet up with them later. After waiting for Andrew we wandered around the shopping areas for a while and then headed back to the hostel. We met up with the rest of the group at the Red Light Bar, but they were still wiped out so Andrew, JJ, and I wandered around the Red Light District.

The Red Light District had lots of porn stores, peep shows, and of course the girls in the windows. However, it really wasn't as cool as I expected it to be. The area was actually really small and super touristy and it was basically just a bunch of guys walking around. There were also a lot of older couples too which was kind of weird. On the way back someone randomly threw a coke bottle out of the window of a car as they drove by and hit Andrew with it. After that we went to McDonald's and I got a McBacon meal, 2 hamburgers, and the most tasty McFlurry I have ever had.