Amsterdam

This weekend was entirely devoted to Amsterdam. Mom, Trent, Emma and Ethan flew in on Friday and I took the train to meet them from Maastricht. Five other Baylor girls and I navigated our first train ride successfully :) The city is really beautiful. The canals are lined with trees and beautiful, old canal houses. The flower market in the middle of the city was fabulous--the pictures don't do it justice. After trying to locate the hotel for awhile, I found my jet-lagged family in the Hotel Pulitzer. The hotel is made up of several canal houses that were connected and transformed into a gorgeous hotel.

In Amsterdam we visited the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank Huis (house). The cross-sectional picture is the business and house where Anne and her family hid for 2.5 years.

A nighttime canal cruise showed us all around the city (including the Red Light District). Oh and the 'coffeeshops' were everywhere. Soft drugs are only legal in private homes and coffeeshops. The shops have names like 'The Grasshopper' and the 'Magic Mushroom,' and the smell reaches into the street.

Despite this, Amsterdam is a very cool city. It really is relaxing and beautiful. The train home was a bit more exciting than the ride there. The whole family plus luggage needed to get to Maastricht. The train made more stops and took a long time. Getting near Maastricht we asked a lady getting off the train when the Maastricht stop was. She told us we needed to get off the train and walk down a couple of cars then get back on. The train was SPLITTING IN HALF and the other half went to Maastricht. So, we hurried off the train, down the platform and scrambled to sit in the right car. We made it though....Some other friends were not as lucky on their return trip!

More pics of Maastricht coming tomorrow...then Paris!!