Amsterdam

Thank you to everyone that provided feedback from my last post. It was difficult to write, as it is trying times. Trying not just for me, but for my family as well. I'll be home soon and I cannot wait!! One thing that I discovered in writing the last post may be embodied in a picture that I've shared in Facebook. It is as true now as it was back then: No matter how dirty (filthy, hot, cold, rotten, &c) life gets to be, the most important things in life always shine through.

So, that brings us to Sunday of last week. We had the day off and made the choice to drive to Amsterdam. The drive would have been more fun had it not been raining, but oh well. Being the history nerd that I am, I wanted to find one historic spot in town and make that the initial destination. The last time, in Brussels, we went to see some little boy-statue take a whiz. This time the destination was a bit more sobering: the house where Anne Frank and her family hid. Here is what the house looks like today:

Their hiding place is in the back. There is a museum right next door, but the line to get in was very long. Maybe the next time that I'm in town... Speaking of which, the parking there is quite an adventure as well. We happened to be in the middle of old downtown and parking sucked. We managed to find a spot a few blocks from the museum and the shops that we were hoping to visit. Parallel parking in Amsterdam can be hair-raising:

Nothing like parking a brand new Beammer inches, okay a foot, from a canal. After stopping by the museum, we headed to the heart of downtown. It reminded me of Belgium, what with the cobble stoned streets and a veritable melting pot of languages. Coffee shops, chocolateers, and souvenir shops were all over the place. Every store had someone who could speak English, so it was easy to get to the next location, well that and a hungry bum Glen bribed with a Bratwurst and 20 Euro. Looks like Gen had a great time:

A shot down one of the many canals in town:

Most of the buildings are over 300 years old in the downtown area. I'm sure that there are many more that are even older. Traveling to these different cities is one nice benefit to working in Europe. I'd sure like to take my wife there one of these days. First we'll go to Vegas!!! Amsterdam was a pretty cool town. Nothing like I've read or heard about. Just a busy, crowded town with European flair...

Dank U for reading. Two more days left!!!

Kevin