Apparently they're having a big problem right now with dangerous cocaine, and multiple tourists have died. So, that was kinda interesting to see right when we arrived in Amsterdam.
After we were all settled at our B&B (and the owner warned us again about the dangerous cocaine...), we walked over to the Van Gogh Museum! It was beyond awesome, and definitely one of the best museums I've ever been to. It was 4 floors, and the progression of the floors kinda took you through the progression of his career/life. Did you know that Van Gogh did all of his paintings within a 10 year time period? I had no idea - I thought it was over a much larger time period. I learned a lot about his family that I didn't know... Like he had a brother that he was very close with (Theo), and they lived together for quite awhile... And Theo really believed in Vincent's talent, so he supported him financially pretty much until he died. And Theo died approximately 6 months after Vincent's death... which at first I was like, "Awww he died of a broken heart!" because they were so close, but then later in the museum it said that he died of syphilis. Soooo... that's not as sweet. And Theo's widow and her son were the ones that made sure Vincent's art was put in museums and they're the reason he's now so famous... And the nephew was the one who made sure the Van Gogh Museum was created so that they could house most of Vincent's works in one spot. It was a really great experience, and I highly recommend the museum if you're ever around Amsterdam!
Then last night we had our great Thanksgiving dinner, as I told you in yesterday's post. Duck and steak and beer... Pretty much just like the pilgrims.
Today we were supposed to go to Anne Frank's House this morning (we had tickets for 9:40am), but it turns out they were having a little problem with a power outage in that part of the neighborhood... So they told us to come back around 11am. So, we did... And the power was still out. So then we decided we'd just try to come back before it closed, but go see everything else we wanted to see first. So... we headed over to the Red Light District. Yep, we did it. It was pretty nutso, and it's pretty much what you think it'll be. They warn you not to take pictures in the Red Light District, because it makes you a target for theft, and also people in that area really value their privacy and will come rip your camera right out of your hands. So, I snapped ONE picture right when we were first arriving in the Red Light District, and then I put my camera away for the rest of our time there. We walked through all of the major streets, and saw lots of naked (or mostly naked) ladies in the windows offering up their... um... "services", and the smell of pot was pretty much everywhere. We also saw a girl that was laying on the sidewalk with all of her friends around her and they looked worried and she was NOT looking good and puking quite a bit, and then we saw that they were in front of a magic mushroom shop. So... that explains that. We did a pretty thorough walking tour of the Red Light District, and probably the most shocking thing to me was that there were CHILDREN in the Red Light District!!! Why-oh-why would anyone bring children there??? I have no idea. But, it was definitely an experience.
Here's the one photo I took. It's a condom shop and museum. That was right when you first enter the Red Light District, so I figured that was safe for a picture...
From there, we made our way over to the Rijksmuseum, and had a really nice lunch of some Dutch cheeses and meats in the museum's cafe. Then we spent hours exploring the museum. It was HUGE, and there's no way we could see everything there. We saw quite a lot though. And after we were done there, we headed over to Anne Frank's House again and finally got in!! They've done a really good job with turning the house into a museum, and it's all very tastefully and respectfully done. It's quite a moving experience. I'd never read Anne Frank's Diary in school or anything, so I made sure I read it before our trip, and I actually finished it the day we left for Belgium. I'm so glad I read it - It made the experience so much more special.
This is a view of Anne Frank's House. It's about half-way down that block of houses. I love all of the canals here...
I just thought this was a cool building...
Another cool building!
Here's Kevin! He'll hate this picture...
Here's the monument in Dam Square (on our way to the Red Light District)
These are some buildings over near the central train station
Here's Amsterdam Central Station! Gorgeous...
The Rijksmuseum!!
Here's the entrance to the Rijksmuseum. It's a crazy huge building.
Our lunch! There were like 6 Dutch cheeses and 4 meats.
I took a few pictures of some of the impressive windows in the museum. Here's one!
Here's another cool window...
And another cool window!
It's early evening on our last night here in Europe, so I think we're gonna head out and see what kind of trouble we can get into. We've had an amazing trip!! I can't believe we leave tomorrow! I'll post again sometime soon from Philly!! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and have a good weekend!
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