Bikes, Canals, and Windmills!

Just got back from Amsterdam yesterday and it was a blast! But I'll start with Koln on Friday...

On Friday, we had class in the morning, then caught the train to Koln. We got off right in front of the dome, and went to meet our tour guide. Unfortunately, our tour guide didn't quite make it, so we just walked around the inside of the Dom a bit and then went to the Roman museum next to the dome. We got to see the Roman version of Koln, and looked at artifacts dug up in Koln. Their glass connection was incredible. After the museum, we headed over to the Dom, where we split into two groups. I went shopping in Koln with one group for an hour, which was nice. Then we returned to the Dom and took a guided tour of the rooftop, which was spectacular. Last time I was in Koln, we climbed up one tower and just walked around inside. This time, we got to take an elevator up the scaffolding and actually walk above the buttressing! I can't tell you how cool it is to look down through tens of stories of ancient buttressing. We learned that much of the cathedral was actually built in the 1800s! Then we walked above the vaults inside the roof, and checked out the bell tower on top. The tour concluded with a walk down a narrow spiral staircase, a catwalk above the nave, and another narrow spiral staircase. Our guide was wonderful, and it was very interesting to see this building after having taken an environmental design course. It really gave me a new perspective and appreciation for the immense work that would have gone into construction of a building this large before the Industrial Revolution. Our guide also told us that Koln was heavily bombed during WWII, but the Dom was not, largely because the bombers used it as a central guidepoint to bomb other places in Germany, like Duesseldorg. After our tour, a group of us caught the 7:18 bus to Amsterdam, and we were off! We arrived late in Amsterdam, took a tram to the hotel, and then one group went out, but I went to bed...

The next day was gorgeous! A group of us met downstairs in the lobby, and we headed off to grab some breakfast before a bike tour. We went to a local bakery for breakfast, and then over to the Rijkmuseum to meet our tour guide. After a brief Dutch history lesson, we walked over to the shop and grabbed our bikes. I swear, everyone in Amsterdam rides bikes! There were people riding with people, children, and dogs on their bikes! The bike lanes are more prevalent than the streets, and you really have to watch out about getting run over by a bike. Everyone rides really old, granny bikes, mostly because they get stolen so much, and its not uncommen to invest more in a bike lock than a bike there. The Dutch have always ridden bikes, and when the Nazis were run out of Amsterdam by the Canadians, over 10,000 bikes disappeared. A favorite cry of the Dutch when they play the Germans in football is "give me back my grandpa's bike!" Apparently many Dutch feel the need to return the favor when they travel to Germany, and they're working on getting back their bikes one at a time!

Our tour led us along the canals and through the downtown area, with stops by our guide to explain the local culture. He was well versed on coffeshops, prostitutes, drugs, hippies, and many other staples of Amsterdam. After the city portion, we rode out along the canals and through the flowers. It was so pretty! We passed an ancient windmill, where we stopped for a picture, and then went to a clog and cheese farm. After learning how they make cheese and clogs and watching them make a clog, we had the chance to taste some real Dutch cheese, and it was so good! On the return journey, we stopped at a biergarten for a quick drink, then went back to the bike shop.

After that, I went over to the van Gogh museum, which was pretty cool, but they didn't have his most famous paintings, Still, it was neat to see so many paintings by my favorite artist! I walked back to the hotel, and met up with a bunch of the group at our hotel. We got changed, and walked down to a local square for dinner. After a lovely Italian dinner, we went to try and find some other AIB students and found them quicker than we imagined! We were able to catch the end of the football game at a local pub, and the Germans were wildly excited. After wandering around to a few more pubs, we decided to go check out the infamous Red Light District. Let me tell you, I have never seen anything like this in my life! It's on a canal, and buildings with large windows line the sidewalk. Women in various states of attire adorn the windows, and bottom ones open like glass doors. Every block or so is a type of hotel, where the women rent out rooms for the evening. Although it was interesting to see, the male visitors kept bothering us, so I caught a cab back to the hotel with some other girls before too long.

The next morning, we met in the lobby and walked over to get our train tickets before we went to the Anne Frank house. Little did we know how difficult it is to get train ticket! Two hours later, we had our tickets. Although I was disappointed about not getting to go to the Anne Frank house, I got over it. I'm sure I'll get my fill of the holocaust in Nurmberg! We had a leisurely lunch, then caught the 2:00 train back to Duesseldorf. I got back to my host family early, and had a nice dinner with them. I met up with Becca and Erin at 8:30 at the Hauptbahnhof, and we took the train over to the Aldstadt with the intention of watching the game. We had a drink at a little sidewalk cafe, then ended up watching the people...After a gelato and some walking, we headed back.

Needless to say, I'm exhausted, but I had a wonderful weekend! Europe is incredible, and I'm enjoying myself. Everyone in our group seems to get along really well, and I'm looking forward to this week. Tschuss!