Amsterdam

Well, 3 exams to study for and I still decided to go to Amsterdam for a couple of days. At least I studied on the plane ride there and back! We left on Wednesday night and arrived in enough time to wander around the town viewing the night life. Stayed in a hostel on the south edge of the center of town, so large amounts of walking were the order of the trip. The first night we found our way into the red-light district, where apparently I did not go on my 4 hr visit to Amsterdam during a flight layover 2 years ago. Legal prostitution and scantaly clad women in red lit windows as a bit of a shock to my poor mid-western sensibilities. The stretch was basically swarming with American and British tourists. Amsterdam is an easy place to visit for them as everyone speaks English. Thursday, we spent about 3 hours in the morning doing a self guided walking tour of the city. Impressive architecture from several different eras - the traditional tall, skinny houses; occassional double-wide mansions, the huge Dam square where the original dam once stood and there is now the old city council building and WW II monument. All the while you have to keep dodging trams and a plethora of bicycles. Took a nap in the afternoon, and spent the evening at a comedy show and then enjoying a glass of Heineken. The way the Dutch drink their beer would be absolutely illegal in England - it's served in a half-pint glass with about 2 inches of head on top. Pints are relatively unheard of there. Friday morning we stopped by the Rijksmuseum, which unfortunately is under pretty major construction, and the Van Gogh museum, also under construction, and decided that we couldnt afford 9 euros each to visit them. Where are the student rates afterall! We then went to the Heineken brewery for a self-guided tour which included 3 glasses of beer and a free glass at the end. Spent a good 3 hours there, highlights being of course the foosball table and the beer. In the bar at the end, ended up meeting several other Americans and chatting for sometime. The bar tender kept giving us girls free beer upon request, and, as our group apparently looked like drinkers, people leaving seemed to invariably leave their free beer coupons with us. So after we finally got moving, we stuck with the 3 American girls, Jen, Emily, and Helena from Montana and Missouri. Helenas parents both went to Purdue... small world. Making it even smaller, Les ran into some guys he recognized from his University right outside the Heineken place. The afternoon was spent chilling, enjoying an actual sunny day, and stopping by the Anne Frank house. A long trip back, thanks of course to the quality (or rather lack ther of) service of Easyjet. So I'm back in Bath, recovering from such a great quantity of walking and attempting to get excited about my exams.... 10 days left in England!