But that morning was rainy... (you can see my friends in this one, from left to right, we have Rosie, Austin in the grey jacket, Mia, and Courtney with the umbrella)
On our way to our first stop we found this!! (It's the I am/sterdam sign!)
We started with the Van Gogh museum where we were just in time to experience the grand opening of "Colors of the Night" exhibition where Van Gogh's Starry Night and other night/twilight themed painting were on display. Since we weren't allowed to take photos inside here's some pictures of us outside enjoying the rain/ice/snow! Some of us enjoyed it more than others :)
The rest of that night we just took it easy and walked around the city taking pictures...
we loved the canals and how everyone rode these cute one speed carrier bikes
and more
and more
The next morning we took this awesome three hour walking tour around the city. We started at the National Monument
and Royal Palace
Then stopped at the Old Church at the center of the red light district (more on that later for those of you who don't know what that is)
And stopped at places like the biggest house in Amsterdam (it's cool cuz housing taxes were based on the width of the front of your house, not the back or how tall it was. So Dutch houses were really skinny in front, a bit wider in the back, and really tall)
And learned some cool facts! We were all wondering why all the houses were leaning forward, and learned this cool fact. In Amsterdam, they don't have cellars because since Amsterdam was created by draining water through dikes, everything underground becomes really really damp. As a result, the driest place to store anything was at the very top of the house. But since the houses were super narrow, how the heck did they plan on actually getting anything up there? Well, the solution was to install a hook at the top of the house, get some rope, and hoist everything up to the top and pull it through a window, a practice still used today. But if the houses weren't leaning, everything would bump against the house on the way up. Cool huh? Here's one of the hooks on some random house...
and some hoisting in live action! (kind of...)
We even stopped at the Amsterdam's most famous coffee shop (aka marijuana joints, and no Dad, we didn't try any) featured in Ocean's Twelve (not that I've seen it, but hey)
And just to clear up some facts, the possession of marijuana is NOT legal in Amsterdam, but it is tolerated. Meaning it has to fall under three criteria. It cannot promote harm (well, if you smoke it, that's your choice and walking around with it in your pocket isn't hurting anyone), it has to be subtle (shops can't openly advertise the marijuana on their signs. Instead if you see things like "Coffee: Feels Good!" and pictures of Bob Marley, it's probably a marijuana joint), and finally, it has to make good business (well, that's kind of obvious).Here's just some more cool pictures of the city
and more
and more
After we finished up with that one, we came back a few hours later to hit a tour of the Red Light District. And for those who don't know what that means, let me explain via the quote of a resident kindergartener; it's where girls sell boys kisses. Out of respect for the girls' privacy, we were asked not to take any pictures, so sorry, but I do have some cool facts about it. Amsterdam legalized such selling of such kisses because they realized that even if they made it illegal, it would still go on anyway, and if anything, they would have virtually no power to protect the women. So by legalizing it, the city was able to provide each woman with security and medical assistance, along with other things.
We all had a really great time but we all wished we could stay another day or two since we didn't have a chance to hit the Anne Frank house or take a bike tour. It was such a cool city and we all met some really great people!
3 comments:
Cool pictures, as always. Glad you had fun! Did I ever tell you I had an art teacher from the Netherlands who thought it was so funny that I was an asian Hendricks?
Nikki
Ooh gorgeous! Aren't you just loving Europe? Nikki, I think my James is always gonna get comments like that because he looks so super duper Asian. "Whoa, I didn't know Korea had Bradleys!' That sort of thing.
Hey, we saw that pulley system as a road block or whatever activity on "The Amazing Race." It's nice to now the background on that. Looks like a beautiful city.
Post a Comment