Holland Day 2

Wednesday morning we slept in, had a quick breakfast of bread and nutella, and headed out for Amsterdam. Once we got to the city, we quickly located a canal tour and hopped on. It was so cool to see Amsterdam by boat! We got to see the skinny bridge, the Dutch East Indian Trading Company ship, the Gentleman's canal, the 7 bridges, and loads of other stuff. Random bit of trivia: Do you know why houses in Amsterdam are so narrow? Because they were taxed on their width! You could build up and you could build deep, but the wider the house, the more taxes you paid. So if you see a wide house in Amsterdam, you know that whoever lives there is rich!

After the canal tour, we walked around Amsterdam and ate lunch. The Dutch eat bread and cheese for breakfast, and a sandwich for lunch. So, we found a sandwich at a neat little cafe. It was basic, but it was good!

We meandered our way through the alleys of Amsterdam (we passed WAY too many "coffee shops" and smelled way to much weed) until we came to the Anne Frank House. I was shocked to see that there was no line, so we went in. It was one of the coolest experiences ever. I remember reading the Diary of Anne Frank as a little girl, and being so fascinated with the story. I always thought that if I ever got to Holland, one of the first things I would do would be to go to the Anne Frank House. I was not disappointed at all. I think it will be one of the things that stands out in my mind of this trip for years to come.

After we wandered around Amsterdam for a bit, we headed back to Dreimond to meet Mathea. she had borrowed a bike from her neighbors for us and we went on a bike ride around Dreimond. It was so picturesque. Mark was definitely in his seventh heaven with the beautiful country views all around him!