Lynn's Adventure Through Europe: Amsterdam

Hello all, I got to Sweden yesterday after 3 days in Amsterdam. 3 days was definitely more than enough, and we did all the tourist attractions. Thursday night we took the overnight train and arrived Friday morning around 10. We went to the Van Gough musuem which was packed with people. I had to go for my Art class but the boys joined me and actually really enjoyed it. The building as really cool, it was 4 floors of all Van Gough, even though some of his most famous paintings were not there. We spent a lot of time there and then just walked around the city and got realy lost because every street looked the same! Even with the map it was hard to find our way arond, since there are over 200 bridges over many canals and the buildings all look basically the same. But it got us to know the city, so we knew how to get around the next couple days.

Saturday we woke up early and went to see Anne Frank's house. We had to get there early because we heard if you go in the middle of the day the line takes hours to get through. We got there around 10am and only waited for about 20 minutes, but if we had gotten there any later we would have been in line forever, it wrapped the whole way around the corner and down the street. The house was where her and her family hid while the Nazis were taking all the Jews from the Netherlands to the concentration camps. 8 people lived in this tiny tiny space, and they couldnt open any windows or talk to loud. They lived like this for 2 years, and we found out and taken to the camps a couple months before the war was over. Anne was killed a month before her camp was liberated. Her father was the only one to survive and he's the one who found the diary and published it because it was her dream to publish a book when she got older. It was really sad seeing videos of her father and child hood friends talking about her and that whole time during the war. they had quotes on all the walls from her diary pertaining to different rooms in the house. I read the diary play when I was in 8th grade but never the actual book so thats on my to do list in May when I get home.. for only being 14 she was an amazing writer.

After Anne Frank's house we went on a canal boat ride, since again they have so many. There are actually more canals in Amsterdam than in Venice, which I did not know until I was reading up on it before I went. The canal ride was cool because it tied in History and the beauty of the city. We had tours planned for us by the school every trip we went on so it was nice we planned our own tour to get to know the city on our own. It would have been perfect if it was a sunnier out because it would go from sun to rain all day back and forth.. better than all rain I suppose! Saturday night we sat outside on a patio of a bar and just talked and watched the night life around us. It was definitely the biggest and most touristy city I had been to yet, and it was even a little scary at times, which is why I'm glad I had 3 boys with me!

Sunday 2 of my friends left for Paris so me and my friend that was left just walked around the city because it was such a nice day out. We walked for about 3 hours just taking random turns and streets, it was cool to be able to just wander and not have tours and things to do. Sunday afternoon I got myself to the Amsterdam airport by a train and took only an hour flight to Copenhagen. Got into Copenhagen around 7 and met Daniel, my friend I'm staying with that I met at college my freshman year while he was studying abroad. We couldn't stay and see Copenhagen because it was dark and too late, but we are going there on Wednesday for the day so I can see it. His house was only about an hour away from the aiport. So that's where I am now! We are going out tonight to his friends house for a dinner party because today they have their last test of college because they are graduating soon. Hopefully will update before I get to Barcelona or while I'm there.. This trip just keeps going by faster and faster... by the time this 2 week break and travel period is over I only have a month left in Europe.. Crazy! Love you all!