Day 10: Amsterdam

Day 10: Amsterdam

What I Learned Today:

1. There’s a pleasantly disturbed “crazy” farmer living in Holland.

2. They still make wooden shoes.

3. Don't walk in the bike lane.

4. Sitting on metal poles that move is not a very good idea.

5. Souvenirs weigh a lot.

6. Some people are just annoying.

7. Anne Frank died a month before her camp was liberated.

8. Some words in Dutch are very similar to ours while others are completely off the beaten track.

9. Holland and the Netherlands are one and the same.

More Words:

noorde = north
sleutelkluis = keys
kopie = copy
centrum = center

It’s the last official day of our tour. We will still be with the group tomorrow, but its just a travel day so I don’t feel like it is truly a part of the tour itself. It is a definite part of the experience but nothing compared to our active days.
Our day started out with a bus tour of the city of Amsterdam. It is always pleasant to have a tour that is not comprised of us walking form site to site. For one you ge tot see a lot more and your feet don’t get near as tired. And on Day 10 that is a big plus! An extra bonus was that it was raining, so we were staying dry! If it had been a walking tour it would not have been much fun!!
The tour was good as usual. You always find out some cool information about the city you are in from the guides. Like today I learned that Amsterdam’s nickname was at one time the City of Diamonds. And that that nickname was given because of the Jewish population that moved in and created a business guild of their own because they were barred from joining the others. They also have an area of town that is the “ticks with Bricks” district because the architects/designers of those homes used bricks in many different unique ways. Making them stick out in strange ways, creating patterns, etc.
I talked about the bikes yesterday and found out today one of the reasons they are so popular. You can park your bike anywhere in Amsterdam for free. But if you want to park a car it costs 5 Euros an hour!! They also have a Royal Palace in Amsterdam, but none of the royal family have ever lived there. We also learned that a read background with three black X’s is the symbol of amsterdam that goes back centuries. (It has nothing to do with the current use of three X’s!)
As part of the tour we also got to visit a farm. Which is a little strange, but it was so cool. the tour guide described the farmer that lives and operates the farm as pleasantly disturbed or “crazy”. But it was fun the kids (and adults) got to learn about how they make the cheese (and taste it) as well as watch the farmer make wooden shoes. That’s right, They still have wooden shoes! The farmer says there comfy, but he I’m not sure if they can compete with Crocs or not! He does not carve them by hand although he does know how, but they are so expensive to do that way that he does not even pursue that area of his expertise. Instead he has machinery that does the job in no time. he was pretty cool to see. But he says it is a dying art. There used to be hundreds of people who made the shoes, know he says there are probably 4-5.
After the farm, we went back into town and were basically set loose in the streets. We were given a meeting point and a time, other than that we could do as we wish. The family of four went off to see some museums, but the rest of us pretty much stayed together. I mentioned I wanted to go the Hard Rock Cafe, and the kids decided they wanted to eat there. So we had a nice leisurely lunch at the Hard Rock, although we started to wish it wasn’t so leisurely. (The service was very slow!) But it was nice to sit for awhile, especially because the rain started again while we were inside and we were all very happy that we were not out walking around in it. After lunch we headed back out to the streets. And we spent the next three hours roaming in and out of the shops on our way back to our meeting spot. It was nice because there was no rush.
Our last item of business in Amsterdam was to visit the house were Anne Frank and 7 others hid during WWII before being taken by the Nazi’s to the Concentration Camps. Most of us had read the book at some point in our lives so we had some background on it. I really enjoyed it. It was simple but to the point. It basically pulled excerpts out of the book and set them to the background of what was going on in her World. I think it is once again something everyone could benefit from.
We are now back at the hotel and preparing for our return trip home. Which means it’s time to try and rearrange everything back into the luggage and make sure everything fits. I think it was a very good thing that I packed a second bag inside my suitcase. It is definitely going to come in handy.
I cannot believe the trip is almost over but at the same time I am so ready to come home to my boys. Love you! See you soon-