Day 9: Transfer to Amsterdam

What I learned Today:

1. Don’t sit upon the steps.

2. You can not drink out of a soda bottle with the lid still on.

3. There really are red lights in the red light district!

4. Many street signs seem to be universal.

5. Perhaps the word psychopaths is derived form the Amsterdam Cycle Paths.

6. Two extremes can exist in one place at the same time

7. Some ships aren’t meant to sail.
8. They love their vowels in the Netherlands.

More Words:

wachtwoord = password
gebruikersnaam = username



It was an early departure this morning. I am still amazed how much earlier you have to start things in order to get some place on time when you have 50+ people and all their stuff to worry about. We did get a double decker bus today for our trip across Paris to the train station, so they kids enjoyed that. It was comical to try and get all the bags on the bus,not just because there wasn’t a lot of space but because the bags had to be lifted up into a window to get them loaded into the correct spot. Luckily we had a few boys who could handle the bags and hoist them up for the driver. But I felt bad for everyone included in this ordeal because some of those bags (mine included) are very heavy! Getting the bags on the trains was another feat, but they finally just had us place our luggage in the back of coach 18 where no one was sitting.
It took about four hours to travel from Paris to Amsterdam. There were a few stops along the way including one in Belgium. So I guess I can say I have been there too now. Although I did not actually get off the train, I did take in some of the landscape there! The time went surprisingly fast. I was somewhat dreading the trip, thinking it was going to be similar to the plane over-Tiny chairs and tons of people! But it really was quite nice. The seats were comfortable and there were only two people per side-so there was no middle person. You could get up and walk around and they had a small cafe of sorts you could purchase food at if you wanted. I really was amazed at how quickly the time went by, it sped by so quickly in fact that I did not have time to sleep. I guess I was too into my book!!
Out of all the cities we have been in thus far on our trip, I must say that this city is the most unique. The first thing that caught our eye upon leaving the train station, was the massive amounts of bicycles. And I know what you are thinking that massive is a large number. And then you probably picture a huddle of bicycles on a bike rack and think you have got this “massive” amount under control. But when I saw massive I mean probably hundreds if not a thousand plus bicycles taking up almost every inch of space you can see. And when you think that has got to be it you look up and their is a triple decker parking lot completely full of bicycles. They seemed to be piled one right on top of the other, where ever a mere glimpse of a pole or fence might be seen for them to lock it up to. It was not what I had ever expected to see. And these are not “nice” bikes like what you picture a bike to be. They all look old fashioned, with large seats and baskets. They almost smell old to me. But the bus driver we had that transported us to the hotel kind of gave us a glimpse into the bike world of Amsterdam. He basically said that everyone has at least two bikes, but only for a minute! I guess the theft rate on bicycles, especially nice ones is through the roof. But he also said it was no worry because you could go down to the open market and buy it back tomorrow. :) Our biggest question was how anyone ever found there bike again. And when they did how they got it out!
I have seem some interesting set ups for bikes too. There was one that had a bassinet type basket in the front and a infant seat on the back. Then there was one that had a dual infant seat arrangement on the back. We have seen some that fold up to almost nothing, and others that are just a very strange set up that make them half the length of a regular bicycle but with all the parts. It was very strange indeed! They even have traffic lights for the bikes!!
I learned some things about Amsterdam that I probably should have known already but didn’t. It is the most liberal city in all of Europe, or so they say. And from what I have seen thus far I believe that. They really like their gardens but most everyone tends to specialize in the weeds! Which is not illegal. They also have a very large and active working “red light” district. Which also is not illegal. So lets just say I am starting to feel very glad that I do not live here! Amsterdam is also very much like venice in a way as it was Marsh land and the ground is very wet. So they houses are built with wooden or concrete piles underneath to support them. The majority of the city is also located below sea level- there is a line on a pillar in the hotel lobby depicting the sea level compared to where we are standing.
Our first activity upon arriving in Amsterdam was to check into the hotel, which was once a College dorm. And without even knowing that I probably could have figured it out. The only difference between this room and my college dorm is that there are no Pseudo closet space. So I am not sure how they actually kept clothes in here, but other than that it fits the model of a dorm room perfectly!
Once we had the rooms situated, we headed out for a walking tour of Amsterdam. The two schools broke into two groups because trying to do a walking tour with over 50 people is very hard. You can not hear the guide and you block the entire sidewalk! So instead we went as two separate groups. And our guide talked us into doing a canal tour instead. Basically, you take a canal boat around the city and they point out the interesting things along the canals. So you get to see everything and you don’t have to walk! Our guide really did not have to talk very long before almost everyone was on board for the activity. Only Ms. cain was not too keen on the idea because she does not like boats, well the movement of the boats anyway. She has a tendency to get seasick! But she is a team player and went along anyway!
It was a nice tour, very leisurely. The architecture is very different here than the other two countries we have been to on this trip. The houses are quite skinny and I guess the stairs are too. So when a family has to move they can not get their stuff down the stairs. Instead they have to use the furniture hook that is jutting out from the roof of each home to move their items out the windows instead. It’s like in that commercial for the garbage bags where they are trying to get the Grand Piano in to the house by using the pulley system. These are set up just like that! I wonder how many times the end result is the same! (For those that are not familiar with the commercial the piano drops and they use the garbage sacks to stuff the pieces into for the delivery.) I just wonder how many times something gets broken! I do know that on average 1 car a week is driven into a canal here. Depending on who you ask there are 88 - 100 different canals in Amsterdam and none of them are barricaded very easily. The city did install “walls” on each of the canals, but as you can see these “walls” are not very efficient at keeping anything out of the canals! We also found out that there are over 1,000 bridges in Amsterdam. So if we thought there were a lot in Paris, there are hundreds more than that here!
After the Canal tour we had a brisk walk through the “red light” district which was standing between us and the old marketplace of Amsterdam. Lucky for us it was still fairly early, so the working class were not out in full swing. Although many of the red lights were illuminated! What was bad is we had mad it almost the entire way through the area before we realized that we had somehow managed to lose one of our adults. The grandfather of one of our students was no longer in the pack! we have no idea how we lost him or where he went, and some of us would rather not know. But with a little luck and some backtracking by the other gentlemen in our group we did find him and we were able to get back on our way again! All I know is it must be a scary place in the middle of the night!
We finally made it back to the Hotel where we had dinner and then were able to enjoy a quiet night here at the hotel! it was very relaxing to have the evening to unwind. We should have a pretty full day tomorrow as we try and make the most of our last official day on our tour.