Dear America: Europe is cooler.

Today I rode the train in Europe from Amsterdam to Germany. That was quite an experience. I've spent the past two days touring the most incredible city in The Netherlands with Barrett Davis, dragging him to all the tourist traps such as the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Rijskemuseum. We also rode the tram, visited the library, went to a few parks, and took advantage of the legality of my age at a local cafe. Needless to say, I had two crazy days there. 
I arrived Sunday morning at 7:30 after an overnight flight and decided to tough out the jet lag. After dropping off my luggage at the community house we took a walk around the city. I found it interesting that even at 8:30 in the morning most of the city is still dead. We made our way to the library, or Bibliotheek. After marveling at the awesomeness of the building, we made our way to the top floor. Here's the view:

From what I understand, I was there on a particularly sunny day, so while the visibility in the picture isn't great, it was fun to have to wear sunglasses around the city. Amsterdam is a beautiful city. All the houses and buildings are connected together, the streets are small and brick, and canals run through almost every neighborhood. Everything looks like it came straight from the 18th century (minus the cars). 
Amsterdam is also bike central. I avoided riding a bike while I was there, simply because it takes a lot of  bike and traffic skills that I haven't acquired (and probably never will). I also didn't feel like dying or losing a leg while I was there, so we walked or took the tram everywhere, especially to the museums. Here's the low down on the ones we went to. 
Anne Frank House: I know Anne Frank had to hide in a small space for years and wrote a bestselling diary that has made her famous, even though she's no longer alive.  And I respect that, I really do. But her house is boring. Like, dangerously boring. It's just a bunch of bare walls with random quotes from her diary painted in massive letters. Then there's a museum gift shop. Then there's the exit. If you've read the book you probably have the whole Anne Frank topic covered. Don't cross the big pond just to see her house. It's not worth it.
Rijskemuseum: This one was pretty cool, even though Barrett came so close to death by boredom that if we hadn't walked past the swords his heart would have stopped beating. They had some history of the country and lots of artifacts. They also have Rembrant's biggest painting, which is kind of neat.
Van Gogh Museum: Go if you like Van Gogh, Monet, and other famous artists. They have over 200 Van Gogh paintings, the largest collection of the world. If Van Gogh's painting syle annoys you (as it did me), then you might want to just get a hot dog and watch the birds. 
Now I'm in Germany, trying hopelessly to learn German. We'll see how that works...
Until next time,
Gabbie