Storm Lake to Amsterdam

Greetings from Amsterdam!

We left Storm Lake at 9:00 am Friday morning and began a very long day of travel.  After meeting up with the entire party at the Omaha airport, we checked in, put out a few fires, and started out on our trip.  After a three hour layover in Minneapolis, we boarded our flight to Amsterdam.  The flight lasted around nine hours, and only a couple people slept for more than a few hours.  It would be safe to say that we were all exhausted upon arrival.  Nonetheless, the show must go on!  We arrived a bit before 11:00 am local time and made our way to the hotel to drop off bags.  The weather is excellent (mild temperatures in the 40s and misty), which makes walking around much more comfortable.  Our first official cultural stop (after a quick meal of a "real American hot dog" and the world's greasiest poffertjes from street vendors) was the Rijksmuseum, which contains a wonderful collection of Dutch art.  The Night Watch, by Rembrandt, was probably my favorite (seen below).

The Night Watch, by Rembrandt

Poffertjes

By this point, the adrenaline has worn off, and everyone is moving in slow motion.  We then went for a quick walk through the Red Light District, which is very crowded and generally smells like an AC/DC concert.  The foot traffic was not too bad at this point in the evening, but it was starting to pick up.  Though I was almost trampled by a moonwalking Bob Marley impersonator, the walk was mostly uneventful.  However, this is one of those eye-opening walks that wakes everyone up a bit because it is so different that what we are used to in everyday life.  We then released the students to enjoy New Year's Eve, and Jennifer, Matt, and I went to dinner (pizza) before heading back to hotel, where I am sad to report that I was unable to stay awake until midnight.  However, we were serenaded with fireworks ALL night.  In fact, it's not quite 5:00 am here now, and I can still hear them going off outside.

Today's plan is to visit the Anne Frank House this morning, take a canal boat tour this afternoon, and finally make our way to the train station to catch our first overnight train (to Berlin).