Amsterdam

So here's the first post about spring break. Vanessa and I went to Amsterdam on the 17th. We flew through Zurich on Swiss Air, and let me tell you, there's a reason they were voted the no. 1 airline in Europe--Swiss chocolate, cucumber sandwiches, and leather seats for everyone! For free! (well, the food, not the seats) Those were some of the most relaxing flights of my whole life. There's just one minor detail...Switzerland is not in the EU, so when we got to Amsterdam (back in the EU) they gave us a bit of trouble for not having our piece of paper that registered us with the government (different from a visa)...but the Italian government in all its bureaucracy hasnt given anyone their permesso di soggiorno yet. So that was a bit of an explanation. They let us through anyway, but with a stern warning to have it next time.
We got to Amsterdam about 7 or 8 PM and not knowing a word of Dutch. But we found our way to the train to Amsterdam Centraal Station since I had printed out directions to the hostel from there. We found it pretty easily and realized from some of the other people checking in that we were definitely not far from the red light district. It had a curfew and 24-hour security, so that eased our...uneasiness..but the drunk guy breathing down Vanessa's neck did not. But since the hostel didnt allow any alcohol or drugs there, he had to leave, and all was good and right in the world again.
Our room was up three flights of stairs, two of them being those twisty Dutch ones where you have to hug the wall so you wont miss a step and tumble down. Overall, it was a pretty clean place, and they even have free breakfast (with 4 options!) every morning. It's called Shelter City, and if you're ever in Amsterdam (and under 35 ish), it's a good place.
On Sunday, Vanessa and I wandered around to find the Anne Frank House--the main reason we had come to Amsterdam. It was quite a windy walk. Apparently most of Europe, while sunny and warm the week before, was cold, windy, and rainy the week of our spring break. Wonderful. I almost got blown over. More than once. We made it there, though, and since I had bought tickets online, we passed the entire line and walked right through the side door. Yes, it was a cold and windy (and later rainy) Sunday in March, and the line was around the block. Buy tickets ahead of time.
I had already seen pictures of the annex and office before, so I sort of knew what to expect, but what really surprised me was how small it was. The rooms were tiny; I really dont know how they fit more than one bed in some of them. To get up to the second floor, you had to climb stairs that were basically a ladder, and the people hiding were there for over two years and did that every day. The museum also included the offices in front of the annex and the building next door that had some of the family's original pictures and the diary. They also told the story of what happened to each person after they were found and arrested. It was good to see the real building finally, and I even saw some things I hadnt read about before.
After lunch we trekked to the Van Gogh Museum. It's cool if you're really into Van Gogh, but Starry Night is actually in New York, so I did not get to see that. It also has lots of paintings from his contemporaries and people who influenced his painting. Good, but not my fave. The Rembrandt museum is next door, and that's more up my alley, but we only had time for one. After we finished Van Gogh, we thought a tour of the Heineken museum might be fun. It looked cool, but you know those three "free" glasses of beer are not free, and since I dont like beer, and Vanessa doesnt like Heineken, we went to a tea place instead. It started raining right after we got inside, and pretty soon after that, it hailed. I also got to see a kid wipeout on rollerblades, so that was awesome. Hehehh....
This is already getting so long, so I'll wrap it up. On Sunday night we found a little brewery restaurant place and had amazing beer bread and soup for dinner. When we left on Monday, it was seriously snowing. Nice to see snow once this winter, but not while I'm lugging my stuff to the train station. Thankfully it didnt delay our flight at all. We got to the airport waaaay too early, but there's a lot to do in Amsterdam airport. It's like a whole mall right there, complete with jacked up prices.