Getting wet and getting lost

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Despite the plane crash in Heathrow the day before I left, there weren't any problems leaving the airport, although you could still see the plane surrounded by police cars and trucks. It was probably the first time I've flown nervous and on edge. Once I arrived in Amsterdam, I figured I could walk to my hostel not realizing how far it was from the train station. I started out alright but then got confused with the similar looking canals and buildings. Everyone I asked spoke English but no one seemed to be able to point me in the right direction. The city itself is a circle, so throughout the weekend, I felt like I just literally walked around in a circle, lost and clueless. sick enough of getting lost and took the tram to the train station instead!

My friends Ole and Alex, along with Chris and Ana, all met up later that evening. For a city that is as reputable for its partying, while we headed to the Red Light District around midnight, hardly anyone was out. Bars closed around 1:00, and it felt deserted. Once we made it to the Red Light District though, there were people out, but at that hour it was mostly just sketchy men gazing at the half dressed women in the red framed windows. Amusingly as we approached the district, with the red lights and beautiful canal, it felt like we were about to enter a Disneyland ride, and I was half waiting to hear "It's a Small World" playing. But certainly not so, as women and their pimps tried to lure customers and gawkers.

The next day I got a hearty breakfast of pancakes, then went on a canal cruise around the city. With the numerous canals, tall narrow buildings, bridges with bikers crossing, it really is a beautiful city. Later that day I visited the Anne Frank House, where she and her family lived in hiding. It was a sobering experience. I wondered what she would think of the thousands of people visiting her home, staring at the magazine pictures she put up on her wall, looking at the marks her father made of how tall Anne and her sister were, or trying to walk as quietly as possible around the attic to see what it must have been like. Sadly, Anne and her family were caught 1 month before the liberation, and she and her sister died at a concentration camp. Looking through the book of the thousands of names, Anne's among them, of those killed at the camps, was a grievous experience. Reminders of WWII are everywhere in Europe, as parts of cities or buildings were bombed and somtimes never fixed.

It was a short trip, too short, to visit with my friends as we said our sad goodbyes the next morning. I visited the Van Gogh museum, then hopped on a train to visit a family friend in Leiden, the birthplace of Rembrandt and Holland's oldest university. It was a cute little town just outside Amsterdam, and we also visited a nearby beach. Most of Holland is below sea level (Amsterdam is 270cm with 25,000 people living in house boats). I can imagine what a concern they have for rising sea levels due to climate change. Environmentally aware though, everyone bikes here, even in the miserable rain. There are bike paths on all streets, and I was more scared of getting hit by a biker than a driver. The weather certainly was depressing, with rain, drizzle, overcast and wind. When I left for Belgium Monday at 8 in the morning, it was still dark! Regardless, Holland is a picturesque, proud country - it's easy to see why so many artists were inspired by its landscape and environment.

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