We had a slow start, and didn't make it out of our hotel until 11am. We decided to go to the University where Natalie's conference is being held, in order to get free internet (which is hard to come by in the Netherlands, apparently). We got a little lost, again, but stumbled upon an awesome little restaurant. I had a rare roast beef sandwich on a baguette with truffle mayo. Amazing. No other words to describe it! Natalie also had a really tasty chicken sandwich, also in a baguette with a cream cheese dressing. The baguettes were so flavorful! For dessert we had something called a Twix, which was basically a brownie/pastry version of the candy bar. Best lunch so far! We also think the Olympics were held here because we saw Olympic stadium and lots of Olympic pictures and an Olympic building. Deductive reasoning says this is a safe assumption. We got to the University and had just enough time to delete all the spam in my email. (Natalie googled and confirmed that the 1928 summer Olympics was held in Amsterdam)
We had booked an afternoon tour that took us to the Windmill Village, Volendam, and Marken. At Zaanse Schans (the windmill village) we saw a bunch of historic windmills (most are still operable, though they are only used to keep them working, and don't actually provide power anymore). We also got to see a clog making demonstration. If a pair should make it into my suitcase before I leave Amsterdam, I had nothing to do with it. We walked around the town, which was torture because it smelled like chocolate/brownies – there was a chocolate factory nearby, and we didn't get to go!
Before getting to Volendam we stopped at a cheese shop and the cheese lady told us the process for making cheese. Then we got to sample 10 different kinds. I can confirm that a small block of cheese is already in my suitcase (it doesn't have to be refrigerated, so don't be grossed out).
Volendam and Marken are adorable fishing villages. They make me want to move to the Netherlands! In Volendam we just walked around, did a little shopping and eating (imagine that – more souvenirs and we shared profitijes or something like that – think baby donut holes with powdered sugar). We took a 30 minute boat ride to Marken, and it was beautiful weather out. The homes in Marken are all traditional Dutch style and are quaint and precious, and they all seemed to have lovely, colorful gardens. I even saw several pairs of clogs lined up, so I know people actually use them! Marken only has 2,000 residents. I would like to live there :)
After our tour we had dinner (yes, more food!) - we were craving burgers and finally found a place that had them – boy, do they put American food to shame! These burgers had amazing cheese (not surprising, since they're famous for their cheese here!), roasted red peppers, a spicy mayo, and really delicious bread (not a bun, more like a bun baguette). This was also the fastest meal we've had here! Although I didn't wait for him to bring us the bill, since that would have been another hour, instead I went and got our bill, and just told him we were in a hurry. We wanted to go to the Anne Frank House to buy tickets for later in the week.
We made it to the house/museum around 8:40 and there was no line, so we just decided to take the tour. It was inspiring and saddening, all at the same time. She was so young, yet so profound. Nothing I said at 15, or probably since, was so resounding. Natalie and I both purchased copies of her diary from the gift shop. My intentions were to reread it before I came here, but I ran out of time. I think is will be more special now though. They even had her diary on display. Not since my visit to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. have I had such a moving experience at a museum.
