Day 2: "It needs more salt"

Sorry for the late update- it was a long day yesterday...

After 10 hours of sleep between the four of us, we arrived in Amsterdam at about 8:15AM Amsterdam time, a.k.a 1AM Central Time. We had to get here by train, which was actually a really fun experience, especially considering we bought the tickets using only coins that Dad had from previous trips. The view of the countryside was lovely, and the train station in Amsterdam was absolutely astounding. We stepped out of the station and began our search for our Hotel, Old City Amsterdam.

Old City Amsterdam is run by the owners of the bike shop next to it, which is in an alley off a large street. There are bikes crowding through the alley, and always a few customers talking in Dutch to the workers. We can open the balcony from our second floor apartment room and look down on the shop.
Once we dropped our stuff at the bike shop (our room wasn't ready yet), we walked down to the Albert Cupt Marketplace. The shopkeepers sold a variety of goods- from cheese to scarves to soap! Dad decided that he was destined to eat the Herring, a rather unique fish eaten by the locals, so we bought some from a stand. It was adorned with onions and pickles, and he bought a coke to wash everything down. After one bite, he decided that the best strategy would be to eat it with the pickles to help the flavor. "It needs more salt," he commented. I found the whole situation a little fishy, so Abby and I opted for Stroopwaffel instead. We got to watch the lady make it in front of us, and enjoyed the warm honey flavor.

After making our way through the marketplace, we strolled to the Rembrandt Square, where we relaxed at a cafe and enjoyed some coffee and soda while watching the people go by. I particularly liked the fact that I could lean back and be in the sun, a luxury after hours of traveling. We also ordered the Bittenballs, which are breaded balls stuffed with beef and cheese. The flavor was nice but the texture was strange, almost a little too mushy.
Next, we walked over to the Purse and Bag Museum of Amsterdam. We used our I Amsterdam cards to get in for free, and took an audio tour through it. The traveling exhibit was "Men's Purses: The Bag Makes the Man," which was quite interesting until it turned into tennis bags. The museum has a intriguing history and was pretty enjoyable, all things considered.
We hopped on a tram for free- thanks I Amsterdam- and made our way to a different part of town, where we would head to the Anne Frank House. Our tickets were for 1 and it was only about noon, so we went across the canal to the Westerkurk and spent some time there. Being the musician that I am, I was stunned by the pipe organs and how big and intricate they were. The one in this Church in particular was amazing in both size and quantity, and the detail on it was just gorgeous.

 There are more varieties of tulips than I could possibly imagine, and we learned many interesting tulip facts- did you know Tulips originated in West Asia? Neither did I.
After that, it was time to go to the Anne Frank House. We booked our tickets months in advance, so we were all very eager to see what the museum held. The museum was an educational experience, and told a sad story. It was well done and I'm glad we went.
We'd had a very busy morning so we decided it would be best to stop back at the hotel for a break. We all napped and refreshed our energy before dinner.
Dinner was the Foodhallen, a mall food court with an extensive collection of food stands. Abby and I went for pulled pork sandwiches on Sourdough bread. Dad had the "French Steak Sandwich" which was "spectacular," and Mom had a Dutch Greens Salad. Abby and I had some chocolate ice cream for dessert. We noted that the ice cream cones were genuine waffle cones, as the ice cream was put in waffles which were wrapped in paper to keep anything from falling out. We were full, though, so we chose the cup instead.
Since we were all completely exhausted, we roamed back to our hotel and went almost straight to bed. I think that about covers yesterday- I'll be sure to update you tonight on today's activities!
Sarah Jackson