Amsterdam

The city of Amsterdam.  A city in which there are more bikes than people.  No kidding!  It took some fancy driving for Darin to avoid an accident.  With the buses, bikes, cars, trams, bridges, and canals I was happy to be a passenger on this trip.

Every bridge and street looked like this.  There are almost as many bridges as bikes in Amsterdam.

Everyone was riding bikes.  Old and young.  Men in suits and women in dresses and high heels.  People talking on their cell phones and texting while riding.  Couples holding hands on bikes, side-by-side. A Mom with a front carrier on biking with newborn. I didn't see anyone putting on make-up while riding, so I'm not sure my mom would be able to live there.  Then again, I am sure she'd be able to figure it out.  Love you mom!

These are the bikes for moms.  They just piled the kids in the wheelbarrow in the front and off they went.  The most I saw was 3 in a "bucket."  That could pose a problem for a mormon mom.  Then again, 3 was as many kids as I saw.

I loved the cute canal houses that were everywhere. 

All the bikes looked like old, rusty, beachcomber bikes.  Darin and I were thinking that it is because they didn't need to worry about someone stealing something nice.  Also, it rains all the time, everything is bound to get rusty.  No need to really worry about your bike.

The Anne Frank House/Museum

Anne Frank House.  The "front" house.

It stayed light for quite a long time at nights.  We loved just wandering down the streets and by the canals.

This square always had musicians playing at night.

Our hostel.  Amsterdam is expensive, especially when trying to find a place for 7, so we opted to go the hostel route this time.  Notice the name, "stayokay" not "stay great,"  just Okay (gotta love truth in advertising).  It included a breakfast each morning and was filled with travelers from all over the world. 

We were on the fourth floor.  Without a lift.

No pot smoking in the courtyard of the hostel.  Darin convinced me that I am the only one who didn't know that marijuana was legal here.  You could smell it everywhere.  Cannabis lollypops, gum, souvenirs-anything you could have wanted.

Our room (on Christian's birthday) had 3 sets of bunkbeds.  European mattresses are terrible and narrow! Every morning at about 730 the fire alarm "accidently" went off.  I think that they wanted everyone up and out for the day.