Greetings all!
Hello, halo!
I am writing to you on a train somewhere in Germany. We have just spent two days in Berlin, Germany and are on our way to Praha (Prague), Czech Republic.
I last wrote from our hostel in Amsterdam soon after we had arrived. Oh, little did I know all I would have to write for you. Let me just start by saying that I have seen enough of Amsterdam and all it has to offer and we were only there for a couple nights. We arrived in Amsterdam at about 4 and I swear to you that my jaw was on the ground until about 9 when we shut the door to our hostel. When you train into the city you are forced to enter the city and walk through the Red Light District. Once we walked through I thought "oh mess, I've seen it, now I can move on!" Little did we know that our hostel was right smack dab in the middle of the red light district, ha! Oh yea, and literally right next door to the hemp museum...we were in the heart of it all!! When I could finally walk the streets without embarrassing myself and Chris by the looks I couldn't hide we made our way down Damrack Straat for a bite to eat. After dinner we spent some time in Rembrandtplein or Rembrandt square. I enjoyed some coffee while listening to a Dutchman attempt to entertain us with some american tunes. I also LOVED the people watching ( all over the city really), no surprise! If you've been to Amsterdam, you know...everyone smokes and EVERYONE rides bikes. It's absolutely insane how many bikes are in the city and chained to anything and everything. It gives the city such a nice feeling though and is a great get away from being surrounded by cars and buses.
We spent Saturday and Sunday biking through Amsterdam and exploring the city. I avoided our neighborhood as often as possible and never stepped foot in a "coffeeshop." I preferred to hide from the nearly naked women in their windows and see the beautiful city rather than the inside of a smelly shop. We visited some old paintings at the Rijksmuseum, spent time learning about the amazing Van Gogh at his museum, and walked in Anne Frank's footsteps at the Anne Frank Huis. I have always loved learning about Anne frank and the Holocaust and really enjoyed our tour here. It also made me very eager to see more of these historical sites as we travel through Europe. Chris tried to get us tickets to the Northern Ireland vs. Holland futbol match, but it was sold out so we cheered along with the fans at a local pub. I also took a canal cruise through the city for another great view of the city. Amsterdam is such a beautiful city both architecturally and naturally so it was nice to simply sit and see the city pass by.
The environment of Amsterdam is so different from anywhere I have ever been and hope I will ever go. I was uncomfortable most of the time and was ready to make our next move to Berlin.
We took an early morning train on Monday for Berlin and were in the city by about 2. The ride was long, but we were able to rest, read, and catch up on some things while enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way.
Berlin was such a new experience for me. It was so strange to be in a city that has grown and developed SO much in just my lifetime. I learned so much about the city and feel lucky that I got to see first hand some of the historical sites, but mostly all that has been developed just since the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. I would absolutely recommend visiting Berlin if not for the fun, then to simply experience a city that changes daily and is growing and developing daily.
Chris and I were only in Berlin for about 48 hours, but we filled those days full! We went on a 4 hour walking tour throughout the entire city. I loved this and learned so much. We visited the TV tower that gave us a complete 360 degree view of the city, we toured the Berliner Dom and cathedral and overwhelmed ourselves with German history in the Deutsches Historisches museum (German history museum). We also spent some of our time enjoying yummy German beers in the brauhaus.
Our hostel was wonderful here and allowed us to meet so many new people as well. We roomed with two Canadian sisters, found another brother sister group of French Canadians, and spent some time with a new friend from North Carolina. We are slowly learning that everyone we meet is doing the exact same thing we are. It's so funny to be a traveler and meet other travelers though. We will spend days and nights with these people and never actually know their names until we are exchanging information as we head out of town. Such a different experience, but so fun! So fun because we make these friends and have the opportunity to enjoy a night of pub crawling our way through Berlin...once in a lifetime!
I think we will both miss Berlin and our friends we made, but we hope to meet up with them later and have high hopes that Prague will treat us well.
Cheers to you!
LIVE LIFE and be grateful for your freedom!
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