Amsterdam

I am in my final week….wow that went fast!

I am in Amsterdam right now waiting for 10:30 because I have to change to another dorm room…I didn't want to stay in the huge 18 bed dorm room and the only way to avoid that was to stay in a 4 bed dorm last night and switch to a 6 bed dorm for the next 2 nights.

A bit of a pain but better than staying in a mass dorm, especially here where everyone seem to be going overboard with the relaxed drug laws. It seems like so many people here feel they have to do as many drugs as humanly possible while they are here, so many people are just walking around the streets and hostel totally stoned all day. I left the hostel yesterday and when I returned hours later many of the same people were just sitting in a blank stare in the exact same place they were when I saw them this morning. It’s a shame they are missing this cool city with lots to see.

The Anne Frank House

Hidden bookshelf entrance into the Anne Frank House.

I had a great 4 days in Paris. I figured out how to get past the rudeness factor. They will get insulted if you ask them if they speak English and then won’t help you  but I found that if you speak French right from the start, as horrendously bad as my French is, they will just automatically switch to English or speak to me in simple French and be very polite and helpful. At least I am somewhat conversational in French, anyone who wasn't would have a frustrating time here.

Other then that, it was a great city! I was so busy there as there was so much to see and do and only 4 days to do it. I climbed the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triouphe; visited Sacre cour, Notre Dame, the Louvre, Musee D’Orsay, and  the Picasso  Museum; took a day time and a night time bike tour and a night cruise on the river.

I also took a train to Bayeux and went on an afternoon tour of the D-Day beaches. I saw the Canadian and American cemeteries and a couple Normandy museums.

By Omaha beach by point du hoc, there are tons of German bunkers all over the place, some destroyed and some in perfect condition…you can even walk through them, The ground is still cratered from all the bombs and there are even German cannons left. Some of the British artificial port is still there as well. It was a really interesting day.

 I was lucky to get on the tour I did and the guy ran it even though there were only 2 of us. He was a walking history book with lots of stories from WW2 vets he knows.