Bonsoir mes amis!

I have returned from the Dutch city of sin! Alive and unscathed! Well... physically unscathed. I think psychologically I may be a bit impaired, now that I've experienced the world's most famous Red Light District and misleading "Coffee" Shops. The trip however was a great success, and while I didn't get to do everything I wanted to, I had more fun and learned more about Amsterdam than I could have imagined.

The adventure began with a three hour bus ride from Belgium to the Netherlands. Our bus was comfortable and the weather was pleasant making for a nice, quiet ride. Everything was going smoothly until our driver addressed all the passengers over the loud speaker; "Ladies and gentlemen, sorry. The bus is broken." This came as a shock to us, as we were driving along during this announcement with no sign of any bus malfunction. Either way the switch from our mysteriously dysfunctional vehicle to a new fully functioning bus was surprisingly quick and painless, and with that we were back on course for Amsterdam!

We arrived at our destination in the Netherlands around 4 p.m. and went through about a half hour of a rigorous luggage search at customs. Once again, for reasons unknown, I was "randomly" chosen to have my passport checked along with a select few others on the bus. I think I'll shave my beard before my next trip outside the Belgian border. In any case, without too much further hassling, we were finished with customs and sent on our way. The next step was finding our hotel!

The Trianon Hotel is located just behind "The Concert Hall" in Amsterdam. Once we found it, we checked in and set up camp in our room. Our dwellings were a little cramped but ultimately kind of charming for just the two of us. We had our own bathroom, free wifi (which was slow but nice to have), and some comfortable bunk beds to rest on. By the time we finally got all set up it was about 6:30 and our stomachs were becoming audible.

We hopped on a tram towards the city center and walked around, admiring the nightlife in Amsterdam until we couldn't stand to starve ourselves any longer. Ironically, the cheapest place within walking distance from where we were was Burger King! It was interesting to experience my favorite American fast food chain in Europe. The menu was different but the food was better I think. I devoured some chicken wings and fries and was rejuvenated enough to continue exploring with Toni.

One thing everyone needs to know before visiting Amsterdam is that the Dutch love their bicycles. They ride them everywhere, and they ride them fast. If you should EVER get caught in the path of a Dutch cyclist on his way to somewhere, anywhere, then may God have mercy on your soul! The Dutch are infamous for a very strange taste in humor, and one of their favorite pastimes is known as "tourist bowling." I think you can deduce what this sport entails, so should you ever visit the Netherlands, BEWARE THE BIKE PATHS. I cannot stress enough how dangerous they can really be. The Dutch are crazy, but a lot of fun too. Anyway, after walking around a good bit and visiting a coffee shop recommended by a resident of the area, it was time to turn in for the night. We found our way back to the hostel with a bit of luck, which seemed to be how we got around all weekend. Essentially we kept walking until we recognized a building or landmark and then guessed which way to go from there, eventually finding our way back to a tram that would take us to our hotel... it was fun!

Saturday morning rolled around and Toni and I had no specific plans except to do some sight seeing and more or less "play it by ear" for the day. We jumped on a tram and went to the Dam Square area where we could see the Royal Palace, the New Church and the National Monument. Once again it would seem that luck was on our side. As we approached the National Monument to take some photos, we caught glimpse of a sign reading "Free Tour!" There's this tour group "Sandemans New Europe" that hires residents of various cities to take tourists on a walk around all the historic and interesting points in each place. The tour guides work on tips, which is nice because not only do they give the best tour they can, but you get decide the worth of their efforts. Our tour guide, Lee, took us on a three hour tour and showed us Amsterdam's famous red light district, the jewish quarter, the Begijnhof Convent, the old church, the new church, and much more. Lee was very enthusiastic about her job making the informational part of the tour fun and interesting.

We stopped for lunch where we met at the Dam Square, Toni and I went to this super fast food place called FEBO. Just how fast is super fast you ask? Well the way it works is the food is sitting in a little window/cubby with a warmer. You put a dollar in the cubby, open the window and voila! You have your food. Kinda gross but fun at the same time!

The tour ended at the Anne Frank house at which point we were informed about a few other tours organized by the same group including an in depth tour through the red light district in the evening and a bar crawl later at night. With that information, we tipped our extremely helpful guide and parted ways to see more of the city.

After a little more sightseeing and a stop at a Mannequin Pis friterie, we decided to head back to our hotel to rest up a bit before deciding what to do in the evening. One short cat nap later we were getting ready to meet up with the group touring through the red light district. This tour was not free unfortunately, but it was affordable at only 7 euro per person. The tour through the district at night was lots of fun! We were warned ahead of time not to take pictures of the women in the windows unless we were prepared to: A. Be chased down and pummeled by security. B. Be chased down and pummeled by half naked women (luckily no one on our tour was into this sort of thing) or C. Have hooker urine tossed in our face. All of these choices would also, supposedly, inevitably end with the perpetrator's camera smashed on the cobblestone street. So there will not be any pictures of young, attractive entrepreneurs attempting to lure innocent tourists into their rooms in my blog album.

We learned all sorts of fun things on this tour, some of which we had already learned in the free tour earlier in the day. One important piece of information for anyone looking to sample the unique goods in the red light district is that "women" behind windows with blue lights surrounding them instead of red lights, are not actually women at all! This is especially important to remember when someone tells you about a special discounted girl. If it's unusually cheap, it's probably a dude. Gross, I know, but that's Amsterdam. The tour ended with a free shot of Jager at a bar, which was nice. Toni and I had a couple cheap beers and left to do some more walking around the town. Once our feet were just about ready to fall off and our eyes started to get heavy we made our way back to the hotel for the night.

On Sunday we woke up early prepared to do some last minute souvenir shopping and sight seeing before our 2:45 bus ride. To our surprise, it had snowed the night before! We put on some extra layers of clothing and walked out to find some breakfast foods, postcards and a shot glass for my collection. Amsterdam was quiet on this particular Sunday morning and the steady but light rain of snowflakes and thin white layer on the ground made our final hours in the city the most peaceful and pleasant of the whole trip. Toni and I found a nice little bakery where we treated ourselves to a toasted bagel and some hot chocolate to warm ourselves. Once our bellies were full and our bodies were toasty, we went out in search of one more Coffee Shop called Dampkring, which was pointed out to us on the free tour. Dampkring has won many awards for it's "coffee" and is renowned as one of the best coffee shops in the world. It was also featured in the popular motion picture "Ocean's 12," in a scene where Matt Damon meets a contact and has some kind of goofy interaction involving miscommunication while speaking in code. The fact that the scene is shot in Dampkring is more riveting than the scene itself I think, that's B movies for you though. Another interesting tidbit about Dampkring is that it is home to a fat cat that sits inside all day, inhaling the atmosphere, staring out the window and taking naps. If only life were that easy for everyone.

After enjoying some coffee and taking pictures of the kitty we set out to find the number one destination on my list, Vondelpark. I was told it is a very nice park to visit and spend some time in and that it was a must to see especially since our hotel was so close to it. The landscape was absolutely breathtaking wrapped in a blanket of fresh snow. Toni and I walked around, took some pictures and sat on a bench for a while secluded from the rest of the people in the park but still within an earshot of an older woman playing an accordion. It was a very surreal and romantic moment that I am grateful we were able to experience. There were colorful birds in the trees and people in the park with their dogs, none of them on leashes. I sincerely believe that my time in Amsterdam could not have ended on a better note than with our trip to Vondelpark.

Just as all good things must, our trip was coming to an end. We found our way back to the bus station and grabbed another small meal at another Burger King in the bus station (again, this was the cheapest meal we could find). The biggest twist of the whole weekend was the fact that when we boarded our return bus we didn't have to go through any sort of baggage check. We got on the bus, slept through a smooth ride home, arrived in Brussels and got off the bus, again with no customs/baggage check. Very strange indeed. The two of us caught a train back to Leuven to eat a small dinner and get some well needed rest!

I cannot stress how grateful I am to have the opportunity to see Europe the way I have been. Two and a half years ago when I started college at East Stroudsburg University I could not have imagined that I would be in Brussels right now experiencing cultures from all over the globe and seeing countries and sights that I, previously, could only have dreamed of. Mom, if you're reading this, I love you and I appreciate all you've done for me to be here. I'm having the time of my life and I owe most of it to you for supporting me while I'm over here. Thanks to everyone else who has been reading this blog on a regular basis and providing me with positive feedback and support from back home. I miss you all and can't wait to see everyone in a few months. It's gonna be an incredible summer after having been away for so long.

I'll try to come back tomorrow with another update about the tragedy just outside of Brussels and my nightmare adventure in Binche... These are dark times, but I'm making the best of it!

Until then everyone. Lots of love.