Hey everybody!
This past weekend was a short one for us, but I went to Amsterdam on an overnight train on Friday. When we arrived on Saturday we walked around the city visiting some of the local cathedrals and historical sites, including the Anne Frank House in the western part of the city. I wish I could have shared some of the Anne Frank museum with you guys but they did not allow photography in the building. To give a brief description, the house has been restored to almost an exact replica of how it was while she was hiding in its Secret Annex. There were two bed rooms, and a small washroom hidden by a bookcase secret door. This link gives a good virtual tour of the place: http://www.annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Home/Enter-the-3D-house/#/house/20/
Saturday was a bit cold and windy so we stayed inside at a bar most of the afternoon watching the Netherlands take on Denmark in the first round of Euro 2012. The match went back and forth for the longest time and even though the Dutch looked like they had the upper hand, they could not score any goals. Finally, to the Dutch's horror, Denmark scored the only goal of the match. I couldn't believe how upset some of the locals got, but I guess we do the same for our football games back home.
Later that night Kris and I walked to a Jazz bar called Mellow Moe's in town. I can vouch for the fact that sometimes the smallest 'hole in the wall' can hold some of the biggest surprises. We walked in, paid a small cover, and listened to a band led by a guy named Aldwin London. He was on bass guitar and singing the blues with an accompanying drummer, while his friend (whose name I didn't get unfortunately) just wailed away on his electric guitar. The music they played was amazing and everybody in the room couldn't help but dance and nod their heads to the groove these guys put together. We stayed there for several hours unable to leave and glued to the performance. My favorite part was during the last song when the guitarist wandered off stage, thanks to his wireless amp connection, and jammed right next to us. He then proceeded to order a shot from the bar, and while soloing with his left hand, finished his glass with his right. I could do nothing but stand with my mouth wide open and speechless.
After that, we walked back to the hotel and passed through the Red Light district to get a glimpse of the night scene which was slightly sketchy to say the least. After getting lost a couple of times, we finally found the red LED street posts that mark the edge of the district and left it all behind. A long night's sleep was exactly what I needed because the next morning we woke fully rested and ready to go explore one last time before we headed out that afternoon. We walked around, got lost another couple of times, and passed many coffee shops and bars as they were taking down their orange banners and other soccer decorations from the previous day. After grabbing a bite of lunch, we got on the train and headed back to Metz.
Sidenote: 5 star hotel this weekend brought to us by Hotwire.com
-Brian
