Hi all!! Here are some pictures I took with my phone. I went to the Van Gogh museum and took a picture of one of his most famous paintings, being that this is believed to be one of his last paintings he did before he died a few weeks later. The others are of random pictures throughout town, with a horse-drawn carriage, an actual Hemp Marijuana Museum, and the last one is actually something the city authorities created to stop tourists from urinating in corners after visiting pubs!! All places charge to use the restroom, even in bars and cafes, so apparently the town got sick of tourists using corners of buildings and streets as their personal toilet... crazy, huh? It is SO SO SO SO SO SO cold today, I think the highest temperature today was 2 degrees Celsius! I went on the free walking tour today and FROZE, but I met a couple girls from Washington, DC and we are going out for sushi later, so I am excited about that. We saw some beautiful places, along with the red light district, which, needless to say, is one of the craziest things I have ever seen. Prostitution is completely legal in the Netherlands, so there are all these windows everywhere in the district where women advertise themselves in very interesting ways, mainly being mostly naked and using hand gestures and other ways to get your attention. Pretty interesting I must say... We learned a lot about the history of Amsterdam which I thought was really great. I leave tomorrow for Heidelberg, Germany which I am so excited to see my friend Lisa! I will stay there till about the 17th, then I will meet up with Juliane and we will visit her sister who lives on the border of Germany and Switzerland. Apparently there is this amazing lake to see there, plus DELICIOUS chocolates!! I just got back to the hostel from the Anne Frank house. That was emotionally intense. You feel the history there and how much the people in hiding suffered daily by being terrified they would be caught at any moment. I am happy I saw it though, it is something everyone should do. Well, I just wanted to post the pictures and give you all an update. I am going to thaw out and rest for awhile before going to dinner. Hope you all are having a wonderful Thursday!!!
I like the picture of a picture!! That Van Gogh was amazing. He was such a brilliant and talented artist. I always thought it was odd that his work was not appreciated much when he was alive. --- I wonder if that temperature you're experiencing is above or below their average? --- Don't be looking in those windows -- There is nothing to see! -- Please be safe!! Love you, Dad
ReplyDeletehahaha john your window comment cracked me up. it looks awesome there, i want to go someday ;)
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