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There is no better way to experience a city than to spend 5 quality hours there, especially when one of the biggest attractions is at night. The cruise ship was only docked in Amsterdam from 9 to 2 so we decided to be a little unorthodox and not get back on the ship until the next port in Berlin. That means we had to organize our own transportation from Amsterdam to Berlin, and also find accommodations for the night as the ship had a day at sea in between the two cities. The family got off first thing in the morning and headed straight over to the Anne Frank House. After being so opposed to visiting “just an attic” as he called it for 2 months Dad thoroughly enjoyed it. After the Anne Frank museum we walked through the city and explored the floating flower market and some of the main shopping streets. Everyone was quite surprised at the beauty of the city and you really do have to experience it first hand.

We headed back to the ship for a quick lunch then packed two tiny backpacks with enough to get us by for 2 nights and three full days off the ship. As we walked back through town and watched luxury on water became a distant image in the background, we found our way on the public trams to Hotel Orfeo; our hostel accommodation for the night. The room was up 3 floors on these thin old century Amsterdam type stairs and our room looked like something similar to Anne Frank’s attic. However, the area Shawn found the hostel in was called Leidsepline, just a 25 minute walk from Dam Square (the main part of town). The small charming streets were filled with café’s and restaurants, not to mention the town’s “coffee shops.” Canals rule the town and almost every few streets you walk appears another small beautiful piece of this canal wrapping itself around the city. The street performers do an interesting Dutch version of a rap break dance, but their energy and excitement for their work touches any young American who has seen the real thing. We had an adult beverage in one of the 300 tables littered across the square and watched an old ripped man perform tight rope in a small green thong. Minus that guy, this part of our day defines what Europe is all about; people sitting and relaxing outside enjoying each other and everything around them. It’s so peaceful and so beautiful to be a part of it.

That night we went to a comedy show called “Boom Chicago” which is actually an American comedy show which highlights and mocks the main differences between Dutch and American culture, mostly making fun of the Yanks. We emerged from that close to 10pm and the sun wasn’t fully set yet but we still made our way over to the Red Light District. The area isn’t too much different from what you would imagine, the only thing you wouldn’t picture are the neon (mostly red) reflected along the water and the cops patrolling the street on horses. Girls have individual windows they sit in and can open the door to anyone at their choosing. There are about 3 to 5 windows per house and I thought most of the girls were quite sexy and normal looking – not super trampy like you would think. In some of the windows the bed they use is right there behind them, and in some you walk back into the room or up a flight of stairs for services. The girls in the windows are in there smoking, talking on their phones, texting, yelling at each other across the canal, and even eating! It’s just another day at work for them. The experience was one of a kind, of course, and great to see what this red light district was really all about.