Day Eight Walking Tour

So much to see, so little time!

            Today was the highly anticipated Amsterdam walking tour! I had a breakfast consisting of jam and bread, cereal, and lots of orange juice at the hostel buffet. I even had an espresso! It was such a nice feeling knowing that I had the ability to consume a wide variety of foods, instead of being limited to so few. Our tour guide was more than hospitable, and he had a wealth of knowledge to offer. We made our way through the famous Red Light District and I could see a few of the sex workers through the windows. It wasn’t as shocking as I thought it would be, but it certainly was new to me. There were also many Coffee Shops and horrible scents that emanated from them. Just around the corner, however, there was a beautiful church with gorgeous scenery nearby. We walked towards a small tower where Rembrandt painted autopsies that were once performed there. Our tour guide said that people would get extremely creative when torturing others, cutting open their chest, breaking the rib cage, taking the heart, and throwing it in the person’s face.

            We stopped for a quick coffee break, and then the group took off once more. We ended up near the Anne Frank Museum. Nearby, there was a triangle inscribed in the floor which represented equality and freedom to be whoever you want to be. After the tour, my friends and I explored Amsterdam even further. We passed by several people dressed as Freddie Kruger and the Grim Reaper, as well as a group of children performing some type of meditation in the streets. My friend and I strayed from the group as it began to rain, and we stopped by H&M. Afterwards, we explored Vondelpark near our hostel and found that there were so many different types of birds that reside there! On the downside, it seemed that cyclists at the park are much more aggressive than they are on the regular streets. After ten miles of walking, I closed my eyes in my bed at the hostel and did not open them until the next morning.