I'm on a boat!

Last week was (of course) the busiest so far! It started off with Geburtstagpizzamontag...aka Pizza Monday plus birthday cake with ice cream. I also had my writing portion of my test this day. Tuesday we went into Bonn and made a final shopping trip. Wednesday the Institute had a ping pong tournament, so I watched that and hung out with everyone for a while that night. Thursday we went the the Haribo (gummy bear) factory store...a giant, inexpensive candy store! Clara, don't get too jealous! Friday night we had our last night with everyone, so we all went to a Cuban restaurant in Bonn and hung out for our last night.

Saturday morning I checked out of my room at Goethe Institut and left to hop on a train to Amsterdam to meet Grandma. We had arranged to meet at Amsterdam Centraal station. Only upon getting on my train did I realize that was probably easier said than done! Good thing we had a backup plan! When I arrived in Amsterdam (later than expected, thanks to delays) I headed out to take the ferry to our Botel (former cruise ship turned into a hotel...so we really are on a boat) and Grandma spotted me right away. I guess both of our prayers to St. Anthony really worked! We headed back to the Botel and dropped off my luggage, before heading right back out! We went and saw the Anne Frank House. It was very moving, and also put together incredibly well, with lots of quotes from Anne's diary all over the walls of the house. After that, we headed to a pancake house for dinner. The restaurant even had various international pancakes, for example: mexican pancakes with cheese, sour cream, salsa, and guacamole! We stuck with strawberries and caramel. We saw the architecture of the streets of Amsterdam, and just enjoyed being in the city! As we headed back to our hotel, a man offered us a "family discount." Needless to say, we ignored him.

We woke up this morning and stopped by a nearby flea market and saw all of the people shopping. Then we headed to the train station to buy our tickets to get to Paris. We had a quick breakfast of a croissant filled with mystery meat and coffee. A couple men who were also at the breakfast stand said hi and asked us where we were from. We asked them if they knew what we were eating. They responded, "Something fattening...better start walking!" We DID heed their advice today, and walked all over the city! We saw the flower market, with all of the flowers and the bulbs and the wooden shoes. Then we saw the I AMsterdam sign, and took pictures by it. We saw the outsides of the Rijksmuseum and then Van Gogh Museum. Then we enjoyed the "Heineken Experience" and saw the brewery! (Mom, this one was probably even better than Wisconson). We now know how beer, at least Heineken beer, is made. We saw the Opera House and the Concert Hall, and then hopped on one of the tour boats along the canal and saw the rest of the city. We tried to go to the Cafe Americain restaurant, a former favorite of various movie stars, but it was closed. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe instead, and had a really sweet waitress who brought me free ice cream for my birthday! We also had to make a quick stop at a pharmacy today because I woke up with an itchy eye. So if you think my eyes look bloodshot in the photos, it's NOT because of the "coffeeshops".

We better get some rest before we head to Paris tomorrow!

Love,

Emma and Grandma Barb