Recently, Matt and I took the train to Brussels and Amsterdam. We spent a quick Friday night in Brussels then were up and out on Saturday morning so we could get to Amsterdam nice and early. The city is really beautiful - it is made up of 100 canals that are all connected. So, we took a boat tour to get familiar with the layout. We walked the city and ended up at a pub that was inside of one of the only remaining windmills in the city. We also took a bike tour which took us through each district of the city. We learned that the size of the windows on a house once stood for how much money you had - the larger the window, the nicer the neighborhood. The houses in Amsterdam are mostly gable houses which have large windows at the top and lean forward - which is how people move their furniture in and out of the house. The houses are too narrow to use the front door and that is because people built their homes up (instead of back) so they wouldn't be taxed on the size of their home. We of course hit up the Red Light District in the evening which was interesting to say the least. Women of all shapes and sizes stand in the windows and literally pull a curtain down when a man enters. And don't think of taking their picture - I got yelled at by one of the prostitues! The next day we visited the Anne Frank house which was one of the most moving experiences of our lives. There is no furniture in the house but the museum takes you through each room where the Frank's lived during hiding and you can really get a sense of the horror that went on during their time there. That afternoon, we packed up and headed back to Brussels....
We arrived in Brussels only to find that it was the one day of the year when they have no cars allowed on the street. That sounds nice but really it just meant that every person who lives in Brussels got to ride their bikes in the middle of the street for a day. So we weaved in and out of the bikers until the sun went down. The main area of Brussels is the Grand Place. The architechture is stunning - very lavish and grandiose. Another main attraction is the Mannequin Pis which is literally a 15 inch statue of a little boy going to the bathroom. And yes, people actually line up to see him. So I can't say there were as many attractions as there were in Amsterdam, but the city was neat nonetheless. We went back to the Grand Place for a nice dinner (where Matt had to duck just to get inside the door) and listened to live music afterwards. We stopped by Delirium for a pint because they have over 2,000 beers on tap...but we managed to just stick around for one.
Bright and early Monday morning, we hopped the train back to London and were there in 2 hours so Matt could get back to work!
