The following series of posts are from our journal during our trip to Europe in late June, early July, 2007.  It was written from Katie's perspective in real-time during the day as events occurred.  For each post, there is a link to pictures from the day.  We hope you enjoy reliving the experience with us!

 Day 1: 6/20 – 6/21/07 – Airport, Amsterdam.  Click here for pictures.

              Our adventure begins in the Atlanta airport (where most of our previous adventures started).  We had spent months planning and weeks packing.  Our bag was filled, but not stuffed – weighing exactly 50lbs.  Unfortunately, the size of the bag did not meet airline standards.  With a little arguing and a lot of tape, we managed to get our bag on board (though who knows if we’ll ever see it again).

            At the gate we manage to get two seats together on an exit row.  Our prior seats were two middles one row apart.  We board the plane and prepare for our 8 hour 26 minute flight.  The exit row requires an individual to lift 52 pounds in case of an emergency.  My advice – don’t crash.

            After dinner (airline chicken, mashed potatoes, core, salad, bread and brownie), Shawn and I take our Lunesta to get a few hours of sleep – very uncomfortable sleep.  We awake at sunlight to a hot breakfast.  One hour till we reach Amsterdam.

            We arrive in the AMS airport, head through customs, and hope our bag has arrived.  Fortunately, it does arrive still bound in tape.  We head to the main terminal to find a train to AMS central station.  The ticket kiosk requires coins or credit card (plus a pin number), and we have neither.  We jump in line to pay an extra euro for a human to sell us a ticket.  We will try to fix that problem later by getting a pin number.  We get on our train which is very full.  I manage to find a seat, but our oversized bag prevents Shawn from taking a seat.

            In approximately ten minutes we arrive at Amsterdam central station.  WE unload from the train and begin our hike to Hotel Frederic.  We meet Marvin and check our bags – actual check in does not begin till 12pm.  So we head out to see the city, stopping once to make a call and get a pin number for a credit card.

            Shawn is excellent with directions – we start out taking the Damrak walk from our Rick Steve’s book.  The walk begins in Dam Square – a huge square with Queen Beatriz’s palace, the “New Church”, the plaque of Santa Clause, a WWII memorial, and some department stores.  Of course the plaza is covered with all sorts of entertainers including someone dressed like Jim Carey in “The Mask.”

            After seeing the square we move down Kalverstraat and walk past many shops.  We take a look at the DePapegaal Hidden Church, but do not go inside.  We wonder through the courtyard of the Amsterdam History museum and view paintings of the Civic Guard.  These are noble men/women who made Amsterdam a prosperous city.  You can tell their rank based on which weapon they carry.

            The courtyard leads to a quiet community called the Beginhof.  Here we find a beautiful grassy area with small gardens to each house.  The Catholic Church is located in the center and is said to be the place where the pilgrims prayed before boarding the Mayflower.  The community surrounding the church is designed for single women who have encountered misfortune.  The community used to be made up of Beguines (nun-like women).

            We leave the Beginhof and find ourselves in the Spui Square.  We take a quick rest to locate our next destination.  We walk down a busy flower market – full of tulips and some sunflowers.  We visualize the mint tower.  Hunger pains begin so we go to the V&D department store to eat at LaPlace.  Shawn gets pizza and I get a sandwich – the pizza was much better.

            After lunch, we headed back to Hotel Frederic for check-in and to see our room.  We are staying in the Chagall room – small but quaint.  The shower is outside our room and the bathroom is down the hall.  We take a quick rest and gather our things to continue exploring.

            We walked around the Joordan neighborhood and stopped by the Anne-Frank House to see how long the line was at this time of day.  Very long!  So we start waling toward the Red-Light District.

            The “Old Church” is located here and surrounding it are houses for prostitution.  Each house/door is open with prostitutes inside.  Just knock on the door and negotiate a price.  We walk through many streets and even manage to see the cheaper/plumper prostitutes.  It has been misting all day and now the rain is picking up.  We duck into the College of Cannabis.  Shawn gets his picture taken with a marijuana plant.  Once the rain decreases, we head back toward the Ann Frank House.

            The Anne Frank House was a nice tour.  We saw the main offices where Otto worked, then went upstairs to the top two rooms where the Frank family lived.  The museum housed an original copy of her dairy and showed some interviews with her father. 

            After the Anne Frank tour, we walked back to Hotel Frederic to get our rain gear.  Then we went to find dinner.  After several tries, we finally settled on Winkel – known for its apple pie according to Mrs. Frederic.  I chose an unknown dish of meat with potatoes – it turned out to be steak, potatoes, and broccoli (exactly what an American girl wants).  Shawn chose the lamb stew which was also tasty.  We got the infamous apple pie, which held true to its reputation.

            After dinner, we walked back to our hotel and settled down for the evening.  It was a a very long, but exciting day in Amsterdam.