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We really loved Amsterdam. They may have very liberal rules, but they have done a lot right. For example, when they were originally constructing the city they had in mind people coming home to the city center, not people leaving work aka the city center to go home. The result is that the city center is full of people not just tall buildings and businesses as in most other city centers. Another great aspect was that everyone rode bikes. This is very cool and clever too, especially when you see kids getting picked up from school, or a baby carrier on a bike. However, almost 10,000 bikes a year end up in the canals. We went on a bike tour and our guide told us that since so much is legal in Amsterdam, kids do things like throw bikes into the canals or the Amster River to be rebelous. Makes sense.
Anyway, on the bike tour, we saw the first of many windmills (this one however was now a personal residence). We also went to an authentic wooden shoe builder and got our first taste of homemade Holland cheese. We loved it, bought a ton and are still eating off it. We were also able to taste a cheese that was 3 years old....delicious. We also toured Anne Franks house...or the Hideout she and her family and others used during the German occupation in Amsterdam. We strolled the red light district (nothing too interesting there?!), went to a windmill that was converted into a brewery (yum) and met Sally, an American from N. Carolina traveling alone, and invited her to come with us to an old Dutch village, called Zaanse Schans. It was just outside of amsterdam and as in all things we do, there was some confusion with the trains. We ended up making it though, but not until we took a train, ferry and a bus! We were there for four days and loved every second!! The canals were beautiful and the entire vibe there is very relaxed, as you could imagine. We left Amsterdam and headed to Belgium.
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