Allright, leaving Amsterdam and heading to London. I thought I wasn't ready for Amsterdam, because I was so tired after Interlaken, but it was very relaxing and enjoyable. Let's see, because I'm covering three plus days I'll actually separate them.

Day 1: Got into Amsterdam about 9:45, which was too late to get into the Flying Pig, where everyone told me you should stay. I ended up at Bob's Youth Hostel which was decent. I met some Americans in my room who were down for the weekend from Brussels, where they're all interning (Nick, Courtney, Honey). I ended up hanging out with them all day. First we went to the Heineken Experience , which was, well...stupid. Entertaining, but pretty dumb. The only thing that made the price palatable was the 3 free (small) beers and a souvenir glass. After that we went to the Rijks Museum, which was really nice until we realized (after having bought the tickets) that almost all of the museum was under renovation. Ah well, the Dutch paintings they had display were really good. For the rest of the day we mostly just hung out. Later on in the evening, after getting in a discussion with one of the guys who worked in the hostel about Orbital, I went upstairs and listened to some music before going to sleep.

Day 2: Got up bright and early to get into the Flying Pig. Sat outside waiting for about 45 minutes before letting us in. It wasn't too bad, because I ended up hanging out with the people who I met in line for rest of my time there. After a very lengthy check in process, I went back to Bob's to check out of there and into the Flying Pig. The Flying Pig was definitely worth the wait, if only for the common area. It has a big sitting area in the front with pillows and low tables, which is very comfortable. They also have free Internet, interesting decorations, a bar, and they were always playing a really interesting mix of music. Anyway, spent the day walking around. On my way to the Ann Frank house, I got quite lost. Because the canals and streets curve a lot, walking in a straight line is a bit difficult. Once I actually got there, I really enjoyed the Ann Frank house. I think it was more just the thought of the whole story that was really grabbing my attention more than seeing the house. I really ought to read the diary at some point. After some more misguided meandering, I got to the Van Gogh museum. It was alright, I still just can't get real fired up about much Expressionism (or whatever movement Van Gogh was a part of). On my walk back I stopped to listen to 3 guys playing large accordions that, combined with the acoustics of where they playing (under an archway) sounded like a full size cathedral organ. Very cool. After that I happened to walk through a big band festival. It was weird, I walked down this street and every couple hundred yards there was a full sized jazz band playing. Got back to the hostel. Hung out for a while, got some food. Ended up going out for food later with some other people from the hostel (I didn't eat, just went for the company). After that we toured the red light district, which is crazy. I knew they had prostitutes, but this was crazy. You walk past rows of red lit windows, each of which has a scantily clad woman behind it. When we got back to the hostel, I decide I was tired and headed upstairs. Before, I got there, I ran into Patti, the Mexican girl I met in the Venice train station. Talked to her for about an hour and then she went to bed.

Day 3: Slept in til about 10, wanted to sleep more but I had to change rooms. I spent most of the day just wondering around town with a couple of guys named George and Mike. Walking back to the hostel later in the afternoon, we managed to get into a 10 minute discussion about peanut butter with a guy from New York who lives in Amsterdam now. George and I then went to the train station (he had to change some money and I needed to check train times) and then had some falafel.

Day 4: Got up, had breakfast, saw the Sex Museum, and hopped on a train to Brussels, where I can theoretically get to London from.