Adventure to Amsterdam

Hey guys, I'm finally back! I feel like I haven't blogged in forever. Having my brother here has been a blast. We have had such a great time, I am so glad he was able to come visit us.

Just a little recap of our weekend. (Beware, it's a little lenghty, but mostly consists of pictures.) Thursday we took Sean to one of your favorite restaurants here, Brauhaus. Of course they are a German restaurant with great food, but their beer is awesome. (they brew their own beer.)

Jon and Sean in front of the Brauhaus

Sean and me (his hair grew and so did he, he's so tall)

Jon and Me

During the weekend we headed to Amsterdam. I have been wanting to visit Amsterdam since we moved to Germany. Not only does it have beautiful architecture, but canals run throughout the entire city, I just knew it would be amazing to see. I also remembered Anne Frank's house is in Amsterdam and I was really looking forward to seeing where her and her family lived during WWII.

On the way to the Netherlands we stopped in Cologne (Koln), Germany to grab a quick bite and see the Dom Cathedral. We had completely forgotten about Fasching (German Mardi Gras,) and the streets were swamped with people dressed in crazy outfits, like it was Halloween. We walked briskly through the crowd to capture a couple of photos of the Cathedral for Sean and very quickly made our way out of the masses. It was just afternoon and the streets were already packed with people, stores were boarding up their windows getting ready for the crazy night and we were just in awe at how everyone was dressed. Too fun!
Click on the picture to enlarge.

After checking out Koln and eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant we made our way to Amsterdam!! Here are pictures from our arrival.
Our fun and fancy hotel room. I had no idea it was so fancy until we arrived.

The view as you exit the hotel

Our walk around Amsterdam

The best part of the Red Light District

The Red Light District was very interesting. Let's just leave it at that!

I found the swans the most interesting though. I love these birds, they are beautiful. I guess people feed them because there are swarms of ducks, swans and some other strange duck type birds around this area. I was so glad to see this. I thought they were so pretty.

After 6 hours of walking throughout the city of Amsterdam, we stopped by an Irish pub for a quick beer and afterward found a doner shop and woofed down some Kebabs.

The next morning I woke the guys pretty early, we all got ready and made our way to Anne Frank's house. We got their early in hopes to beat the mad line, which we succeded! There were only four people ahead of us in line.

Let me tell you guys, this was such an amazing thing to see. I had goosebumps the entire time and was in awe at the fact that I was standing in the Frank's home, where they hid for two years during World War II. It was unbealivable to see their hidaway behind the bookshelf and to stand in the room where Anne actually wrote her diary. It was definitely a touching moment.

The Anne Frank Museum and The Frank's Home

Good thing we got to the museum when we did.
The line was wrapped around the building.

The view from Anne Frank's house


After visiting the museum we continued walking and seeing the sights Amsterdam had to offer

We had a fabulous time and I really can't wait to visit Amsterdam again when we have more time to stay. I want to visit the Van Gogh Museum and a couple of other museums. Just walking through the city and to see the beautiful buildings and the canals was enough for me. Hopefully we can visit in the spring when the tulips are blooming, that would be fantastic to see.