Part Two of Am(STAR)dam!

The Anne Frank House was much bigger than the last time Cathy went! The acutal house part where the people hid was small, but they have added a lot of stuff and a whole other mesuem on the other side. We also paid close attention to the chestnut tree outside, as Robb (who helped us use the pay phone) told us that the tree is diseased and they will be cutting it down soon- it was the tree Anne mentioned in her diary. Going at night was also nice. It was not as crowded, and it added a whole new sense of what it must have been like to actually hide there.

The public transportation here is awesome! We have not had any problems getting anywhere, and the two day tram/bus pass we bought was not terribly expensive either! The worst part are the crazy bike people/scooter drivers/cars . Each one of us has nearly been run down at least once. You really have to pay attention here.

We also ate at the best steakhouse restaraunt yesterday! We were going to try to eat at a budget place mentioend in Cathy's Europe on 85 Dollars a Day book, but true to Cathy and Kirk's luck, the place was Closed Forever. We we pretty hungry so we decided to stop at the next place that looked good, which turned out to be La Brasa Houtskoolgrill. It has apparently been recognized as the best steakhouse in Amsterdam, and they earned that title! Jeremy and Cathy had steaks, and Kirk had salmon with this really incredible sauce. The side dishes were served family style, and the potatoes were particulary good. It was the most expensive meal we've eaten so far out here, but it was worth it. Our waiter was funny too- Jeremy ordered a coffee with his meal, and he just kind of looked at him and then said "Eh, why not?" Hee.

Our hotel here is pretty nice, with the exception of the fact that the bathroom door is see through. That was kind of weird. We took a picture that we'll post later. Posting pictures has been a little more difficult than we expected, but we will be adding some at some point! We're also going to add pictures of all the bikes on the bike racks. It is unreal how many people bike here. No wonder Americans are overweight compared to the rest of the world- we don't exercise nearly as much in our everyday lives.

We missed the free tour of Amsterdam, which made us sad because the one in Berlin was so great. We will try to catch the one in Paris. They are run by the same group, and we would love to catch another one.

We're going to head off to take a walk through the Red Light District, then we'll be on the train again. We think we're going to stop in Brussels for supper, then back on the train to Paris! Thanks to Priceline, we're staying at a nice hotel again. We have had a lot of luck with Priceline- it has made it possible for us to stay at nice hotels for about ten dollars more than a hostel would have cost for the three of us. We'll update in Paris!