Amsterdam- The real "Sin City"

Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Amsterdam where do we even begin. First we'll have to say that Amsterdam is the real "Sin City" above and beyond any other. Amsterdam is a very liberal/free type of city where prostitution is legal and where the dank never runs low. We were shocked to say the least at how liberal the city actually was.

We arrived and caught a taxi right to the room to drop off our bags. Around the hotel was a market that had a Chinese buffet which we decided to eat at. After eating we took a short walk down the strip by our hotel just window shopping, and then headed back to our room to catch up on some much needed sleep to power up. The next day we headed downtown to start off with breakfast. We ate a place called Sara's Pancake House, which sounded really good since we haven't had any pancakes since leaving. Again the food was good but the pancakes were just really thin. From breakfast we moved on to the Anne Frank House Museum. The museum lets you walk through the entire house from the bookcase that hid the two families, the rooms of each person, and also included the actual diary itself that Anne Frank, had left behind. The museum was much bigger and included much more than I anticipated which was a good thing. From here we started going to the hash, hemp, and weed museum to see how these drugs are used for medical purposes. This museum was not very big but they certainly put up a strong case on the medical benefits of using these drugs. It was also pretty funny to see that these drugs were used for energy drinks, lolly pops, and even rope to seal boats. After leaving the hash, hemp and weed museum, it actually started the Red Light District, so we decided to take our first stroll down it. Just as you would expect it is simply all about sex, period. There are girls in almost every window with bra and panties just waiting for you to come in, there are live sex shows inside other places, and numerous sex shops as well along the way. It is pretty shocking to see this stuff all out in the open as if you were walking in a mall, but at the same time it was a dirty/sinful feeling as well. Since the trip is all about experiences though we had to walk down the Red Light District, but that was about it.

Then next day we again started off heading downtown were we basically went all over. The popular square there is Rembrant Square and Dam Square, which we went through both. We saw the many coffee shops all along the way including Arabica Coffee Shop, which was told to us by a good friend. The rest of the day as well as the start of the next were simply walking around, stopping to eat as we were hungry, and sight seeing. Then we made it to the Heineken Brewery Museum. This was cool because they take you through the entire brewing process of the beer. In the middle of the tour they give you a beer as well which was the best tasting Heineken I have ever had. The reason is by the time we get the beer in the states it becomes more bitter, you know the smell it has, and this takes away from the taste. In the brewery obviously the beer is the freshest you can get and it was an entirely different tasting beer. We were able to finish the tour by making our own bottle label, and then enjoy 2 more fresh beers. That night we enjoyed a nice romantic dinner at an Italian restaurant where we reminisced about this amazing adventure. We couldn't believe our time on this amazing trip was shortly coming to an end. We finished the night and headed back to Germany (our hub) the next day.