Fermented Water and Bread Crumbs Lead You Home...

I wanted to post all of my travel stories under the "My Moat is your Ocean" title....but it was getting too long and I am not a fan of length. hehe.

Anywho...We left off in Berlin.

From Berlin...I made my way back to Copenhagen for a day. I did my laundry and repacked for a two week, European travel extravaganza. We flew to London and stayed the night in a hostel. This was my first time in a hostel and I was not a fan. We walked into a room with 3 bunk beds...so 6 people in one room. Our "roomies" had apparently already arrived and strung their belongings everywhere. But...it was just for a night, so I made my bed and tried not to think about the billion microbes I was collecting.

We had to wake up super early in London to commence our tour. We went to the meeting room and checked in with our tour leader and hung out with our fellow travelers. From here I will divide the blog into city-chapters....

Day 1: Amsterdam
From London, we drove to Dover where we caught a ferry to Calais, France. It was Molly's birthday so I bought her some ferry food. Once we docked in Calais, it was back on the bus for a few more hours. When we arrived at our hotel in Amsterdam we were pretty excited. It was the nicest hotel I've ever seen, the Blue Tower. We got into our rooms and marveled for about 30 seconds, then had to make our way to a dinner cruise. Being Molly's birthday, we of course could not pass up the opportunity. Sadly, the dinner cruise was not that spectacular. They served strange Indonesian food, kind of disappointing when you want to experience the food and culture of the city in which you are visiting. We couldn't really see any of the sights out of the canals, and we couldn't understand our tour guide, so we just ate and talked. After the dinner cruise, we walked around Amsterdam for a little while. We went to a "coffee shop" just to see the infamous selling of weed. I found it pretty funny, I knew it occurred but I guess I just never thought about the logistics of it. There were little brownies in saran wrap with labels that said "Space Cakes", I found that especially amusing.

We then proceeded to the Red Light District. Wowzers. That is pretty much all I have to say. I had always heard about the marijuana of Amsterdam, never the prostitutes. They just hang out in their windows, talking on their cell phones. That is...until they get a customer. Walking around Amsterdam, I really realized what a prude American I am. I don't really have a problem with marijuana being legal. If that is what you want to do to your body, then so be it. But prostitution?!?! That is not something that should be government regulated. Or perhaps it should, as a means of protecting both parties from disease? I don't know...but I'm just so thrilled that I live in a nice, conservative west texas town.

We got back to our splendid hotel and slept until we had rise again for an early morning walking tour. The walking tour was a proper tour of Amsterdam. We saw the historical sights and other items of interest. My grandmother travelled to Holland when she was younger, so I liked thinking about her seeing the same things that I was. Molly and I opted to spend our morning in Amsterdam souvenir shopping (which became a habit i fear.) I bought boat loads of delftware Christmas ornaments for my family. I also enjoyed the most amazing waffle I've ever had in my life.

To be continued...