the Holland clogs really do exist!

Amsterdam, not even close to what I expected for some reason. Just think of it as a very liberal city.

Bikes are a major form of transportation. They have towers like parking garages for those things, and it's not only Amsterdam but also in many cities all over Europe.
And they transport their kids that way too right among the cars while talking on a cell phone. It's amazing to me.

Pets are also commonly found in this brand.

Our hotel was the second building from the left.
And our hotel room. No elevators. Had to lug my suitcase up 5 flights of stairs. :) And they were circular stairs so any time I walked up and down them I ended up halfway dizzy.

Just found it interesting that these guys were making a home with trash and working very well together.

House built on a corner

If you've ever read Diary of Anne Frank this is the church that she talks about.

Our group standing in front of the church

Anne Frank's house. They still have wall hangings just as they were and the bookcase that opens to the stairs above. I cannot imagine having to live in such a small space with no windows open or anything. It's no wonder she loved the sky light. They also said they had to be careful how they walked because with wooden floors walking could be heard. How miserable.

Strollers are all a very different style. We thought they were cool.

Getting instructions

The Queen's residence

This house looks just about dead.

This, in case you were wondering, is a public urinal. Yes that's right, they face the wall and pee onto that large square and it's totally in plain view.

There are even directions.

The next day we took a train out to a little Holland village.

They even had windmills!

and THE BEST homemade cheese. This variety was pesto and though this picture doesn't look so convincing, it was delectable.

Tour guides always carry a stick with a number and they are EVERYWHERE, so Asa made Krista carry this for us.

Back in the room, eating what I would soon come to live on. Rice cakes and peanut butter.

Corrie ten Boom's house

The wall where they would hide Jews.

You had to enter through the bottom of the closet and it could only be opened from the inside.

The sign that said, everything was OK to come in that Corrie's sister forgot to turn and then tried to but got caught.

One of the churches where Mozart and Handel practiced and played.

The outside with the market in front of it.

Holland is of course known for their tulips as you will see in a second. Each market not only has food but flowers too and they are extremely cheap.

Keukenhof Gardens

There are tulip arrangements everywhere. It's got to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

People are all about the pictures. No mind to the signs. At one point a guy tramped into the middle, spread his arms out around the flowers and crunched them all in to him for a dynamic photo. I just watched in horror.

These are called ice cream cones.