EUROPE DAY 3, AMSTERDAM

A rainy, subdued day. That combined with jet lag means that we were not up to our usual sightseeing prowess today. We managed to make it to the train station to scope out how to buy tickets and take the train to the airport for our flight to Munich tomorrow. Not bad for waking up at 4:00 AM. After that, we took a canal cruise, which is a fun thing to do. I really like seeing so many really old buildings leaning against each other, out of plumb. And seeing things like "anno 1675" painted or chiseled on the front of a building is a real eye-opener for a Californian like me. We just are not used to buildings anywhere near that old. And I loved seeing all the variations in house boats -- they line almost every canal. We also cruised by the bicycle garage near the train station -- it has room for 2500 bicycles and it is always full. Not to mention the many other smaller bicycle parking lots near the station. I tell you, there really are millions of bikes here.

And then it was back to the hotel for a nap and then out to a big Chinese lunch, after which we decided to go see one of the big tourist attractions.....wait for it......the central library. Really. And it was worth the visit. Ten levels of brightly lighted, airy and spacious areas with lots and lots of work spaces and free wi-fi and comfy places to sit or curl up and read, and even a couple of restaurants. Many of the book shelves, especially for the kid level and the CDs and DVDs are a large 3/4 circle with the items on the inside and outside of the circle and big poofy things to sit or lay on inside. We wanted to hang around forever and just read a book.

Back to the hotel for a second nap (hey, what are vacations for?) and by 10:30 PM we were off to the hotel rooftop bar for drinks. Turns out it is a very happening place with a DJ and poundingly loud music and very good, if rather expensive, drinks. (Did I mention that everything is really expensive here?) So there we were, two old ladies amongst the younger, hip set, having a wonderful time and looking like everyone else doing stuff on our cellphones. We finally got back to our room by 1:00 AM. I am now trying to get myself into a beer-drinking mood in preparation for a week in Bavaria.