Amsterdam, here we come!

7/24 Friday

Scott and I slept in late, again. We really can't seem to get used to the time! When we got up, we went to town and walked through the shopping district. They had lots of big name designers that we can't afford, so we went instead to my favorite, H&M! Oh, how I wish we had them in Louisville! So cute, and so cheap! I helped Ben pick out a couple of outfits for Megan, and made Scott try on clothes. I loved this look, but he said he doesn't want to put off the wrong vibe!

After shopping, we walked over to this outdoor market that had all sorts of fresh, delicious looking food. We noticed some people eating what looked to be a small, lightly fried fish sandwich, so we asked them first "sprechen sie english?" (a little), and pointed to the fish and asked where to get that. They pointed right behind us to this lengthy fresh fish booth. So we walked up to the counter and told them what we wanted, and they fried us up some fish right there. Talk about made fresh to order! It was called Backfisch, and was served on a warm baguette. Words can't describe the sweet, flakey tenderness of that fish... oh, my gosh was it good! Here is a picture of the fish market, and the fish sandwich:

The 3 of us split the sandwich, and Scott and I each tried the beer of Germany, Alt beer (bier). If I lived in Dusseldorf, I would eat this meal at least once a week. Yum yum yummy!

Next, we walked around and looked at all the wonderful fresh food. There were boths with cheese, tomatoes, potatoes, fruits, olives, flowers, and chocolate. (I am attaching these in the photo gallery, check them out!) We did a cheese sampling, and finally decided on 2 different cheeses to buy. We also bought some olives, a couple loaves of bread, and some wine (later at the grocery), and decided to pack these for a picnic on the train to Amsterdam. Afterwards, we walked home to wait for Megan's work day to end. When Megan got home, we grabbed our luggage and our picnic, and hopped on the train!

We arrived in Amsterdam, and were instantly greeted by the distinct smell of weed drifting through the air. It was then that I learned that my sweet, innocent little baby sister had no idea that Amsterdam was known for legal marijuana smoking. So her and Ben definitely had their eyes opened to the ways of the world. We checked into the hotel, and wandered around, taking in all the sights and marveling at the constant smell of weed in the air. It was quite an experience for all of us. I felt like we were on Planet Marijuana; it was e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e! So sureal. We found a restaurant serving late and had a late night dinner. It wasn't very good, so I'm not even going to describe it. Except for the fact that Ben ordered a bottle of water that cost 9 Euro. That's like, $15 bucks for water. Boy, they saw us dumb Americans coming from a mile away! We told Ben that should be his lesson to always just order wine with your meal, it is much cheaper. And tastes better! Afterwards, we retired to our plush American hotel, the Marriott, for some much needed sleep.