Today Lauran and I went into Amsterdam. I wanted to see Anne Frank House and maybe the Van Gogh Museum before the weekend was over; thus far, I've been to the former. I woke up much later than I'd intended, but no matter; Lauran fixed me a delicious omelette, we ran an errand, and ended up walking over to the bus stop about two. From there, we took a bus to Schiphol, where we caught a train into the city. Public transportation is so good in Europe! It was a gorgeous day; the sun was shining, the sky was a brilliant blue, and the snow was beautiful and white (well, at least in Hoofddorp. It wasn't so white in Amsterdam, but it still added a lot of charm). We strolled over to Anne Frank House. Our route took us over bridges, covering canals that were mostly frozen over but sometimes broken up to allow boats through. As has been my experience throughout Europe, the city was an eclectic combination of old and new, authentic and commercial. The street performers were interesting as usual; there was a man who had painted himself gold and stood perfectly still on top of a pedestal, looking for all the world like a statue - I must have jumped about a foot in the air when he suddenly moved and took a bow.
Anne Frank House was nice. It wasn't as sad as I thought it was going to be, though it did feel very strange to go up into the Annex and realize I was standing where she had stood. I still can't imagine what it must have been like to have eight people living there. Also, the stairs were incredibly steep and narrow; I don't know how anyone didn't break their neck going up and down that thing in the dark. Anyway, when I was finished looking around the museum, I went and found Lauran at the cafe, and we walked over to our restaurant. I had hot chocolate and pumpkin lasagne, which was unusual but very tasty. Afterward, Lauran took me through the red light district, as I had asked her. She's done a lot of work with human trafficking outreach and education, and I thought her insight would put a unique spin on things. I wasn't wrong. It was sobering, seeing those girls sitting in their windows, and hearing the men behind us make lewd jokes. I still don't know exactly how I felt about it, just that I was simultaneously grateful and a little ashamed that I had been fortunate enough to be born into a family, country, and situation in life where I would not be coerced into or feel otherwise trapped enough to turn to prostitution.
The day ended cheerfully enough, though. Lauran and I went back to her apartment, where she made tea and we watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, my choice. Honestly, it feels really different having read most of Sisterhood Everlasting, but it's still a sweet movie and I enjoyed watching it with Lauran. Then we played with her cat a little and said good night.
Looking forward to tomorrow. Church, maybe Van Gogh museum - all in all, a nice day planned.
