hallo, amsterdam!

this past weekend, i took my first excursion of my european adventure to amsterdam.  we took the train from gare du nord, a metro ride away from my house.  it was about three hours before we arrived in amsterdam, going through belgium (i'm considering visting brussels... thoughts?).  upon arriving in amsterdam, we had lunch then went to our hostel.  this was my first hostel experience, and special is the only word that can describe it.  first of all, it was a boat.  the christina to be exact.  after walking in the cold around the dock for fifteen minutes, we arrived to boat which looked like no one was there.  so, naturally, i started inquisitively and loudly saying hallo, hallo (hello in dutch) when finally the host woman popped her head out of the door (door meaning shutters for a little space in which you slide into the boat).  then, she showed us our rooms.  now, i have to confess, when i made the reservation, they said that the rooms, even though they had four beds were best suited to three people.  however, in the interest of keeping costs at a minimum, four of us reserved the room.  i probably should have listened to website.  the room was so small, but we all decided it would be a good story to tell when we're old.  then, we went to anne frank's house, which was a really special and touching experience.  it really made me feel connected to my jewish heritage.  then, we went to the heineken brewery which was a lot of fun!  the next day, we went to the van gogh museum which was so beautiful and a great memorial to a troubled but very talented figure in 19th century art.  it was a beautiful city to visit, though not for the gastronomically minded (dutch cuisine is kind of lacking).  a great first adventure.