Day 30--Amsterdam

 After our huge activity filled day, Elise was exhausted. She was finishing up her antibiotics but still had a cough. We decided she needed a day to rest and recharge. Andy had missed out on Van Gogh, and wanted to go into the city to see the museum before we moved on. Gracelyn and I went with him, while Donnie stayed home with Elise to get us ready for our trip out of Amsterdam the next day. 

The most amazing part of this day was randomly getting a ride from our 21 yr old neighbor Anook. We asked her a question about the bus, which was running very late. She said, “This bus is terrible. Let me give you a ride to the train station.” She had never met us before! She chatted away happily with Andy and me about how college in the Netherlands is $3,000 a semester (can you imagine?!) and how she is guaranteed a job upon completion. The Dutch are so friendly and content and non-suspicious. It was remarkable. She refused payment, but we ended up buying her a little gift and flowers in the way home. 

While Andy was at the museum, Gracelyn and I went to lunch at an Indonesian food restaurant. She had been so excited to try this cuisine and it was wonderful to spend one on one time with her. We walked through the city for a bit afterwards in search of an antique store, but ended up getting some weird directions, so we decided to walk toward the museum district and wait for Andy instead. We got to see tiny preschool children playing joyously and safely in their outdoor playspace, which was open for the public to walk through. Very different from the US. 

After Andy’s museum tour, we took Gracelyn to a fun store with lots of fairy theming and products. Again, there were no photos allowed. But she was so happy and stayed over a hour. She got a handmade butterfly necklace, and I bought poor Elise some very sweet fox earrings. 

Afterwards, we walked very briefly through the Red Light district. At Rick Steve’s advice, I kept my camera put away during this walk. We were there around 4pm to make sure it wasn’t too dark or rowdy. At first, it was underwhelming. I had to use ChatGPT to reorient us. We did eventually find a short alley with about 10 ladies lined up in their windows. They were much closer to passers by than I’d anticipated, which felt a bit strange. They all appeared to be healthy and well-nourished, which was somewhat reassuring. That was enough for us, so we started walking toward our train via the canal-adjacent street. This was where things started to feel much more real. There were older prostitutes out in broad daylight, wearing very little and trying to get customers by calling to them from doorways. Again, the ladies seemed to be cared for, and this is a legal choice they’ve made for their lives, but it was still heartbreaking. 

              On our way to the Museum district with Andy

Gracelyn and I have a tradition of trying different cuisines together. This was such a fun meal for me.