ukraine: bila tserkva

Early in the week, my friend marina sent a message asking if I had any interest in going to a town called bila Tserkva...I'd never been there, so I thought it sounded like fun...we set up when and where to meet, which was easy...
Bila Tserkva is just over an hour from kyiv...we took a marshrutka to get there, which wasn't super comfortable, but it was direct, and easy...it dropped us off in the 'city centre' which didn't feel at all like a city centre...there was no platz in that area, it was just a spot on the street...we did see a couple places from which to catch local transport...

Marina gave me a quick lesson on the town, of which I remember two major facts...one, there are approximately 300,000 people in the city, and two, it is the largest city in the kyiv region (except for kyiv, of course)...I'm pretty sure she told me who founded the city, and when, as well, but I only remembered those facts after looking them up upon returning home...
We walked toward the closest church, which seemed to be hosting a wedding as we got close...marina translated the sign on the door, which made me laugh...turn off your mobile, women should cover their hair, and no lipstick should be worn...(the first time I've ever seen that instruction on a sign!!)

We looked around, then walked down the street toward another church...we thought this was the 'white church' from which the modern town name came...it is now a museum with a 5 griven entry fee...according to all the signs, organ concerts take place here regularly...after walking around, marina asked the lady if historical information was posted anywhere...the lady gestured in the direction of the far wall, on which we could see old photos and a long description in Ukrainian...there used to be a fortress right nearby, but it isn't there anymore, at least not as a fortress...

Marina did some translating for me, telling me when the church was built (which is when I learned this wasn't the white church we'd originally thought)...fun to learn a little :)
We walked across a small bridge going over the street, straight over to another white church...in front of the church was a statue of prince yaroslav, the guy who founded the town...this church was pretty small, and not open...nevertheless, we were pretty sure this was the real white church...i wish it had been open (though i didn't have a head scarf and probably wouldn't have been able to go inside)...

We continued walking, and turned up the Main street of town...after not too long, we spotted a place to have lunch...nothing fancy, just a normal buffet type place, but we were both hungry...
After eating we continued walking...our next stop was into a market...I like walking through local markets...we walked through the area with fresh produce, eggs, and one stall with spices...
Back out on the main street marina made the observation that there were a lot of stores and offices dedicated to kids...apparently kids have a good life in bila Tserkva...

Eventually we made it to the end of the street...the end of the street was at the entrance gates of a GIANT park...named Alexandria, after the wife of the guy who built the park...talk about a romantic gesture! (And not cheap)...
The entry fee was only 10 griven, which is less than a dollar...my guidebook had a map, but it ended up being rather confusing, so we just wandered...statues at various points, many seemed totally out of place...do I really want to see a statue of a nude guy in the middle of a park? i think i read somewhere there are 16 statues throughout the park?

We made sure to find several points of interest: the echo pavilion, Chinese bridge, the ruins, the column of sorrow, and the rotunda...there was very little 'proper' landscaping in the park, I loved it...instead, there were lots of trees, open spaces, trails wide and narrow...we ran into one couple taking wedding photos...(the bottom of her dress was not clean)...
Eventually we decided to leave the park...after exiting we found the closest bus stop, and hopped into #1, which took us back to the 'city centre'...

from there we found the bus station, and joined the queue of people going to kyiv...there were quite a few people, but marshrutka a came very few minutes, so everything went quickly...we were dropped in a different place in kyiv from where we started our day, but that didn't matter much...
I'd love to I back to the park in bila Tserkva at a different time of year, just to see the differences :) ...with so many trees, the park is probably a rainbow of colour in fall...

ukraine: skydiving!!!

Friday around noon I got a text message from a friend, asking if I was keen to go skydiving the next day. She and I had talked about jumping, as her husband had signed her up as a birthday gift. She knew I was interested, (a previous conversation had covered each of our 'bucket' lists) and since I had nothing else scheduled for the next day, I thought 'hey, why not?'
The next morning I met her at their apartment, and we all hopped in a taxi to the airfield. It was out the west side of kyiv, in a small area called chaika. We got there faster than any of us expected, traffic wasn't bad at all for the middle of saturday. I was happy the taxi ride didn't make me carsick, as that happens often.

The man with whom everything had been arranged met us just outside the building in which the organization ran itself...after introducing himself, he showed us  to the small room where we found the overalls (I don't know the proper name: the outfit you put on over your normal clothes...kinda like a flight suit)...I ended up with a pepto pink outfit...fashion is important, right? i wonder how old my suit was, and how many people had worn it? my instructor made it sound as if i was one of the bigger people who needed a suit...hmmm...

After getting dressed, vanya helped us into the harnesses needed for skydiving...lots of clipping and tightening...
Next up was the photo board, on which we could see photos of two people dressed the same way as us...vanya used the photos to tell us how to hold our bodies at different times of our jump...
After instruction, we had to wait about 30 minutes until it was time for our plane load of people to go...Shubra and I were the only first timers on the plane, everyone else seemed comfortable with what was happening and the rather uncomfortable seating...

The plane was not modern...at all...it made me think of what I think 1970s planes would look like...I could smell petrol, yuck...we took off with the back door open! It was closed birth after takeoff...
Soon enough, our instructors had us stand up, and they tightened all the straps, and attached our harnesses to their harnesses...(the first time you go skydiving you have to go in tandem, attached to your instructor)...after that, it wasn't long before everyone else was up, making final preparations...Shubra jumped before I did, I was last out of the plane...

The first few moments out of the plane were awful...not because I was scared (it surprised me that I had no fear, which was probably because u wasn't the one actually jumping out of a perfectly good plane) but because motion sickness hit me really hard...ugh...it never occurred to me before this that I would feel it so much...as soon as we reached maximum speed, everything turned into awesomeness...free falling is amazing, you don't feel like you're falling at all...if I could do just that part again, I'd be there in a heartbeat...

My instructor let me know when we had dropped to 5000ft, he pulled the cord that opened the parachute...a really fast jerk, and I felt as if we'd completely stopped going down...as soon as we got the straps on my legs into a slightly more comfortable position, I got to relax again...vanya made a few turns, then let me try...fun :) ...(I found out later that Shubra didn't get to 'drive')...I quickly realized that sharp turns brought on motion sickness so I didn't do any of them, and vanya didn't either...(because of this we descended more slowly than everyone else)...

Our landing was perfect...I picked up my legs, and vanya brought us down smoothly...it took me a minute to stand up properly, my legs felt a bit jello-y...(another surprise)
After detaching, we chatted a bit, then went inside...after waiting about 30 minutes, Shubra and I each received DVDs with photos and a video of our jumps...AWESOME!
The taxi took us back to kyiv, and that was that...

ukraine: a 5th trip to lviv and around

this was by far my warmest trip to lviv...it was another trip decided almost at the last minute...
the original plan was for a girls weekend with swati, shubra and i...unfortunately, swati wasn't able to make it, as an emergency took her out of ukraine at the time...
tickets were bought for the express train from kyiv to lviv, the ride was only 5 hours long...if i remember correctly, the express trains were made in south korea...a smooth ride, arrival after dark...the hotel was way nicer than places i normally stay, and located very close to the train station...shubra had stayed in the hotel before, i'm glad she knew where we were going...

the next morning we had breakfast at the hotel (included in the room price) before walking to the platz in the middle of the city...shubra had signed us up for a day tour to three castles around the city...it took us a while to figure out which company was taking us on this tour...the hotel had helped with signing us up, but only told us we could find the company in the square, and to look for a yellow bus...
thankfully when we called the hotel to get a little more detail, they called the company which told us the exact address we needed to know, thank goodness...there were quite a few tour companies, and no yellow buses...we were a few minutes late, fortunately the bus didn't leave without us...

the first drive was about 90 minutes, at least 30 minutes of it filled by a spiel from the tour guide...the information was all given in ukrainian, so shubra and i didn't really know what was being said...at some point i dozed off, as did almost everyone else on the bus...
our first castle was called olesko...on top of a hill, overlooking the entire area around...the bus took us up the road nearly to the castle, we didn't have to walk far...
the group had to wait a few minutes for the tour guide to take us inside, i have no idea why...maybe there was another tour group already inside...

while we were waiting everyone wandered a bit, shubra sat down on some stone steps and nearly everyone looked at her like she was crazy...(ukrainians DO NOT sit down outside...at least, not in direct contact with steps or the ground)...
as we entered, our tour guide started talking, and didn't stop until we exited the castle...she had a bit of information about nearly everything on display in the museum...every item...every piece of furniture, painting, etc...as much as i wish i could understand heaps more russian/ukrainian, this lady had a lot of information, i probably would've found it overwhelming...some of the rooms had furniture, some had paintings, and at least one room had religious icons...

after the tour was finished, our guide told us we had some free time before the bus would leave, shubra and i decided to explore the gardens on the hill below the castle...they are landscaped, and quite pretty...
After Olesko castle, everyone got back in the bus and we drive a little while...not nearly as long as the first drive, thank goodness...
Again the tour guide talked on the microphone for a while, again Shubra and I tuned it out since we didn't understand...in my years of traveling there is probably an astounding amount of information i've missed because i don't speak a language...

As the bus pulled up to our next stop, we could see the grand entrance of a church...it was an interesting contrast to the regular looking houses next door...we said we would go in he church before getting back on the bus...
Our next stop was called pidhirtsi...it turned out to be closed, visitors are only able to walk around the grounds, not go inside...
After giving the spiel to everyone, the guide have us a quick version in English, which was awesome of her...what I remember is that the last use of this castle was as a tuberculosis sanatorium...there are also stories of ghosts prowling the grounds, I don't know the history of those stories...

The castle is falling apart, it's tragic...I would love to wander around inside, just to see the beauty of an abandoned building...
We saw two different couples having wedding photos taken at this castle, I was not a fan of the bridesmaid dresses of each couple...
We were among the last of our group to head back to the bus, so my visit into the church was very quick...which was okay, as there wasn't much to see...the interior definitely did not match up to the awesome exterior...another couple was having wedding photos taken here, i had to stay out of the way of the photographer...

Our last place to visit was a castle called Zolochiv...it is actually two buildings, around a landscaped courtyard, with a fountain in the middle...the whole area, including the buildings, are surrounded by earthen ramparts...there are old canons at each corner, I have no idea if they still work...
Again the tour guide guide gave a spiel outside then led the group on a tour through the interior...after the tour of the first castle when the guide knew something about everything displayed, Shubra and I knew better than to stay with the group...

we walked through on our own, enjoying the variety of decor...one area was covered in horns from game hunting...not my style...one room was a throne room of sorts...too bad it was blocked off, otherwise I would've had my photo taken on the chair :)
We left the building before the group, and climbed up one of the corner ramparts...nice views over the town, though not terribly picturesque...i could see the tops of a couple churches, i really wish i'd had time to wander through the rest of the town...

As we came back down, the group came out and the tour guide told more information about two rocks we could see in the yard...one is covered in writing, though no one knows what it says...it was found nearby, and the language is a total mystery...the other rock has a hole in the middle...legend says you put your finger in, twisting to one side to wish for romance and twisting to the other side for money...I wished for both, of course :)
After this last castle we grabbed a snack, then got back on the bus for the drive back to Lviv...I would seriously consider signing up or this tour again, just to have transport to three towns I wouldn't otherwise visit...I would wander around each town while the group goes through each castle, then hop back on the bus in time to get to the next town :)

we had dinner that evening at a random asian place just off the main square...nothing fancy, but we both thought it a good idea to have some carbs...on the way back to our hotel we picked up water for the next day...
the next day we walked into the city center again, this time to the area in front of the opera building...we'd both signed up for a 4K color run, it was organized as a fundraiser and awareness raiser for the problem of human trafficking...this was the first year it was organized, we could tell...

there was no entrance fee, which we thought a bit strange for a fundraiser run...also, everyone received a tshirt, conveniently white...there were a couple tables set up to check in all the runners, and hand out shirts; the tables were packed up about 10 minutes before the race was scheduled to start...as we waited around after checking in, we watched the other people who'd shown up to run...some of the people were dressed as if they'd never run previously...jeans and flats! hair not tied up! carrying backpacks!
someone used a megaphone to start the race, and everyone took off...some of those people dressed completely inappropriately started off really fast, we knew they wouldn't last...the course took us through a park, which is where the coloured powder was thrown at everyone in two locations...(i wish my shirt was wet, it would've held more colour)...the race ended in the platz in the middle of lviv...shubra and i are both pretty sure the course wasn't the full 4K, but we still had fun...

as soon as we could, we collected our stuff, then walked quickly back to the hotel, showered and cleaned up...since we were checking out late, the hotel charged us a late fee, argh...(both of us wish the race had started at 10am, not noon)...we left our bags at the front desk, then walked back to the city center (again.)...we had a couple hours to kill before heading to the train station to get back to kyiv...
on the way to the city center we took a few photos in a playground i hadn't seen in my other visits to lviv...everytime i come to this city i find something new :)
after lunch we entered my favourite cafe...this cafe is on the square, and has the best chocolate cake i've had in ukraine...YUM...it's probably chocolate overload when i add in the hot chocolate, but oh well...on the way out we looked at some of the many souvenirs you can buy in kyiv, but for the first time in i don't know how long, i didn't buy anything!! (except postcards of course)
the train got us back to kyiv at 2300...nice and fast :)
 

hungary: budapest

When Katie was first planning her trip to Europe, she had to figure out where she was going to go...one family she babysits for in the states is half Hungarian, and when they found out she was going to Europe, they told her she had to go to Budapest, and stay in their family flat...when she told me, of course I agreed :)
We took the train from Amsterdam to Eindhoven, and a bus from that train station to the Eindhoven airport...even the guidebook says Eindhoven isn't known for anything in particular, except for the increasing number of budget flights from this airport...

The flight was easy, as was landing in Budapest...Katie collected her bag and as we exited she saw the grandma of the family waiting for us...grandma drove us to the flat, gave us the nickel tour, then said she would be back in the morning...
She came back the next morning and walked with us to the metro stop...she also drew us a map, but I'm really glad she walked with us, as I never would've been able to follow her map...she also bought our first metro tickets, yahoo!

This first metro ride was only to the center of town, to an information office, where we picked up the Budapest card each of us had bought...the card entitled us to free entry to some sights, free public transport, and as couple other benefits...
The next chore was to find a ticket office where Katie could buy a train ticket to split, Croatia...after that was accomplished, we hopped back on the metro...
A couple stops later we got out, and picked a direction in which to walk...somehow we stumbled onto the platz in front of st Stephen's basilica...it's a big platz...

we didn't know what we were looking at, we had to check the map...how awesome that we stumbled across what is probably the most important church in the country...we ate lunch at a cafe on the platz...
We went in the church, I was really impressed...so was Katie...I'm not often impressed by churches anymore, but this church was worth it...around the back, in a small, closed off chapel, we saw the mummified hand of st Stephen...I don't remember the story of the mummified hand, I don't need to remember...I'm both fascinated and grossed out by mummies...

We walked out of the church, and down the street in front of the church...there were a couple cafés, a couple souvenir shops, and a couple office buildings on the street...at the end if the street we went right, to cross a small park...at each end of the park was a statue, each person was probably important...I found them picturesque :)
Between this park and the river was a big street...we crossed the street, and took in the view...we were on the pest side of the river, so we had a great view of the chain bridge, over to the Buda side, with the castle and such...an awesome view...

We walked across the chain bridge, which had been turned into a pedestrian bridge for the holiday...
I suppose now is a good time to mention that we visited Budapest over the festival of st Stephen, one of the biggest holidays of the year, as st Stephen is the patron saint of the country...
There were plenty of people out walking, enjoying the great weather and the holiday...heaps of people taking photos, of course...i don't know if everyone in the country gets the day before the official festival off, but it certainly seemed that way...

We walked each way along the river, checking out the food stalls set up for the holiday...one of the stalls was selling the official birthday cake of Hungary...there were two options, one of which was sugar free...(what's the pour of sugar free cake?)...we bought the other choice, which I was excited to try, until Katie told me she could smell and taste alcohol...booo...it looked good, I had to satisfy myself by smelling and looking...
After food, we found the funicular and took it up the hill...a short ride, but fun...unfortunately, not super cheap, and not included in the budapest card...it should be!

The funicular let us out at a spot on top of castle hill...we went right, walking past a couple impressive buildings...we turned right again as we came upon the church of st Matthew...otherwise known as the coronation church...this is where hungary's kings were crowned, though that no longer happens...
Katie wasn't as impressed by this church...I wasn't either, but it was by no means a shabby church...a small area on the second floor was a museum, with some history displayed...

At the back of the church is a bit of stone carving...according to the sign, this was the oldest stone carving still in it's original location in either the country or city...
After the church, we took a quick glance at the Fisherman's bastion, which had great views over the river...there is an entrance fee, but both of us were satisfied with what we saw for free :) ...(that and we didn't know where the actual paid entrance was)
We walked back in the direction of the funicular, stopping in a small supermarket for water and snacks...

From there we walked to the Budapest history museum...we got to a set of gates, only to find a folk festival taking place...the folk festival had an entry fee, and we weren't interested in the festival, but the only way to get to the museum was to go through the festival...argh...we showed our Budapest cards to the guys taking money, and explained where we wanted to go...one of them used his walkie talkie to speak with someone, then asked us to wait a couple minutes...

Eventually someone from the museum came out to escort us through the festival to the museum...(on the way back we had to do the same thing in reverse order)...
The museum itself covered a large period of history, I don't think it's possible to really take in everything in one visit...my favourite exhibit was the one that showed various habitations of people in the Budapest area through history...from small homes to soviet style apartment blocks and everything in between...we didn't have time to see everything in the museum before closing time came...

After this museum, we took the funicular back down the hill, then went back to one of the food stalls for dinner...then we walked back across the river, and followed the bank of the river for a bit...we had purchased tickets for an evening river cruise, a popular tourist activity...(totally worth it)
It took us a while to find the exact company with which we'd booked, then the lady tried to tell Katie she didn't have a reservation...she was actually quite rude about it...I was watching what she was typing, and realized she was typing the reservation number incorrectly, and told her so...she was only slightly contrite when she had to face her mistake...
We boarded the boat and I took a couple photos of Buda hill, brightly lit up across the water...as the boat started to move, we put on our earphones and listened to the spiel...it was a bit confusing (they were trying to be creative) but I enjoyed learning something about a few of the buildings we passed on the river...

both Katie and I noticed the family in front of us had wasted the money they'd spent on this cruise...both parents were glued to their phones, barely looking up, not wearing the headphones...the oldest kid was also attached to her phone, taking several selfies and texting them two friends...the two youngest kids were running around, but at least they looked out the window a couple times...
Anywho, after the cruise ended, we took the metro home and went to bed fast...

The next morning was the festival of st Stephen...(the festival is only one day officially, but preparations take a bit longer and some events take longer)...
We'd read in the guidebook that there is still a crown of Hungary, though there is no longer a monarchy...the crown is occasionally displayed for the public in the halls of parliament, on holidays...we figured this must be one of those days...we took off early in order to get to parliament before the expected queue got too long...our timing worked out well, as there was a queue, but it wasn't too long...

the line started moving soon, and moved steadily...occasionally we looked back to see the line growing quickly...
Eventually we got to the front of the queue, and went through security...we followed everyone up the stairs into a grand entry hall, marveling at just about everything...while on the boat tour we'd heard there are something like 11km of stairs/hallways in parliament, we only saw a small amount...after the entry hall we followed into the next room, which was where the crown was displayed...there were guards around the walls of the room, I think nearly the only thing they did all day was tell people photos were not allowed in that particular area...that didn't stop some people, who still took photos from other sports when the guards weren't looking...both Katie and I were surprised that the crown wasn't very shiny, it didn't seem very blingy...it's not as if I have heaps of experience with crowns to be able to make such a judgement, but I remember being under impressed...

After exiting parliament, we walked as far as we could to the banks of the river...unfortunately this was when we came to the point where we were not happy about the holiday festival, as the sidewalks this close to the water were blocked off by fences...argh...we'd wanted to see a modern art piece on the sidewalk, we had to settle for seeing it from a distance, through the fence...
We walked along the river back toward the centre area, eventually getting to the great synagogue...it's the biggest synagogue in Europe...we had to wait in a short queue to buy entrance tickets, which was annoying only because it was raining...the worship area had several tour groups, the guides giving information quietly...

There was an upstairs area that had been turned into a museum...some exhibits showed items used in Jewish life, some showed the history of this synagogue and it's congregation, and some showed some of what happened in the Holocaust...a small museum, but I liked it because I was able to absorb the information without feeling overwhelmed...
There was a memorial garden out back...very peaceful...
Lunch was in a random cafe across the street...
From the cafe we took a tram across a different bridge to the chapel in the rock...the entrance fee included an audio guide (a bit too preachy for me) so we learned more than the guidebook said...various chapels had different stories to tell...the church is more of a natural cave that has been carved out a little more to make a small church...

Across the street from the chapel is the Gellert baths, some of the biggest in the city...the lobby area was pretty impressive...
More walking (back across the bridge and down a pedestrian street) took us to Gerbaud...Katie's friends in the states told us we had to go there for tea, and I'm so glad we did...everything on the menu looked good, it took us a while to figure out what we wanted...it was very well presented, and really good...(and our waiter was good looking too:)...
After tea we used the subway and more walking to get to lukacs baths...our Budapest cards included free entrance to these baths, of course we wanted to know what all the fuss was about...
There wasn't much English inside, it took us a while to figure out where to go and what to do...but once we did, it was fun...the baths were all heated to different temperatures, (the coldest was 32C and the hottest 40C)...everyone moved around every so often...we were plenty pickled by the time we left...

As we walked toward a metro stop to get home, we crossed another bridge, covered with people staking out a spot for the fireworks scheduled that evening...I bet people come out there pretty early in the day, the bridge spots were a great place to see everything...we heard most of the show, which was impressive...loud too...
That was our last night in Budapest...we took the metro home, it wasn't nearly as crowded as I expected, considering all the people out to see the fireworks...
The next morning both of us were up, and left the city...I have to go back!

the Netherlands: amsterdam

When I landed in Amsterdam I was in for a rude awakening...I hadn't checked the weather report before flying, but I assumed it would be summer weather, just like it was in kyiv, and Barcelona...it wasn't...AT ALL...it was only 15C! I was not prepared, to say the least...
I had the address of my hostel, and the name, but I didn't really know how to get there...so I went to the information desk, and the guy told me what to do...a quick train ride, then a quick walk...
I'm glad I knew the name and the directions, and I had google mapped it before arriving, otherwise it would've been very difficult to find...it was actually quite large, and quite new, but located in a residential area not so close to the city centre...plus they didn't have street signage pointing the way, as hostels that have been around for a while do...

Eventually I did get there, chatted with another girl in the room for a while, then tucked in for the night...
The next morning I was up early to make sure I got to the airport on time to pick up Katie for her first trip to Europe! As she arrived she told me she'd had a first class seat, how awesome is that???
We took her stuff back to the hostel, and left it in my room, as the clerk told us she would sleep in there that night...we got back early enough that we were able to eat breakfast before heading out...not much variety, and all carbs, but at least it was food...

The hostel had given me an information sheet when I checked in, telling which trams to take to go different places of interest to tourists...we used the information to find a tram to take us to an area called leidesplaan (sp?)...i didn't have a guidebook, so i was feeling rather naked...i'd located a bookstore close to this tram stop, so that was the first order of the morning...the bookstore dealt only with travel related books/maps/etc, totally awesome...they had a special deal going, so i got a couple travel journals along with my guidebooks...yahoo!

we spent the rest of the day just wandering wandering wandering...the city centre of amsterdam is built on and around canals, with small bridges going over each of them in many places...
we found anne frank's house at one point, but the line seemed awfully long, so we decided to come back later...when we came back later that evening, the line was still long, but quite a bit shorter than we'd seen earlier, so we joined up...it was really windy, so i was cold in only my t-shirt and skirt...

i visited anne frank's house with my family when i was only 11 years old (i think that's the right age?) and i remember thinking it was so small...i don't know why, but during this visit the house seemed quite big to me...that being said, considering the number of people who lived there, and weren't able to go outside at all or even out of just a few rooms, it is really small...8 people hid in a small part of the house, just missing the end of the war...it's still a mystery as to who turned them in to government officials...

we went to a pancake restaurant for dinner...a huge list of options for flavours, both savory and sweet...they aren't pancakes as american's think of them, more like blinis or crepes...we split a pancake with bacon and cheese, YUM...
on the way back to the hostel we bought 24 hour public transport passes on the tram, we hadn't been able to do it in the morning...considering katie had to deal with jet lag, she did really well and didn't seem tired at all...
the next morning we had the same breakfast at the hostel, then started walking...we wanted to take a few photos of places we'd seen from the tram the morning before...

we walked through one park, found a big supermarket, etc...in the supermarket i found the sprinkles section: YUM...how has this tradition not spread to other countries? who wouldn't want sprinkles on toast as breakfast??!!
after a while we caught a tram to the central train station...in front of the station are several places to hop on a tour boat, or park your bike...(there are bikes EVERYWHERE in amsterdam)...we followed one of the streets, which took us to a central platz called the dam...there is a palace on one side, a statue in the middle...the guidebook told us this is where demonstrations and big announcements take place...

after a bit of people watching we kept walking, eventually getting to the bloemenmarkt, which was originally a floating tulip market...it doesn't float anymore, but it's still huge...you can buy tulip bulbs, in any color or variety...tulips are my favourite flower, i would've bought them if i had been able to carry them with me...
we used free wifi at a nearby cafe, also warming up a bit...from there we walked to a company called gassan diamonds...the netherlands is one of the most popular places in the world to buy/sell diamonds, and this place offered a free tour of sorts...we got an explanation of how diamonds are made; we were also able to see artisans cutting diamonds and got an explanation as to how this works as well...the last part of the 'tour'  was in a secure room where our guide showed us diamonds...

he gave us the information (cut, clarity, carats, etc) about each diamond, then we were able to take a closer look...i have expensive taste :)...in the souvenir shop katie and i each took advantage of the free coffee/tea...
afterward we wandered a bit more, just to see where we would end up...we got to the central train station, and decided to hop on a tram just to see where it went...fun :)
after dinner at a thai place we went back to the pancake restaurant from the night before and indulged in a dessert pancake...YUM...

after returning from haarlem the next day, we hopped on another tram we hadn't ridden, this one went in a totally different direction...this one we rode all the way to the end, then went all the way back into the city...we found a new place to have dinner...meatballs for our main course, then two different dessert options...mini pancakes with ice cream and a big pancake with bananas and chocolate...YUM...
the next morning we had breakfast, then checked out of the hostel...we figured out how to store our bags at the central train station, then walked to one of the many canal boats for a tour...the boat we chose cost 8euro...on the other side of the same canal the boat tour cost 15euro...katie and i both wondered if it was really twice as good a tour...we both enjoyed the tour, even though it sprinkled from time to time...
as we got off the boat, we walked by a church and found the opening to be only five minutes away, so we stuck around...the inside of the church was pretty, i'm glad we saw it though it wasn't stunning...

we stopped at another random restaurant for lunch, i had steak...not the best steak i've had, but not awful...the best part of the meal was the brownie i had for dessert at another cafe...YUM...
from there we walked back to the train station, and left the city...