#49 - Second excursion: Amsterdam

After some self deliberation, I decided to move into a higher group in my lessons. It is much more difficult and mainly consists of reading passages and answering questions, which I think is good. As fun as the other group was, it was just too easy and slow for me.

On Saturday was the excursion to Amsterdam. Leaving on a bus in the morning from Aachen, we arrived at about midday near Amsterdam main train station. There were a few options we could choose to dο - various museum visits - and I ended up going to the Van Gogh Museum. I wasn't terribly interested in it but I went inside, but was disappointed when I found out that you are not allowed to take any pictures inside.Later in the afternoon we went on a boat cruise around the canals with some information about the city (in German, of course). It was a nice trip, although the boat had no solid roof so I was in the sun almost the whole time and now I am a little more tanned around my neck! After the boat trip I went with a few other students to eat and then to wander around a few of the shops still open.I am not sure what to make of Amsterdam. It did have some nice parts to it, but I think I was put off by the museums - or especially the ones told to us by the summercourse. I didn't really have an interest in them. Also there were lots of people so it was a bit claustrophobic at times. Nevertheless I would like another chance to go and spend more than one day there to really get to know the place, as our time was very limited.