After a nice breakfast in our cozy Leiden hotel, we IBIPs walked across the street to board the high speed public train that took us from Leiden to Amsterdam.  Upon arrival, we met up with a tour guide who kindly walked us around the entire city. Dodging the many bikes riding through the streets kept us on edge, but the city tour proved to be fascinating.

Our first stops were in the historical part of the city in which the architecture was beautiful and unique. With Amsterdam’s proximity to the sea, it was built below sea level and was essentially architected on a large canal system in order to avoid constant flooding. Any storage items that families own need to be kept in the attics of their houses due to the issues with potential flooding. Because of this, the houses are tilted forward and have a large beam and hook at the top of the house. These systems are used to pull items up into the attic. Due to the unstable ground, large wooden beams are placed under the house for support. Amazingly, homes which have been standing for hundreds of years with old wooden beams are perfectly stable. We witnessed remarkable architecture, including the first town hall, which was later turned into a royal palace for a French king. The royal family now owns this historic building.

After we parted with our walking tour guide, we sat down at a nice little café called Calf & Bloom to enjoy lunch. Shortly after lunch, we all took a trip on a canal boat and toured the city by water as opposed to by foot in the morning. The boat driver pointed out many significant buildings and bridges and gave us a brief of history of the city. Canals run through the entire city and are used as a means of transportation in addition to roads in Amsterdam, given its location below sea level.  Because of the large population, it is quite common to see houseboats along the canals.

At the conclusion of the canal boat tour, the group divided and conquered separate ways to explore the city. This included highlights such as the Heineken Museum, the Anne Frank Museum and the Van Gough Museum.  It was also a great opportunity to do some shopping and take lots of pictures.

All in all, everyone had a great day being tourists in the unique and diverse city of Amsterdam. We met back up at Central Station to take the train back to our hotel in Leiden after a satisfyingly exhausting day. After miles and miles of walking, we all slept well that night!