Despite some early morning rain and some brief periods of mist throughout the morning, we were able to avoid getting wet. The beauty of this country is that even the rain does not keep people from riding their bikes. So, life continued as usual.

We all met at the train station in Castricum this morning to travel to Amsterdam. After arriving at Amsterdam Centraal we walked down the street to board one of the boats for a canal tour. It was fascinating to see and hear about the different aspects of Amsterdam that we otherwise would have missed. For example, many of the buildings in Amsterdam are built narrowly because of a width tax that once existed. Furthermore, because the buildings are so narrow, it can be impossible to get furniture in, so they have placed hoists on the top of many buildings for people to get their furniture up and down. A photo is below.

After the canal tour, we all headed to the Rijks museum. After an hour and a half tour there, we allowed for some free time for students to explore the city with their hosts. Once finished with our time, we headed back to Castricum.

Tomorrow we are headed to Alkmaar for our last full day in the Netherlands.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Glenn Cassidy