Amsterdam

For this trip, I purposely booked an extra day of travel so that I could have some time to explore Amsterdam (my flights have always been delayed through there and I've lost time to explore outside of the airport in the past). The main reason for this is because I want to go see the Anne Frank House. I get into Amsterdam around noon (give or take however long it is going to take me to grab my large bags and lock them somewhere in the airport) and I have that afternoon and evening to explore the city. I finally booked my hostel stay tonight and I'll be staying right on the edge of the Red Light District (don't worry, it's safe and the hostel got a lot of good reviews). It's in the perfect location for me to just be a quick walk from central station to hop on the train and make it back to the airport the next morning. While I was looking at my hostel options earlier, I was also figuring out what else I want to do in Amsterdam. When I went to the Anne Frank House website to buy my ticket (so I wouldn't have to wait in line), I found out that they are sold out that entire afternoon/evening. This = a very unhappy me. I'm hoping still that I'll be able to get in line and wait and maybe get in that way (we'll just have to wait and see). Aside from that, I plan on hitting up Dam Square/the palace (which is closed in June for some event or residence or something; this is fine as I'm not sure I wanted to pay to go inside to see it anyway),   try some food at a couple of well-known eateries (like the Pancake Bakery and then do a canal tour (which I've done in Copenhagen and Stockholm and I think it's a great way to see a lot of sites in a short amount of time). It is supposed to be kind of cool and rainy the day that I'm there so I'm not sure how that will cut into my sightseeing but I'll have internet in the hostel and will provide a recap of the day when I settle in for the night.

As for everything else, I'm still having a luggage/packing crisis but it is what it is. I packed up a bag (in one of Jacob's bigger suitcases) and then realized that it isn't as big as the new bag I bought. So, once I pack up my other bag, I'll figure out how strong of a desire I have to unpack and repack that one bags worth of stuff for the third time (I'll prob. do it but for now, I've just kind of run out of steam). Tomorrow, I have about a bagillion errands to run so that I can minimize the amount of errands I have to run on Monday morning. I'd post what some of those things are here but I can't find my phone (where my list is) buried underneath all the crap I have in my office and my desk at the moment (all trip stuff)! Here is a picture though of what my office looked like about 30 minutes ago, while I was trying to evenly divide all my stuff for the two bags:

It might not look like a lot since I'm kind of far away but believe me, it is. The black bag in the back is my carryout (and my backpack) and is really the only bag that will have my own stuff in it. A few things of mine that won't fit in that bag or can't be checked on the plane (like shampoo) will go in one of the bigger bags but I'm trying to keep everything as contained as possible. At the end of the trip, each bag will go inside the other and I'll just check in one bag. I keep telling myself that I just have to get these two massive bags there and then everything will be easy from then out! I'll be posting a picture of my full bags and everything else tomorrow night since I should be ready to go then!