On our first day in Amsterdam, we took the train to central station and walked to the Royal Palace. In Dam Square, right in front of the Palace, there was a huge flock of pigeons and people feeding them.
Inside of the Royal Palace, we learned that the building had once been the town hall. When the Netherlands were invaded by France, Napoleon left his brother, King Louis I, in charge of the Netherlands with the newly converted town hall as a palace. Down on the ground floor we saw the Tribunal, a place of judgment. The carving on the wall was of King Solomon making his famous judgment about the two women and one baby. we also saw the dining hall, which has maps of the northern and southern hemispheres and a star map carved into the floor and a giant statue of Atlas on the wall.
After the Royal Palace, we walked to the Anne Frank House. The the door to their hiding place was hidden by a bookcase, and you could see some of the original wallpaper and the kitchen sink. Sadly, no pictures were allowed because it could damage the artifacts.:( the next day, we went to the Stedelijk museum. On the ground floor we saw some classic paintings, and even a Picasso!
On the second floor, there was a recycling playground that had a slide into a pit of empty plastic bottles an a magnetic wall with bottle caps that you could draw pictures with.
The third floor consisted of three galleries: the first was a climate and deforestation, and the second and third were contemporary art. There was a video zooming in and out ×10 that I think was really cool.
After the museum, we went to a park and then came home, because our time in Amsterdam was over.
