Good thing I got new shoes . . .

Right after I posted last night, I decided to take a walk.  This time, I went west, instead of east like I'd mostly done the day before.  This was around 7:30 p.m, I believe.  I took 61 pictures before I got back to the room, including some pictures of the hostel.  I discovered that, if I leave the camera on/open while I walk to the next place I want to take a picture, the next photo will not save, and I'll end up with a blank file on the SD card.  So I've gotten into the habit of closing it after each picture--or group of pictures.

Anyway, I got back around 9:30 or 10 p.m.  Wasn't it dark by then, you ask?  Not even close.  The sun sets very late here.  I think around 10:30.  It's certainly starting to get dark now, and it's just past 10:15, so I guess that's it.

Why did I walk so long?  Why, to see the windmill, of course.

Yes, I know that is the first picture I've posted on this blog, and I've been in this country four days already.  However, I've taken at least two hundred pictures already, and I'm posting them on Facebook as I go.  Before I even think about posting anymore here, I want to make sure that 1) they're all turned right-side-up, and 2) I can get them on PhotoBucket and into their own slideshows, so I'm not cluttering up blog posts with just pictures, pictures, pictures.  Make sense?  I thought so.

Anyway, on to today's adventures.

I think I got a sunburn with all the walking I did in the sun today.  I haven't passed a mirror yet, so I can't check though.

I got up and had the free breakfast here at the hostel, and then brought my computer down so that I could get directions to the various places I planned to go today.  After that, I walked to Rotterdam Centraal train station.  It didn't take long, and I was able to board a train for Den Haag.  You know, those train schedules are a lot easier to understand when you're not sleep deprived and jet lagged.

Got there around 1 p.m, and then walked to Madurodam, which is this theme park-type place.  It's a city, but the entire thing is built in miniature scale.  There are also educational videos (I only saw a couple of these) and some interactive bits, like "How many cheeses do you weigh?"  I weigh five cheeses. :)

I thought about getting the stroopwafels, chocolates and cheese that everyone wants back home in the Madurodam gift shop, but then I remembered that it would all have to stay in the guest kitchen until I'm ready to leave, so I figured it would be better to wait until probably Wednesday afternoon, just so I don't forget it on Thursday morning.  Instead, I bought an umbrella (so I wouldn't be caught without one here when it rains) in a pattern of Delft blue, and a set of three souvenir pens.  I almost bought a deck of souvenir playing cards (I like decks with different backs) but I couldn't decide which design I liked better, and I couldn't afford them all.

After having walked 30-45 minutes from the train station to Madurodam, and then all around Madurodam itself, I decided to take the tram back to the station.  I needed to sit down for at least a few minutes.

From Den Haag Centraal, I then traveled to Amsterdam Centraal for even more walking.  I walked to the Anne Frank house, but the line to get in was so long I decided not to wait.  I did take pictures of the outside though.

Next stop, Dam Square.  I had hoped to find a hot stroopwafel vendor here, but no dice.  I did, however, finally get some poffertjes!  I was so excited, I even took a picture before I started eating it.  Silly, huh?

I also so a lot of herring carts, but there's no way I was going to have some of that.  I can probably stand the saltiness, but I just wasn't in the mood for it.  Besides, before the poffertjes, I'd already stopped at a hot dog stand, so I was pretty full anyway.

From Dam Square, I headed to the Rembrandt House Museum, but it was closed when I got there.  Looks like it closed even before I left the Anne Frank house.  Took pictures of the outside there too, and then headed back to the station.

I hopped on a train back to Rotterdam Centraal, and got there about twenty-six minutes too late to catch the tram back to Vasteland, which is the tram stop closest to the hostel where I'm staying.  So, I walked.  I got back a little after 9 p.m, and called Grandma over Skype before uploading pictures to Facebook and typing up this post.

Tomorrow, I think I'll see if I can catch the Peppels at church--if I've got the right building.  I just hope I wake up in time, since I was hoping to use my phone as an alarm clock on this trip, but it won't even tell time here since it's outside its service area!

Ah, well.  I've at least been getting up on time for the free breakfast, which is between 8 and 10 a.m. every morning.  I think their ward meets at either 9:30 or 11:30, so if I get up for the earliest part of breakfast I will hopefully make it.