The transportation in Amsterdam is different than what I'm used to. The cars are either beautiful German sports cars or ugly European compact cars, many resembling a normal car chopped in half. I've never seen more bicycles in one location outside of a bicycle store. Motorcycles are also popular. Trams are frequent and widely used. The canals are lined with private boats on both sides, although I haven't seen any in use except the tour boats. Walking, my favorite means of transportation here, is very popular.

There is graffiti all over the city. We spotted this sentence on the side of a dumpster: “The sun will get bigger and then the world will end.” As astrophysicists, we were amused.

I had been encouraged by several people to skip a few talks and go sightseeing, so I left during the lunch break. My first stop was the Anne Frank House. I had never read the book, but I had just seen half the movie on the plane and wished I could have finished watching it. It was very moving to be where she was, reading about her experiences while walking through where she was in hiding. To me, it was like a mini Holocaust Museum. I then traveled the opposite direction I wanted to go and ended up in an Indian influenced area with stores I had to resist because I wanted Dutch souvenirs. Eventually, I found my way to the Dam. I bought a chocolate milkshake (which doesn't taste quite as good here). I walked and shopped for 3 hours before making my way back to the conference.

After the conference, a group of us went back to the Indonesian restaurant of the first night. We ordered a slightly different table meal for everyone to share. I stuck with the “mild” plate this time, which was quite enough spice for me.

I returned to the hotel early (and by early, I mean 8:30), which was great, because my feet are hurting me from walking so much today. Sandy stopped by just now to make sure his talk, which he gives tomorrow, looked alright on a regular-sized screen.

Tomorrow is the last day of the conference, and I want to make the most of it. I will try to focus on the talks and meet more people. I need to buy one last gift, and some chocolate for myself. I hope we all go out to dinner one last time.