After a poor night's sleep, we got up and made it downstairs in time for the included breakfast. If I had to find one nice thing to say about the Hotel Winston, it would be that the breakfast was actually fairly decent. We ate quickly and ventured out into a very quiet Amsterdam with the intention of seeing some of the outlying neighborhoods. We took a good few hours exploring the cityEpast Dam Square, the Bloemenmarkt, and into the neighborhoods of Waterlooplein, Nieuwmarkt, and the canal belt. Amsterdam is an eminently walk-able city and it was nice to see it while it wasn't swarming with tourists.

After lunch, the big question was, "Sex before beer, or beer before sex?" We opted for the former and headed to the Amsterdam Sex Museum. For two and a half Euros, the museum is well worth it's money and has an interesting collection of photos, paintings and artifacts with one main topic. I may be naive, but I have to say that I learned a few things there! Then it was off to the former brewery for the Heineken Experience. The tour is really just a huge marketing gig... and a good one! I enjoyed all the exhibits, with the exception of the "Be your own coachman" carriage ride. I seriously thought that my "first beer" might be recycled. With your entrance pass, you get three free beers...the first one right before the runaway carriage ride. The other two come right at the end of the tour. Somehow, with Mark's genius, our last two beers per person at the end of the tour turned into four beers per person. Too bad that Heide's not a big beer drinker. Mark, however, really enjoyed it!

We returned to the Zeeman bar Saturday evening and were fortunate to get seats right next to the window. We sat for several hours just watching the people go by and the prostitutes do their business. It has to be one of the best people watching places in Amsterdam.