This past weekend, Chelsea, Alex, Alyssa and I hopped on a jet to Amsterdam. It was an absolutely fantastic trip and nothing like what I expected.
Thursday evening, I packed my bags and got everything ready and then headed to Havana with the girls upstairs. Upon our arrival, the bouncer (who knows us all) told us that it is now 21+ on Thursdays-Saturdays. Saying that my soul is crushed is most definitely an understatement. I THOUGHT I WAS LEGAL IN THIS COUNTRY. I am still bitter about it and it is a very sore subject.
I came home, took a quick nap and then woke up around 1 am so I could shower. We walked to the bus stop so we could get to the airport. We were exhausted. I barely slept. After we checked in, we boarded our flight and I passed out. The flight was so short though that the moment we were at cruising altitude, it was time to begin our descent. We arrived around 8am Amsterdam time and headed for our hostel. It was FREEZING and rainy. Not the weather I was expecting. We get to our hostel and it is a boat. When I say a boat, I mean an actual boat. Our hostel owner Jimmy greeted us and took us to our room. When I say room, I mean closets with beds. The four of us were staying in a room with all of our luggage that was the size of an average half bathroom. We were all so exhausted that all we could do was laugh. We took a quick nap and then hit the city!
I, being the naive and clueless person that I am, was not aware that Amsterdam had canals! The architecture and canals made for such beautiful scenery. I was in awe even though it was overcast and rainy. We walked around for a bit and went into all the shops. Most of the souvenirs were funny things relating to sex or drugs so we had a good laugh. We then grabbed some food before we wandered some more. I was surprised to see how many people bike there! Many people had said to rent a bike, and I didn't understand why. NOW I get it. Everywhere you look there are just bikes and bikes and bikes. While it would have been fun, I think I would have been nervous because the cyclists just do not care at ALL if you are in their way. If you don't move, too bad!
We saw some graffiti that we wanted to pose with because it was funny and before we realized it, we were in the red light district. It was not what I was expecting AT ALL. These women are literally standing in glass doorways selling themselves. Walking through there is legitimately like walking through a zoo. They're all grouped based on looks and ethnicity and age. As horrifying as it is to know these women are selling their bodies, it is one of the most intriguing things I've ever seen. We wandered around for a bit in there before heading back to the hostel. We bonded for a bit with Jimmy while he played DJ for us before heading off to bed.
We woke up the next morning to a wonderful breakfast buffet prepared by Jimmy. Then we went to the library to order and print tickets to the Anne Frank House. Let me tell you, it was quite a process and we didn't even end up ordering them. We decided to head down to the house and just wait in the line. To our surprise, the line was not that long at all. We only waited for about 30 minutes before we were able to go. It was incredibly powerful. Each room has a video that has someone talking about what happened in the room you are in or something about the Frank family. I've been interested in the Holocaust since I was young so being able to see the "Secret Annex" in person was very moving. The place is empty other than a few pictures on the wall because the Nazis raided it after they were arrested. Mr. Frank requested that the Annex remain empty but wanted it to be shown as a museum. Seeing documents and items from that time as well as hearing the story retold was very interesting and is definitely worth the 8 euro.
After the Anne Frank House, we got some lunch and then we went to the Van Gogh Museum. Although I am not a huge art fan, the museum was really cool. It was awesome to see a lot of his paintings up close and to learn about the stories behind each of them. Van Gogh was a tortured soul like many artists although a lot of his paintings reflect such tranquility and relaxation.
After the museum, we grabbed some dinner at a place by our boat. Alex, Alyssa and I quickly got ready for a pub crawl that some very cute guys gave us a flyer for. Unfortunately, we got to the meeting place too late and we missed it! We were really bummed but hey, we were in Amsterdam, it wasn't gonna keep us down. We sat outside of a bar for a while and had a drink when all of a sudden a group of English guys came and joined us. We started talking and had a pretty fun night. We walked through the red light district again before parting ways with them. This time, it was at night, so we got to see men actually talking to the girls and trying to figure out what they wanted or a price or whatever. That's when it became VERY real.
We got back to the hostel around 1am and hit the hay. The next morning, we woke up, checked out, said bye to Jimmy and dropped our bags off at the train station. We hopped in a cab and headed to the Heineken Experience. It was AWESOME. While I loved the Guinness Factory, I think the Heineken experience was even better. There was a lot of interactive things while learning about the company and how they brew the beer. We even got to have a nice cold one at the end.
After that, we did some more shopping and we had lunch at a pancake house! The pancakes were GIGANTIC. I got mine with bananas and chocolate sauce on it. It was scrumptious. We just continued to walk around and shop and had a lovely last day. We then went to the train station and began our trek home. After a train, a plane, a bus, a coach bus, a double decker, followed by another double decker and some walking, we finally arrived back at flat 29 around 2am on Sunday night! Good thing I was working from home on Monday!
It was a fantastic weekend and definitely a place I'd love to visit again. While I was expecting some shady, drugridden, prostitute infested city, I found a beautiful city on the water with quirks and bikes and clogs.
coolest library I've ever been in
alex... what a derp.
Alex under the 'r', Chels in the 'd', myself between the 'd' and 'a' and Alyssa in the 'a'
Alyssa, myself and Chelsea
Jimmy's boat
British boiz
Our room
just crushin some barley
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