Amsterdam

Let me preface this post by saying that Amsterdam is nothing you would ever expect it to be like. Sure, people smoke weed and there are prostitutes in the red light district, but the city is so much more than that. It's one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen and it's full of energy and culture.

My friend MacKenzie and I flew from Sevilla to Madrid to Amsterdam on Friday morning, the 20th. After we arrived in Amsterdam, we had to take a train into central station, the train station in the heart of the city. Amsterdam is only populated by 700,000 people, so it's not that big. We soon found that it was very navigable and accessible via tram/walking/biking. Once we got to Central Station, we took a tramline over the canals and got off at our stop.

We checked into our hostel, which, lucky for us, was in the perfect location. After we checked in and locked our belongings in lockers, we ventured out into the Amsterdam streets. Our hostel was about a 3 minute walk from Leidseplein, a square which has a ton of restaurants, bars and coffee shops. We went to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant and walked around. We were exhausted from a long day of traveling that we just decided to call it a night.

The next day we woke up early. We went to Van Gogh museum first thing. It was really great-- I thoroughly enjoyed the way it was laid out. Each section was marked by the years in which the paintings were done, and at the beginning of each an anecdote/story about where Van Gogh was in his life was written out. I learned a lot about him and his life. It was incredible to see Starry Night in person. I loved it. Highly highly recommend the museum.

After Van Gogh, we had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe Amsterdam. It was situated right on a canal and had a beautiful view of the water. We then went to the FANTASTIC wonderful world of Heineken-- where the old brewery has been converted into what's now essentially a museum about Heineken-- its history, its story, and even a 4D ride simulator. We had some beer tasting, watched commercials for Heineken through the years, sat in rooms with Heineken bottles as the ceilings, saw the brewing process and even grounded some hops :) I will never look at a Heineken the same. The factory takes about 2 hours to get through-- there are several rooms and things to do, but it was absolutely worth the time.

After Heineken we were exhausted, and decided to relax and take a canal cruise. Amsterdam sincerely is comprised of hundreds, even thousands, of canals across the entire city. It's absolutely beautiful and the cruise through the canals was awesome. We got a lot of history of the city as well as a beautiful view. It was really cold in Amsterdam, but we were still able to enjoy every moment :)

We went to Anne Frank's house that night. I sincerely have no words for the experience. I hope everyone in their lives gets the opportunity to see what I did at her hiding place. It's kept up so nicely and each room is adorned with quotes from her diary, as well as things that were found in the annex. The most incredible things were the posters on Anne's wall--you could still see all of the celebrities she admired and decorated her room with. Also, in Otto & Edith's (Frank parents) room, a growth chart marked in pencil is still on the wall. It was such a sight. I will never forget what I saw there and really hope to get back there eventually.

After Anne Frank's house we had the best Mexican food I've had in all of Europe. It was completely full inside but we started speaking to the hosts/waiters in Spanish and they let us get seated, even though it was all reserved. :) Spanish skills coming to play across the world, gotta love it.

The following day we woke up early again and headed out to the Keukenhof, the flower fields/gardens 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam. It was the 60th annual festival and it runs every March through May, and this weekend was the first weekend it was open. Not all the flowers were entirely bloomed but we saw hundreds of thousands of tulips and other flowers. It was certainly a sight!

When we got back, we walked around the center of Amsterdam, Dam Square and the Royal Palace are the central buildings. It's surrounded by several streets filled with shops as well, and we spent about 2 hours trying to find Rembrandt (artist) house. The Rembrandt house was not my favorite thing by any means, as it was his real house but simply a model of the things that were in his house, not actual items. Now that I've seen all genuine items I'm kind of a museum/history elite :) The only really cool thing was seeing "boxed beds," which are 17th century beds that are like cabinets and into the wall, square inside.

We went back to dinner at a small Italian cafe and walked around the red light district. It was sad and interesting all at once. These women in the windows spend all their energy on getting men to come in and pay for their services. I am glad I got to see it, as it's a famous spot, but I am also glad we only spent a few minutes there. It was more than enough time. Yes, the windows really have red lights in them, and the girls do stand in them.

After the red light district, we went on a pub crawl in the city. It was a really cool way to see the nightlife scene in Amsterdam, and we met some really cool people from all over the world.

We woke up the next day and checked out of the hostel, and it started to rain. It was freezing and we ate breakfast on the corner of Leidseplein and reflected on our fantastic weekend.

I highly recommend going to Amsterdam, it is such a special city that feels different than any place I've been to in this world.

Until next time,

LP