My first stop was the city of Amsterdam. I was not exactly sure what Amsterdam was going to be like, and I was really surprised by the diverse offerings it brings to the table. Way to go Amsterdam!
The trip started off with me, Jordyn and Katie leaving to catch the aircoach to Dublin airport at 3 am. We were exhausted, and ended up passing out on the plane before the stewardess even did the safety instructions. I'm not exaggerating when I say I briefly woke up because we were taking off. Our plane ride end with the stewardess leaning over me and telling Katie she needed to wake up and put her chair into an upright position for landing. embarrassing.
When we landed in Amsterdam we took a train to the central station, which is really at the top of the center of the city so it was very convenient. We then walked around lost with our bags for a little bit before we found our hostel. We met a really cool girl in our room, Maureen, who has been traveling by herself. The first night we walked around and explored, but we went to bed very early since we hadn't really slept much in the past 24 hours.
Things we did in Amsterdam:
The Anne Frank House. I read the Diary of Anne Frank when I was younger, but I didn't imagine the annex to look like it actually did. It was a very moving experience to be walking around the Anne Frank house. All day they couldn't make any noise because workers were on the floor below them, and they lived in such a small area. On the wall was markings from how Anne and her sister grew during their time in hiding, and they grew so much, it was so weird to look at how many things in a normal life they missed out on because they were forced into hiding. I think Amsterdam is worth a visit just for the museum.
New Europe Walking Tour we did this free walking tour which was great and really took us all around the city while also providing fun facts. For example, there are more bikes in Amsterdam than people. We learned very quickly when you heard the "briiing...briiing" noise coming from a bike "when you hear the bell...run like hell." Also, every year thousands of bikes are pulled from the canals because its a favorite past-time to throw unlocked bikes into them.
Canal Boat Tour. Very pretty. Except we kept falling asleep because we were exhausted from traveling. Oops.
Vondelpark. We walked around the largest park in Amsterdam, which is located near the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum as well as the I Amsterdam sign. It was nice to escape from the city and experience some greenery for a few moments.
Pancakes and Stroopwaffels: We ate at this great pancake restaurant near the Anne Frank Museum (thanks for the recommendation Aunt Laurie!) Katie and I split a mexican pancake (with guacamole, a salsa with pineapples, corn, mushrooms) and a strawberry ice cream and whipped cream pancake. Sinful. Also, stroopwaffles are a dutch dessert that are divine. We indulged.
Observed a Music Video shoot. After going to the pancake restaurant, we were walking to go do some shopping when we noticed a lot of teenagers in neon rave outfits, we didn't really think anything of it, until Katie noticed that one of the dancers was from America's Next Best Dance Crew and So You Think you Can Dance. We stood around for a while and watched them practice dancing, while noticing that there was a lot of reference to "party rocking" on their clothing. All of a sudden, speakers, lights, and cameras started getting set up. Then there were cones and caution tape, and then there was Red Foo from LMFAO, and Far East Movement. Yes, we were at the music video shoot. It was awesome. All these little hooligans kept pushing me out of their way, and they would be talking like "dutch..dutch..dutch..everyday I'm shuffling...dutch." It was great.
Walked. a LOT.
All in all Amsterdam was a great city. It is very beautiful, with all of the tall narrow houses along the canal, and it has a great vibe because there are not many cars at all (just a lot a lot of bikes). I would definitely go back!
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