Amsterdam was such a whirlwind of movements and sounds and I absolutely loved all of it. Over 100 canals ran through this busy beautiful city, one of them being the Canal Belt considered on the list of UNESCO's World Heritage site. The first thing that you see when you get to Amsterdam is the endless rows of bikes so of course we had to do what the locals did and we rented bikes for the whole day. Not only did Amsterdam have a big separate street for bikers, but they also had a huge sidewalk for pedestrians, a tram that ran through the main roads, the public bus system, and regular streets for drivers. At first it felt crazy with all of the honking, the yelling, and the talking, but eventually, you get comfortable with the different twists and turns of the lanes. Your bike bell indicates that someone is trying to pass you (mine was broken) and if a motorcycle/moped or those tiny little cars were behind you on a bike, you better move out of the way because they are running over you. The streets, like those of Mexico, had the names of them written on the buildings. Devan and I spent hours searching for different destinations be it Anne Frank's House, our hotel, or the Amsterdam sign. We went to the Van Gogh Museum that we had booked tickets for online, skipping past the long line of tourists at noon. It was 3 stories high,
beginning with the ground floor with the beginning of his life and then ending with the top floor. I loved how the museum focused on his love of art and writing and portraying the reality of peasants' life. Only in the end did it talk about his tragic death and the insanity that he experienced, a fact that he is most recognized for, unfortunately. After taking pictures at the I AMSTERDAM that appears smaller in person, we waited in line for 2 hours to see the hideout of Anne Frank. I was shocked at the long line that extended in a circle and out to the street and even more surprised when it started to rain while we were standing in line. But once we finally got to the front of the line, it was obvious that the wait was worth it. It was so surreal to be standing in the house that Anne Frank hid in for 2 years, the homes where she celebrated her birthday in silence and where she and her family and friends of 8 people hid. The actual bookcase that was made was there and each room had videos, photos, and personal accounts from her parents, friends, and people's lives that she touched.
The difficult thing that I have noticed about traveling is taking the time to eat a good meal... I had only had a delicious cup of coffee and a chocolate homemade croissant for breakfast thinking that I would save a good meal for an early dinner, but instead, we had to quickly move to the last canal tour. We got our dinners to-go, rushing to make the tour that we had already bought tickets for while standing in line for Anne Frank and the waiters looked at us funny. I tried to explain, pulling out my ticket and pointing to the 17:30 time, she came back with our food in plastic containers, but when I asked if they had plastic forks she nodded her head no. In disbelief, we ran to the canal where our tour would start only to be told that there was no eating on the bus... My stomach was too empty to listen and I had to get crafty with my fingers haha. The veggie lasagna was the perfect meal to end the day. We biked home, getting lost (again) and stopped to ask a couple with a flower stand for directions. They pointed us in the opposite directions that we were heading. Later that evening we left to go to what was described as "the best club/music venue in Amsterdam" and when we finally arrived there was nothing but a giant student housing. Much to our dismay, we were told that it had actually been shut down. Instead, we just decided to continue biking to downtown to join the crowd of young people. Amsterdam in many ways reminds me of Portland back home. Not only because of the bikes, but also the cute and quirky shops and restaurants and the lively feel of young liberal minds. The coffee shops were actually "hidden" smoke zones and let's not forget the red light district, but Amsterdam goes down as one of my favorite places in Europe (I still have so much more to visit).
Amsterdam was such a whirlwind of movements and sounds and I absolutely loved all of it. Over 100 canals ran through this busy beautiful city, one of them being the Canal Belt considered on the list of UNESCO's World Heritage site. The first thing that you see when you get to Amsterdam is the endless rows of bikes so of course we had to do what the locals did and we rented bikes for the whole day. Not only did Amsterdam have a big separate street for bikers, but they also had a huge sidewalk for pedestrians, a tram that ran through the main roads, the public bus system, and regular streets for drivers. At first it felt crazy with all of the honking, the yelling, and the talking, but eventually, you get comfortable with the different twists and turns of the lanes. Your bike bell indicates that someone is trying to pass you (mine was broken) and if a motorcycle/moped or those tiny little cars were behind you on a bike, you better move out of the way because they are running over you. The streets, like those of Mexico, had the names of them written on the buildings. Devan and I spent hours searching for different destinations be it Anne Frank's House, our hotel, or the Amsterdam sign. We went to the Van Gogh Museum that we had booked tickets for online, skipping past the long line of tourists at noon. It was 3 stories high, beginning with the ground floor with the beginning of his life and then ending with the top floor. I loved how the museum focused on his love of art and writing and portraying the reality of peasants' life. Only in the end did it talk about his tragic death and the insanity that he experienced, a fact that he is most recognized for, unfortunately. After taking pictures at the I AMSTERDAM that appears smaller in person, we waited in line for 2 hours to see the hideout of Anne Frank. I was shocked at the long line that extended in a circle and out to the street and even more surprised when it started to rain while we were standing in line. But once we finally got to the front of the line, it was obvious that the wait was worth it. It was so surreal to be standing in the house that Anne Frank hid in for 2 years, the homes where she celebrated her birthday in silence and where she and her family and friends of 8 people hid. The actual bookcase that was made was there and each room had videos, photos, and personal accounts from her parents, friends, and people's lives that she touched.
The difficult thing that I have noticed about traveling is taking the time to eat a good meal... I had only had a delicious cup of coffee and a chocolate homemade croissant for breakfast thinking that I would save a good meal for an early dinner, but instead, we had to quickly move to the last canal tour. We got our dinners to-go, rushing to make the tour that we had already bought tickets for while standing in line for Anne Frank and the waiters looked at us funny. I tried to explain, pulling out my ticket and pointing to the 17:30 time, she came back with our food in plastic containers, but when I asked if they had plastic forks she nodded her head no. In disbelief, we ran to the canal where our tour would start only to be told that there was no eating on the bus... My stomach was too empty to listen and I had to get crafty with my fingers haha. The veggie lasagna was the perfect meal to end the day. We biked home, getting lost (again) and stopped to ask a couple with a flower stand for directions. They pointed us in the opposite directions that we were heading. Later that evening we left to go to what was described as "the best club/music venue in Amsterdam" and when we finally arrived there was nothing but a giant student housing. Much to our dismay, we were told that it had actually been shut down. Instead, we just decided to continue biking to downtown to join the crowd of young people. Amsterdam in many ways reminds me of Portland back home. Not only because of the bikes, but also the cute and quirky shops and restaurants and the lively feel of young liberal minds. The coffee shops were actually "hidden" smoke zones and let's not forget the red light district, but Amsterdam goes down as one of my favorite places in Europe (I still have so much more to visit).
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