Hello from London! Autumn has finally made its way here and I can't get enough of the cool air and crunchy leaves. As much as I love Autumn, I loved our trip to Amsterdam over the weekend even more! My favorite song is called "Amsterdam" by Gregory Alan Isakov. So naturally in the back of my head I have always wanted to go visit Amsterdam. I never actually thought that I would get the chance! I found Amsterdam to be so charming and old, but somehow very hip and new too.
Our journey started on Thursday afternoon when Kelly, Judi, Alli, Zach, and I got on a train and headed to Gatwick airport. We met up with Jigar, Brendan, and Will at the airport and hopped on an hour flight to Amsterdam. When we got there, getting to our hostel was only supposed to take less than an hour, but due to the language barrier...it turned into two hours! After a train ride, a tram ride, and lots of walking, we finally found our hostel. All that time and aggravation slipped away though after we saw our hostel. We stayed at the "Generator Hostel" and it was spectacular. It was so clean, funky, and just plain cool. We ended our night by literally running a mile to get McDonalds before it closed and then we headed to bed. A day of travelling is an adventure in itself.
Up, up, and away we go!
Catching the tram
Generator hostel
Generator hostel
Cool graffiti
The next day, the girls and I started our morning by coffee shop hopping to try different croissants, bagels, and of course...coffee! My favorite was a cafe called "Bagels and Beans". The name immediately hooked me and I was not disappointed! I had a delicious cinnamon and raisin bagel with honey and walnut cream cheese.
We headed to the Amsterdam sign after breakfast to take some pictures and meet up with the guys. The sign was a lot bigger than I expected and a lot busier! People were climbing all over it, making it near impossible to get a good picture without other people climbing on the letter with you! Nonetheless, we were able to climb on it as well and have some fun!
The rest of the day we explored the city and walked wherever we pleased! I think that is the best way to see the city most of the time. By skipping on the tram and walking instead, you get to stop to see cute, little shops, see different parts of town, and even get some gelato! The girls and I finished the night by getting some dinner at Spiro's and then called it a night!
Our first coffee shop stop
Judi and Kelly
Alli and I
Judi and Kelly
Jigar!
Our group deciding where to go
Left to right: Judi, Kelly, Me, Will, and Alli
Saturday was much more productive as we visited many more places! The girls, Colby, Antonio, and I started the day by walking around town to find a place to eat for breakfast. We ended up eating at a sketchy Marilyn Monroe restaurant. For some reason, Amsterdam really likes Marilyn Monroe. There were many themed restaurants about her and murals on the side of buildings. Unfortunately, the food quality matched the appearance of the restaurant, but nonetheless we still had a great time enjoying each others company and Alex eventually joined us to grab some coffee.
After breakfast, we headed to the Heineken brewery for a tour. It was really interesting to see how the beer was made and bottled. We got to have samples, try some Dutch food, and play around with interactive games. It was a cool experience.
Next on our list was to visit the Anne Frank house, a place that I had almost considered fiction in the back of my mind. Fortunately, I had Ms. Smith while I was in Middle College because she stressed the importance of the Holocaust and had taught us about it for the two years I was being taught by her and she even took us to meet two Holocaust survivors. Never in a million years would I think that I could go and visit places where the Holocaust actually happened! The Anne Frank house was so eery and sad. This sounds odd but you could feel the history in the walls and floor. You could feel an empty presence of the Frank and van Pels family. It was a memorable experience that I will appreciate always.
The rest of the night consisted of us meeting up with the rest of the guys and getting some dinner. We walked around the city at night and admired the lights and canals after dark. Tired eyes and achy feet, we made it back to the hostel and fell asleep almost immediately.
Waiting for the rest of the gang so we can start our day!
Colby and Alex- Just for laughs and giggles
Cute coffeeshop
Love seeing all the lights at night
Sunday was sadly our last full day. The girls and I got up early in hopes of doing a bike tour, but unfortunately when we got there it was already fully booked! We then took a ferry across the water and enjoyed the sunshine. We continued our day by visiting a windmill that had been transformed into a brewery! It was super neat and we spent about 3 hours there just talking and enjoying the scenery. We ended the day by taking a pizza canal cruise. As hinted in the title, we got to go on a night time tour of the city through the canals while eating some delicious pizza and ice cream! It was a great way to end our trip!
Our view after the ferry ride
Windmill brewery
My beautiful friend, Kelly! What would I do without her?!
On Monday, we had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to catch our 6 a.m. flight. It was a rough morning. We were all exhausted and didn't want to leave. On top of that, we all had class at 1. By 9 we managed to make it back to our dorm and I think we all passed out for a few hours. It was a great trip however and was easily one of my favorites cities I've visited. I hope I can go back one day!
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Travelling.
It leaves you speechless, then it turns you into a storyteller.
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A shoutout and credit goes to Judi and Antonio for giving me some of their photos to use in this post! Thank you!
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