Before you read this blog, please note that I worked out every day before leaving for this trip....
Our trip to Amsterdam started at 3:15 am on Friday morning. We had booked the first flight out of Gatwick Airport at 5:45 am on Easy Jet. Unfortunately, the cheap ticket price also came with inconvenience, since Gatwick Airport is about an hour away from where we live. All of us found it very odd that there was minimal security at Gatwick and that they didn't check our passports until we were about to board the plane. I guess everybody does things differently.
We boarded the plane (which was the most unorganized thing I've ever seen since Easy Jet doesn't do assigned seats) and before the plane could even take off I had passed out, just like my dad. Head back, mouth wide open.
Going through customs once we were in Amsterdam was even more of a joke. In America, they ask so many questions but in Amsterdam they just stamped your passport and you kept walking. The most difficult/shocking thing we dealt with when we landed in Amsterdam was the language. It was really tough to not be able to speak and/or read the words that led us to our hotel. We were able to find a shuttle that would take us to our hotel for 60 euro which was quite a steal for 8 girls.
We stayed a hotel called Die Port Van Cleve which looked great on the outside and had us wondering why the rooms were so reasonable. When we checked in and saw our rooms (more like smelled our rooms) we then understood the price. What I noticed as the time went on was that it wasn't just our rooms that smelled like that, really the entire city smelled musty.We dropped our bags and refreshed our faces and headed out to figure out the city.
Our first stop was the Anne Frank House. It was quite a surreal experience to be standing in the attic where the Frank family once hid from the Nazi's. It was a very rewarding experience to stand there and be a Jew who has the opportunities that Anne Frank never had so many years ago. The museum was fascinating and we all really enjoyed it.
After we finished at the Anne Frank House, we walked for what seemed like hours......
me, katie, meagan, jenna, skylar, sam, steph, and meghan
me & jenna
jenna, me & sam
to find the world renowned coffeshop "The Bulldog."
When we were finished at the coffeeshop we headed back to the hotel since we were all running on very minimal sleep. Unfortunately, we all slept much too heavily for our own good and we ended up sleeping until 10 pm. We quickly pulled ourselves together and went and found a place to eat. After our dinner at an Italian restaurant that had that same musty smell and refused to serve tap water, we went and explored the Red Light District.
Again, I don't understand how a country led by a QUEEN could have something so demoralizing be legal. These women stand in window doors in bras and underwear seducing men as they walk by. When a man wants to go in, he walks through the door that the women is standing in and the shades close and who knows what happens after that. I actually felt really uncomfortable walking through the Red Light District because I felt so bad for the girls standing in the windows. And, for any literary fans reading, there were swans swimming through the canals. This was not a common theme in Amsterdam, just in the canal within the Red Light District. What irony!
The next day we woke up and found this great juice bar across the street from our hotel that made fresh blended juices. Aunt Susie, now I understand your obsession with your juicer. It was so fresh and so delicious! Then after being healthy for one second, we jumped on the tram and headed to the Heineken Factory to do the Heineken experience. This was definitely the highlight of the trip. We got to learn all about the history of Heineken, which I didn't realize was all about advertising and marketing. As a mass communication major, it was a really really interesting exhibit. And it helped that it ended with free beer at the end :)
steph & me
katie & me
me & sam
steph, sam, skylar, jenna & me
learning the right way to drink a beer
katie, jenna, the bartender, skylar, steph, me, meagan, meghan, and sam
We left the Heineken factory and walked to the Van Gogh museum, which I have to say, was not as amazing as everyone had made it out to be. All of Van Gogh's big paintings are in bigger/more important places/museums so it was a lot of his early work. My favorite piece was "Sunflowers."
Post-Van Gogh museum was the event we had been waiting for since we had gotten to Amsterdam --- The Pancake Bakery. For anyone who is planning on visiting Amsterdam in the future, the two things I would suggest you visit are 1. The Heineken Factory and 2. The Pancake Bakery. These are not thick pancakes like you would expect in America, but thin and crepe like. The entire table ordered the same thing: Nutella and Banana. It was heavenly. Post Pancake Bakery, we went back to the hotel to take a nap.
One of the girls we have been traveling with/hanging out with is from Providence College and a bunch of her friends were also in Amsterdam that weekend. So when we woke up, half of us went to a coffee shop to meet up with her friends. The coffeeshop's at night are similar to bar scenes. If you couldn't smell the difference, you probably would mistake it for a bar. At around 12:30, the other half of the group BBMed me because they wanted to come and meet up with us for the most disgusting but second best indulgence of the weekend.
I don't know if Amsterdam thinks about these things but they have perfectly designed their streets to kill tourist's arteries during their stay. One of the things we had all seen and wanted to have before we left were the fries. In Amsterdam, they have booths open until 6 am that sell large cones full of fries. You can top it with whatever sauce you want. It was actually unbelievable. Needless to say, when I woke up the next morning and went back to the juice bar, I ordered a detox juice.
Our last day in Amsterdam consisted of very little because there was not much left to do. We went to the I amsterdam sign and took tons of pictures there and then visited the sex museum, which made us all leave feeling very uncomfortable. We then headed to this tapa's place that Sam's big in her sorority had told us to visit. Although it took us a little longer than expected to get there, the food was delicious and we all left the restaurant very happy.
me & sam
Unfortunately, Amsterdam ad I left on a bad note. We arrived at the airport a little bit earlier than we needed to for our 9 o clock flight and were then notified that our flight was delayed 2 and a half hours... AKA we sat in the Amsterdam airport for like 6 hours. AND easy jet's terminal had no seating.
I don't think I need to say it, but I am very happy to be home in London.
Until next time,
Katie
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