Arriving in Amsterdam

February 26

Busy in the Netherlands

On Saturday, we woke up extremely early again to catch our flight to Amsterdam! After taking a short train ride from the airport to the Amsterdam train station, we saw a site that almost made us cry: a Dunkin Donuts.

We, of course, got coffee and donuts from there because we couldn't pass up the opportunity.

We dropped off our luggage at the hostel and then spent some time walking around our new home city for the weekend!

All the canals were sooo beautiful! I was expecting only one or two canals, but there are so many! The city is laid out in a bunch of concentric U-shaped canals.

After exploring for a bit, we went to the Anne Frank House, which was an incredibly impactful experience. We really took our time reading every tidbit of information. It was a heavy experience but one that was well worth it.

We then went on a canal cruise! We got to see parts of Amsterdam that would be hard to get to by walking and got to see the city from a different angle: the water!

The houses are very crooked; it doesn't show up as much in photos, but all the buildings were either leaning forward or leaning into each other.

After an extremely long day, we hit the hay and got ready for our second day in Amsterdam.

February 27

Rules of the Road: Nonexistent

On Sunday morning, we got bagels and coffee by the canal and then rented some bikes for a quiet bike ride around the city. Unfortunately, it was not a peaceful bike ride for me.

I haven't ridden a bike since I was probably eight or nine, so getting on one after an entire decade had passed was quite comedic. I even saw people laughing at me when I couldn't even get myself onto the bike.

We also learned very quickly that the right of way is not given to anyone in particular. Pedestrians are at the bottom of the totem pole, though. We had to dodge cars, motorcycles, other bikers, and pedestrians, all on very narrow cobble-stone streets.

It was definitely an interesting experience but one that, again, was well worth it. I now get to say that I rode a bike in Amsterdam!

After our bike ride, we split up. I went to the Van Gogh Museum, and the other girls I went with ventured to the tallest swing in Europe.

The Van Gogh Museum was amazing. I had such a good time taking my time, wandering around, and learning more about Van Gogh than I had ever learned before. I got to see some of his most famous works!

On my walk back from the museum, I got lunch then walked around Bloemenmarkt, Amsterdam's only floating flower market!

We then went back to the hostel to rest for a bit before going out to dinner. Sunset in Amsterdam is beautiful! The lights along the canals start to come on as the sky darkens into hues of pinks and purples.

After dinner, we walked around Amsterdam at night. All the canals and bridges were lit up, making the city twinkle!

February 28

Experiencing the Food of Amsterdam

On Monday, our last day, we didn't have any plans, but our flight wasn't until 6:30pm, so we had another full day in the city. We didn't really need this day, as we had done everything we pretty much wanted to, but it was still nice to have another day to explore.

In the morning, we ate traditional Dutch pancakes! It seemed more like a crepe to me, but it was nonetheless delicious!

We then got "frites," which are just fries, but delicious fries!

We briefly walked through the infamous Red Light District just to say we saw it, but it is not a place I'd want to go to at night.

We really just took this day to keep exploring! We arrived at the airport extremely early, but I think we were ready to go home.

It was another fantastic weekend in Europe!

Cheers!