Europe Recap: Amsterdam

Amsterdam is officially one of my favorite cities in Europe. Our hostel, first of all, was the nicest and cleanest we´ve encountered yet. We had a bathroom and shower in our room! And breakfast was included, and it was actually good. Besides the hostel, I really enjoyed how the whole city is basically made up of little islands, your always near water and boats, and it feels very refreshing. The people were kind and light, open and care-free, especially our hostel staff who was open to helping us with everything. I guess I was a little surprised how much I liked Amsterdam, although I didnt know what to expect, it surpassed my expecations.

Anyway, we didn't bust our butts trying to see all of the sights because thats not really what Amsterdam is about. Our experience in Amsterdam was similar to our experience in Brugge. We walked around and enjoyed the atmosphere, food, parks, and people.

The first day we got there at night and decided to go straight to Leidsplein to take in the night scene. The square is full of restaurants and bars, people everywhere, and of course there was a rediculous break dancing show going on when we arrived. We ate dinner and after walking around for a while went to the hostel and slept.

Our first real day in Amsterdam was light. We went to the Van Gogh Museum. It was a really cool experience seeing all of his work in one place and learning about his life. Next we got some delicious sandwiches and of couse took our first sample of Amsterdams finest, Heinekin. After our drinks we went to Vondelpark, which is where we spent most of our time while in Amsterdam. Its a huge park of people sitting around enjoying the weather, laying on blankets and relaxing. We spent some time there before heading to the Heinekin Experience, which is basically a museum of everything Heinekin, the brewing process and the history of the company. At the end we were led to a bar and drank our free samples of beer! After the long day we went home and relaxed, got some dinner out and called it a night.

Our last day in Amsterdam was again very light. Our first stop was the Anne Frank House. I particularly enjoyed this experience. The house and museum are both done very well. I learned alot and felt like I had more insight into the lives of the people during that time, especially being in Anne's house, passing through the room where she slept, seeing her handwriting on her actual diary, and learning more in depth about her life. Very very interesting and eye opening.

From there we quickly walked through the Red Light District, nothing much to see, and wandered through an open market before stopping in Vondelpark with a bottle of wine and snacks. We enjoyed the rest of the day laying the grass, sipping our wine and eating chips.

We went to bed early in anticipation of our long tram, train, flight, and bus ride to our hotel in Sevilla. We had a really great time in all three cities, they were all different and exciting in their own way. I highly recommend a trip to any of the cities, London, Brugge, Amsterdam, or all three. Adios, cya in Spain