To view all of my pictures from Amsterdam: AMSTERDAM PICS!
From the beginning....
Thursday night Laura and I had an interesting journey getting to Amsterdam. Our flight was delayed and then it was such a bad landing that I could not even keep saying "it's ok" to the panicking Laura anymore. Thus began the weekend of torrential downpours in Amsterdam. We found our hostel, put our stuff in our room (locked up our valuables - don't worry Mom!) and decided to explore even though it was 10pm and we were cold, tired and drenched from rain. We found a coffeeshop recommended by my brother and sister (basically everything we did this weekend was on a list of recommendations by Evan, Hilary and Job - friend who lives there who is on our program!). After experiencing the Grasshopper, we went to eat at 11pm for dinner. We went back home because the weather was so bad and we'd had a long day traveling.
On Friday, we woke up early, had a 3 euro breakfast at our hostel, and began our AMAZING day. Friday was definitely our best day because the weather was GORGEOUS. We were so lucky because it rained so much while we were there but we got one really beautiful day. We went straight to the Anne Frank house and waited on line for less than an hour. It was incredible to be there. I just went on birthright less than 2 months ago and I have never experienced something so real. The holocaust museum in Israel is one thing, but to be in her house and feel her fear was unreal. Another amazing thing: at Yad Vashem we listened to a holocaust survivor's testimony about the holocaust and her friendship with Anne Frank. At the museum, there was a whole room with 3 TV's playing that same woman's testimony. It was so surreal and really connected my two trips, which I didn't think would happen since they are SO different.
After the Anne Frank house, we found another coffeeshop called Barney's that is supposed to be one of the best in Amsterdam. The people there were really nice! Then we wandered into this cute little restaurant for lunch. It turned out to be SO DELICIOUS and SO CHEAP. Such a good find, it was one of my favorite meals there (which is hard to say since all the food there is ridiculously good). Obviously after lunch we HAD to get some french fries in a paper cone with ketchup and mayonnaise. Although it seems gross at first, it was so yummy and delicious and everything you can describe good food with. After scarfing that down without speaking, looking at a map to see directions, or thinking about anything but the fries themselves, we went to Dam Square to meet Laura's friend Alexis. She is living in The Hague since January! We got milkshakes at another coffeeshop named Hunter's (really cool) and then went to Vondel Park to relax. It was nice to have her with us because she told us about the in's and out's of Amsterdam and knew of good little treats we should try, plus she also took pictures of Laura and I everywhere. Vondel Park was actually GORGEOUS. In the beginning I was thinking, why does everyone love this so much? But then, when we wandered a little further over a cute blue bridge and saw the many lakes and bright green grass, it was so beautiful. I laid down and fell asleep in the beautiful Amsterdam sun next to the lake. It was perfect.
YUMMY FRIES!
When we left the park we walked a really far way to go to a restaurant called Bird that we were recommended. On the way we stopped at Albert Heijn, a grocery store, and Alexis picked out the treats we just HAD to try. Thank goodness she did because they were so good and I am so glad I got to eat them before security took them away at the airport (SAD). One, I can't remember the name (anyone know?!) looked like peanut butter but was made from a cookie. When you dipped your....finger...into it to try it, it tasted like you were eating a cookie. I cannot explain it any other way, but it was the most delicious treat in the world. We also got packaged Stroopwaffles because she insisted we try them before we find them freshly made on the street somewhere. When we finally made it to Bird, it was well worth the walk. It was Thai food and we all shared spring rolls, kebabs and fried noodles with veggies. Great dinner.
The cookie stuff that was sooo good
Great Thai Food at Bird
When we got back to the hostel, we sat down with a bunch of guys who invited us to go out with them. There were 4 English guys, 3 Australians and 1 American. We got dressed really quickly and went downstairs to join their game of "Ring of Fire" (AKA Kings). We all went out to an area that they took us and went to a bar called "Club Nasty." We didn't know if we should go in but decided, why not?! It was so much fun and it was awesome to meet new people from other places. The English people had just finished medical school so they were all celebrating being doctors! After Club Nasty, we lost some people and ended up with just 2 of the English guys. We agreed to meet in another place and that we'd all take those outdoor peddler taxi's to get there. Laura and I actually took a "TukTuk" which was not a bicycle but rather a carriage type thing with a guy driving a motor. This was literally one of the best parts of our trip. He sped through the city, over speed bumps, through the streets, giving us an experience like a roller coaster. He was doing it on purpose because we were screaming about how much fun it was. When we got to the area, we had gone so much faster than the guys on the bike that we decided to just get some treats (chocolate covered SOMEthing and apple pie) and go back home.
Laura and our new English Friends! (Nick, Abs, Matty and Sam)
They looked so funny in the bike...
Having the BTE in TukTuk
The next day we woke up again for our 3 euro breakfast and went to the Heineken Brewery for the Heineken Experience. It was SO cool. It was not on my original list of things to do but I would definitely put this on someone else's. It was sooo interesting and so much fun, too. They put us in a machine that "brewed us" and we got to taste lots of beer! It was really cool and we both really enjoyed it. Heineken was created in Amsterdam, which is why the experience is there.
After that we found another coffeeshop called The Rokery which was our favorite one. It was really cool and "zen" like with pillows everywhere and felt really chill. We had lunch and then went to the Van Gogh museum. I really liked it but was expecting to see more works that I knew of. I definitely knew the sunflower, the bedroom, and a couple more. It was so interesting to read about his life and see how where he lived influenced his art.
When we finished at the museum it was torrential downpours, so we waited for a little, had some hot chocolate, and then ventured into the rain. We went home and took a nap since it was raining too hard to go anywhere. When we woke up we found a sort of fast food restaurant that Hilary recommended called Wok to Walk. It was really good stir fry type food. I got noodles with veggies (again). After dinner we came back and got ready to go out with our English friends again! We played another fun game of Ring of Fire in the lobby and then went out. There were 3 new English boys with us this time, they had just graduated High School and took a road trip to Amsterdam for one night! We went to a classy bar called the Whiskey Bar and waited while the boys had their drinks. Then we went to another place that was really fun and we danced - I don't remember the name - and then we went to a famous club called the Paradiso. It was a funny night because it was raining and all the boys had umbrellas that they used as props. It was so awesome to meet these people and hang out with them.
Soo good - Stroopwaffle
Dancing with umbrellas
On Sunday we woke up later and checked out of the hostel. We went to the Pancake Bakery and had SUCH good pancakes. The pancakes there are different and are HUGE but really thin. It was like a crepe. I had my favorite, Nutella and Banana, and Laura had cheese and mushroom. SOO good but I absolutely could not finish it. After breakfast, we went on a canal tour, when naturally it down poured almost the whole time. We had some free time before our flight so we shopped a little, got some souvenirs, and then went to a cafe to sit and have coffee until our flight. Coincidentally, in the middle of Amsterdam, some of our hostel friends walked into the same cafe! We sat and talked to them for a little and then, sadly, left to go to our flight. Not before getting one last round of french fries though!!!
I LOVE Copenhagen and am so happy that, even though I was leaving a great city, I get to come back to another great city that I feel at home in. Today I will finish that horrible essay (ugh), go shopping with some friends and out to another nice dinner!
xo,
JOJ
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