Amsterdam

Well, after having some difficulties with my flight (let's just say the dumb-ness continued), I made it to Amsterdam. Kari and I had booked through KLM (don't worry Dad, I got the miles), so we were on a totally different flight, in a different terminal than the rest of the group. Kari and I had a great flight experience. We got to the airport with plenty of time to grab a fantastic little sandwich and browse the designer shops. Only in Milan will you find Armani, Longchamp, Gucci, etc. in the airport. Definitely not in the other terminal where our friends were. We were even able to change our seats and sit next to each other. KLM fed us lunch. and we each had a Heinekin (free of charge, thank you KLM)...we were on our way to Amsterdam! After landing, we were worried we weren't going to be able to meet up with our friends. Amsterdam's airport is HUGE and just about every international flight goes through there. Lucky for us, we are good at finding each other in situations like that.


We made it to our hotel. Yes, we splurged in Amsterdam on a hotel and not a hostel. It being Amsterdam and all, we didn't want to end up in some sketchy place. The boys, being boys, didn't splurge and went to check into their place. We won in this city, for they only had two bathrooms in their entire building. HA. We ventured out to find some grub before heading to bed. I thought it was easy to get around, but trying to find MyBurito was difficult and we had to settle for TacoMundo. Mexican food...yuuum!

The next morning we had plans of taking a walking tour of Amsterdam. It was raining and cold, so we changed our itinerary (compliments of yours truly...logistics never fades), and headed towards Anne Frank's house. I truly enjoyed this tour. It was so interesting and shed a whole new light on the history of the Halocaust. I was only 13 when I read her diary and will definitely be reading it once I return home. The Pancake Bakery was our next stop. I was feeling a little saucy and decided on the banana and...wait for it...bacon pancake. And, it was delicious!


After walking around Dam Square, we headed up toward the Heinekin Brewery to do the Heinekin experience. And what an experience it was. The tour was super interactive and I really enjoyed it. I did not realize that Heinekin had horses and they were neat to see. GUUS who would have been my favorite had he been in his pen, had to fall second to Karel. I also liked the commercials section. I want to tour Budweiser now!

That night, after stumbling upon a Saloon, I had the best hamburger I have ever eaten. Yes, sorry Deer Valley, but you have been beaten. After that, we wanted to go back and get ready to go out. But somehow, David convinced us all (with his gypsy powers) to do a pub crawl that was about to start. Merrills went downtown. Yikes. But, it ended up being a really fun time and we met a lot of people!


The next morning, we grabbed a bite to eat really quick before heading to the dum dum dum...VAN GOGH museum. If you don't already know, I love Van Gogh and I was most looking forward to this. And it definitely held up to my expectations. It was a great to hear all about Van Gogh and his difficult life. The only thing I didn't like was that a majority of his most famous pieces, like Stary Night, were not there. Still fascinating to me, nonetheless.

After having a late lunch, we took a stroll through the Red Light District. I know this is what makes Amsterdam famous, but I was not looking forward to seeing it. I found it to be quite sad that people can live like that. I was happy when we left. We strolled around a little until we experienced our first pick-pocket of Europe. Carla, one of the girls traveling with us, had her wallet (passport included) stolen from her purse. I like to think I pretty street smart and very cautious, but this put me on even higher alert. After being at the police station (to report the pick-pocket) and seeing some of the craziness of Amsterdam, I was ready to head home to Verona.

I really enjoyed Amsterdam and the city as a whole. I think the canals were beautiful and like the idea of everyone riding bikes to get around. There were definitely parts of it that I also did not enjoy, like the Red Light District. It was good to see though. After seeing all of these places in the winter time, I have made a promise to myself to come in the summer time and see all the beauty that has to offer.

Sorry for the lack of photos. I've gotten lazy! Next weekend we are headed to Prague! I will try and update before we head out. I started a new class today and am very excited about it!