Yes, it's true. Amsterdam might just be one of the most relaxed, picturesque cities in Europe. I traveled with two of my closest friends on the trip, Sophie and Courtney. Days prior to hopping on the Thalys train for a 3.5 hour trip to Amsterdam Centraal station, the weight of realizing how minimal our time left in Europe is started setting in. We started wondering if leaving France for one of our last few weekends was really a good idea. Maybe we should have seen Provence, or Marseilles, or Lyon. We had no idea what to expect from the city other than lots of tourists excited about being able to experience the forbidden fruit: a.k.a. weed and prostitutes. My friends and I, however, were looking for a bit of a more traditional weekend experience of sightseeing, sampling food, and checking out the local bar scenes. And that is just what we did. In the end, we couldn't have been happier to have chosen to spend the weekend walking along the charming canal houses and snow-covered streets.
Our train left Gare du Nord in Paris around 5 p.m., passed through Brussels, and eventually pulled in to Amsterdam Centraal at around 9 p.m. We walked out of the station and realized that all the advice we had been getting about bringing tons of warm layers was really going to pay off. The city is definitely colder than Paris, so bringing those extra pairs of ski socks really came in handy. We took the tram to our hotel in Rembrandtplein, a lively little square in the northern area of the city. We were pleasantly surprised to find a holiday market right outside of our hotel in the middle of the square, complete with ice rink, sausage and hot wine stands, Christmas lights, and Santa statues on every corner. We checked in to our lovely, cozy little room and set right back out for a night on the town. We grabbed a sandwich at the Christmas market and went into the first bar that looked lively. The bar was chalk full of people, and interestingly enough, some people that definitely looked to be not a day older than 17...welcome to Europe, I guess! We had a great night of dancing, meeting locals, and attempting to speak Dutch. Needless to say, we failed. But we did get to listen to some hilarious Dutch house music. (If at all interested, YouTube "Shenkie" or "Le Le, Breakfast." You're sure to enjoy.)
The next day we met up with my friend, Sari, who has been spending her fall semester in Rome, and her friend, Heather, from the program. We were lucky enough to be able to find an available weekend to schedule a trip to a European city together. We were also lucky enough to be able to meet up with Zoé, our friend from our high school swim team who now studies in Amsterdam. We grabbed some food to brace ourselves for the cold, and set out for the afternoon. We strolled along the many canals, snapped pictures, stopped in Europe's largest H&M in Dam Square, and had a nice (?) visit to the Sex Museum. We weren't expecting it to be PG by any means, but I think all of us were expecting a more educational, less vulgar experience. Really the only thing I can say about it is is that it was interesting. We parted ways from Sari and Heather, and Courtney, Sophie and I went out to check out a little more of the night life.
The next day, Saturday, was my favorite day in Amsterdam. It was snowing like crazy all day and we decided to devote it to seeing the Anne Frank house. But first, we thought it imperative that we try pancakes for breakfast, seeing as they're famous in Amsterdam. We were starving so we slid (literally, on the ice) into the first place we saw served them. I tried the pancake with raisins, currants, and apple compote. Delicious! We bundled back up and braved the blizzard to trek to the Anne Frank house.
We arrived with frozen toes but we were determined to see such a historical milestone, so we waited in line and were glad we did.
The house was actually much bigger than I imagined. Otto Frank, Anne's father and the only surviving member of the family, devoted his life to telling Anne's story, preserving the house, and fighting all forms of discrimination and hatred in the world. Pretty inspiring story. It made me shudder to think of being in his position; losing all his children, wife, friends, and having to live with the memory of the terrible phenomenon of the Holocaust each and every day. Sometimes, I suppose, the best way to deal with loss is to do what you can to honor what is left and remember the love and important role that person played in your life. It amazes me he was able to do such a thing with not just one person, but his entire family.
We then stopped in a coffee (yes, REAL coffee shop) next door to thaw and grab a hot drink. We had been wanting to buy tickets to do a canal cruise since we arrived, and the café had an offer for an 1.5 hour cruise for 8.50€. Done! We purchased our "Lover's Cruise" tickets and huddled by the water awaiting our boat. It finally arrived and we hopped on board and soaked in the city for about the next two hours, still a little frozen from our day spent trudging through the snow.
The city is breathtaking at night. The canal houses are built at an acute angle to the street to avoid flooding in the basements. The architecture is so beautiful; the houses are all different colors, narrow, with tons of windows. Old-fashioned lampposts adorn each corner and the area between each house and warmly lit the frozen night. Christmas lights were strung along the bridges and the trees hanging over the water, twinkling in the reflections on the water. It really was a winter wonderland, and each of us were reminded of how glad we were that we had made time to see Amsterdam, especially in the snow around Christmastime.
We got back on dry land and went back to the hotel to warm up a bit and of course, nap, before heading out again, and Sari and Heather did the same at their hostel. We met back up them and grabbed a great dinner of Thai food then headed out, once again, to enjoy the nightlife for the last time. We had a great time and met up with other girls from our Delaware program who were in town for the weekend at an Australian bar near our hotel. It was a great last night in town. Lots of dancing!
The next morning we woke up (later than I'd like to admit) and headed out for a meal. We met back up with Sari and Heather and spent the afternoon walking around the Red Light district. It really was a sad experience, to be honest. The women were for the most part, not attractive in the least. The majority were actually very overweight. I was also surprised to see a girl make a suggestive motion to me. Very strange. Just kept onnnn walkin'
We then walked down the street where Sari and Heather's hostel was, which happens to be right off the famous street in the Red Light District. It also houses the majority of the "coffee shops." There had to be at least 100 cafés where you can smoke marijuana and about 50 other stores where you can buy smoking paraphernalia.
Sari and Heather headed to the airport and Sophie, Courtney and I went to Sophie's family friends' canal house in town. That girl honestly has family friends all over the world. Prior to meeting Jan and Anne in Amsterdam, we stayed with Bruce and Dixon in London, met her friend Craig in London, and met her friend Barbara in Vienna. Having natives to talk to in each of those cities really made us not only feel more comfortable there, but feel that we had a better understanding of what it's like to live there 365 days out of the year, not just three. They were the most adorable couple with one of the most beautiful apartments I've ever seen. They've lived there for about five years, and they rebuilt it from the floor up when they first moved in. Jan spends every week in Moscow for work, while Anne returns home to NYC almost every week for her work. They make it work and spend the weekends together in their lovely canal house in Amsterdam, or take trips together to their flat in London or their cabin in Maine. What a life!
After tea time, we grabbed dinner and had to sadly gather our things and head to the train station. Our train arrived in Paris around midnight on Sunday. It was back to the immediate reality of three papers looming ominously in the next three days, but not having done ANY work in Amsterdam all weekend was 100% worth it.
Having traveled to a handful of European cities, I decided that the ones I absolutely need to come back to are Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague, London, and of course, la ville lumière, good 'ol Paris.
