I don’t even have words to describe Amsterdam but it was absolutely amazing and I was completely in love. We arrived on a Friday night and checked into our hostel where we received a free dinner. One thing I learned while traveling is always accept free food because ninety percent of the time you’re probably starving, seeing as dinner was a piece of bread and a few chips. Anyway though Friday we mainly just hung around our hostel and ventured out only for a short while.
Saturday morning we woke up and met our sorority sister Wendy and her friend Blake, both of whom are studying abroad in Holland, for a day of touring the city. We began our day with a free walking tour of the city, which was just absolutely amazing. Our tour guide was Joe from New Zealand, who was studying engineering in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is a truly unique city and I learned so many interesting things about it. For instance Amsterdam was essentially built on a marsh which is why when visiting Amsterdam one will notice how all the building slightly tip to the sides. All the buildings also lean slightly forward because people used to haul their trading goods to the top of their houses to keep them safe from any floods. Even today you can see the hooks that they used to haul the goods up. Also, all the houses are very narrow because there used to be a tax on the width of one’s house, so to bypass this tax people made their houses tall instead. Another interesting thing one will see while walking through the streets of Amsterdam is ALL the bikes. As Joe said, “Hear a bell, run like hell,” because they will hit you if you do not move and nobody wants to be schwinned. Joe also said some of the hooligans of the city like to play a game at night where they throw unlocked bikes into the canals…meaning that there are normally layers of bikes at the bottom of the canals.
While Amsterdam is a very unique city in many aspects, possibly its greatest pull for tourists, is its leniency with marijuana. Despite the fact that many people believe marijuana is legal in Amsterdam, it is actually just decriminalized. The reason for this was because the people of Amsterdam felt it was a waste of time and resources for their police force to be arresting people who simply just seem to sit around and do nothing. They never really caused any problems, so the citizens really felt no need to arrest them. Joe said if you happen to partake in this pastime, while in the city and have a bad trip, “Do not, I repeat DO NOT call an ambulance because it will be the most expensive cup of orange juice you will ever pay for.” Along with its lenient laws regarding herbs, another thing they are lenient about is professions that they deem suitable for women. Now I don’t really feel the need to talk about this because I personally find it disgusting and degrading. The women are actually considered entrepreneurs though and are self employed, being that pimps are illegal. I guess they got one thing right.
Anyways after our interesting tour we decided to pay a visit to the Heineken Factory, which was just too cool. We learned all about the Heineken Company and also the way they make beer. At the end we enjoyed complimentary glasses but like the college kids we are, we downed them in order to be on time for the pub crawl we were going on. While at first glance the pub crawl looked promising, it was actually the biggest waste of money and biggest scam ever. They did not live up to one thing they promised on the flyer. Fortunately we are a group of fun girls, which in light of a bad situation, can make any time a good time. It ended up being a rather entertaining night and because everyone we were with was upset with the company as well, we all became best friends.
Sunday and Monday were much more relaxing then our jammed packed Saturday. We visited both the Van Gough Museum and the Anne Frank House. The Van Gough Museum was really remarkable and I really fell in love with his artwork and style. The Anne Frank house was seriously so moving. At first we weren’t even going to go but in the end I was so happy we did. I didn’t really understand the importance of her in history until I went there and realized just how many suffering people she was a symbol for. Being in her house and seeing where she hid for two years before her family was betrayed, was such a touching experience that really could bring anyone to tears. I really find European history interesting and being able to see it first hand is a completely different experience from learning it through books in school. It really is remarkable how much of an impact it makes. For me no longer was Anne Frank an answer to a test or a girl I had to do a project on in sixth grade, she was a real and extraordinary person that affected so many people and still does today.
After the Anne Frank house on Monday we made sure to visit the famous Pancake Bakery for lunch. I half wish I got pancakes but I was starving so I opted for the omelet that looked huge. It was delicious but again I probably would have eaten anything. After lunch we made our way to the airport for our next destination. I was so sad to leave Amsterdam because it really is such an interesting city but I was fully excited to journey on to Prague :).
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