We had a mid-day flight which was nice because we were able to sleep in on Friday. We arrived to Amsterdam around 2:00 pm. The airport was very clean and big, it reminded me of IKEA. We dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed straight into the city to explore. The canals running through the city were really nice. While walking near the Centraal Station, which happened to be our point of reference all weekend, we ran into a Tour company which offered a bunch of activities for us to do. The lady also told us of a great Thai food place near by. We bought tickets to the Ice Bar and then headed to 'Bird', the Thai restaurant. I was a little hesitant because of the name..but I got over that once I tasted the amazing Pad Thai. I know, Pad Thai in the Netherlands...weird right? Just take my word for it, it was good!
Off to the Red Light District we go! We stopped by a coffeeshop on the way. It was so interesting, you literally walk into a shop and look over a menu of different kinds of uhh...'indulgences'. I did not indulge, but it was really different to see! The Red Light District was something out of a movie. Walking from street to street you can look into these windows and there are half naked women. I really was surprised because I have never seen this before. These women do not have self esteem so they choose to display themselves in these windows for men to look at them and then they bargain for sexual favors. It blows my mind! It is weird to think that this is normal in Amsterdam, such an experience!
After being surprised by the District, we went to the Ice bar. For 17 Euro we got a cocktail and two drinks in cups made of ice. It was more of a tourist experience then anything. It was cool, we met other people abroad while in the ice bar. Everything was made of ice and it was -9.6 degrees Celsius. They gave us Heineken jackets to keep warm, but it was freezing!
On Saturday we woke up early and headed to the Anne Frank House. Waiting 45 minutes was considered short because people usually wait four hours to enter. This experience was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. Walking through the building and up to the Secret Annex was life-changing. In middle school I remember we had to choose someone to researched and dress up as for a project. I picked Anne Frank. Anne Frank represented bravery and innocence. What she went through, no one should ever have to go through. It is impossible to imagine what her life was like, but her diary allows you to feel with her. The empty rooms in the Secret Annex where Anne and her family hid during the Holocaust were filled with emotion. As I stood there in what was Anne's parent's bedroom, I broke down and teared up. To think these people had to hid for being Jewish is unimaginable. Then to think that they hid there for so long just to be caught a year before the war ended. It all hit me at once, even though we studied Anne's story many times before, the experience of actually being there had a very strong effect on me. It is hard to put into words how I felt while I was there.
Afterwards, we went to a Pancake Bakery down the street. Jaime and I split a pancake and an omelet. BEST OMELET I HAVE EVER HAD! I wasn't that impressed with the pancake. But the omelet was BUENO!
We had to walk off the breakfast so we ventured to find the Fault in Our Stars bench where Hazel and Augustus kissed. We found it! That was the highlight of Jul's trip to Amsterdam. Then we made our way to the Heineken Factory. Here we learned how they brewed their beer. We got to sample all of the ingredients that go in to making a beer. I tried Barley (Crunchy), Hops(Bitter), and Wort (Tasted like beer without the Alc. Sugar Water). They had us go into a simulator where they brewed and bottled us on a platform. We then learned how to taste a beer the right way. You must take a big sip to get through the foam. I am acquiring a taste for beer now! It was really fun!! Then we were released into a bar where you can send videos to people, play video games, drought your own beer, and drink more. We stayed there for a bit, it was such a fun atmosphere!!
On Sunday we went rented bikes and rode to the Van Gogh Museum. They had headsets that explained the paintings, which made the museum more interesting. Van Gogh was a crazy guy to say the least! He cut off his own ear because he got enraged because he had a disagreement with his friend Paul Gauguin, another painter. He cut off his ear and brought it to a brothel. He then spent most of his years in an asylum. After that he went to Paris where he ended up killing himself. My friends and I think that he might have fallen in love with Gauguin and Gauguin did not feel the same so Van Gogh went crazy?? Thoughts?? Anyway, this museum was very well done.
After the museum we visited the I AMSTERDAM sign, typical tourist spot. I do not know how people take awesome pictures in front of that sign because there are so many people!
We tried to teach Alex how to ride a bike...that was fun HAHA!
All in all I had the best time in Amsterdam. It was such a cool city with really cool people. Everyone was so nice and willing to help us. Now that I have officially experienced Amsterdam, I hope to return with my Pop-Pop, Dad and cousins, the thought of that is awesome!
No comments:
Post a Comment