AMSTERDAM

BIG POST below, but I had such an unforgettable weekend in Amsterdam! Friday afternoon we made our way to the airport, I was so excited because I heard so many fun things about this city and a ton of study abroad students from U of I were heading to Amsterdam as well that weekend so I knew I would run into some friends! We had a layover in Rome, which was cool, but also a bit lame since it was my first time ever in Rome, but all I got to see was the scenic Fiumicino airport… 

With me were my two roommates, Jordyn and Lauren as well as three other girls from my program – Lisa, Mary and Kristen – so we had a good group! We landed in Amsterdam around midnight but did not want to waste any time so we hit the town to explore a bit. Our hostel was right in the heart of the city which was so great because we were close to just about everything. We ended up walking down the streets of the Red Light District, and all I have to say about was it was more uncomfortable than anything else I’ve ever witnessed… we all were talking about how weird and sad it was too. But within the ugly, there is beauty as we saw some swans in the canal off the sidewalk! It was so dark out but the white swan definitely stood out to us! The weather was a bit chilly, but the sky was clear and looked a bit eerie as well. We went into a few pubs just to check out the nightlife and then before it got too late we went back to the hostel to get a few hours of sleep before a fun filled Saturday!

Bright and early, we got up to get in line at the Anne Frank house. This is a huge attraction in Amsterdam but a must see! We got to walk through Anne’s house and see how the Franks lived before the Nazi’s arrested them. Walking into their hiding spot gave me a weird feeling. I walked past the original bookcase that was used to cover the entrance to their hiding place and saw the rooms of Anne and her family. The pictures and newspaper clippings were still on the walls! Another thing I noticed was how narrow and step the steps were in the house, and this is true for other buildings we went in… must be an Amsterdam thing. The last thing we saw before leaving the museum was Anne’s diary. She wrote in Dutch so I couldn’t read it, but it was crazy to see the original diary of Anne Frank.

Anne Frank's House

Afterwards, we decided to walk around the city a bit and explore. It was such a clear day and not very cold. Amsterdam is filled with bikers, literally they are everywhere!

Amsterdam is filled with so many canals, which was so fun to walk along. The buildings were gorgeous and the homes looked like paddles. It looked very Dutch, thats for sure. 

We grabbed lunch at “The Bulldog” and they had so much American food! We walked pasted a general store that had Peanut Butter and Fluff in the window… and if you know me, you know how much I love PB and Fluff. In fact that was easily my favorite food as a kid. Naturally, I had to buy a jar of Fluff to take back to Verona.

We also tried the famous chocolate covered waffle. It was heaven on earth. I got mine with Nutella and caramel. The waffle was so warm and tasted like a sugar covered donut almost, since it was covered in sugar and so soft and fluffy. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Late afternoon, we went to the Heineken Brewery. There is a tour called the Heineken Experience that we heard was pretty cool. Once we arrived we found out it was Heineken’s 150 anniversary on February 15^th (also my half birthday J ) so we got in for free! What a great surprise! In the room where they brew the beer, they had a band playing music and people dressed as if it were the 1800’s. It was so fun!

We saw Heineken horses, went on a little ride that showed how their beer is made – which reminded us all of the rides they have in Disney World—and then, the best part, we tried the beer! The bartender taught us all how to taste beer and she basically just said “drink like a man.” Apparently women always sip beer and then we just taste the foam part, or the bitterest part of the beer. But by taking a big gulp, you actually taste the beer and will enjoy it more. Kristen and I tried the barley they use in the beer, it basically tastes like you’d expect but it was fun to try! We got another sample and a free gift at the end of the tour… it was great!!

After the tour, we went to one of Mary and Lisa’s friends hostel. We took advantage of their happy hour deal at their bar and got dinner as well. This guy came up to us and was telling us about a pub crawl they do around the city and we decided to do it! We went to six different bar, got free shots and good drink deals as well! Our guide, Marc, was so informative. It was fun to have a guided tour through the city since we had no idea what bars were good or not. We were so happy we did it! 

At one of the bars, we got our face painted with neon paint, so it showed up really well in the black light. We tried a bunch of cool shots, one of them had glitter in it, or something that made it sparkle.

At the last pub, we ran into Jordyn, Lauren and Kristen who all happened to be with the other U of I Kappas as well! It was so fun to see all my sorority sisters in Amsterdam! I was super excited to see my roommate from last year  (and best friend) Jeni. Sadly, we are probably the most un-photogenic so our picture is not worthy to show to the public, typical. But it was great to spend the rest of the night together, good picture or not!

The next day we got up early to go see the “I Amsterdam” letters which is a recent monument that was put up a while ago, but a great spot for pictures! Lisa, Mary, Mackenzie and I all had fun taking pictures there and it was nice because it was so early in the morning, it was not as crowded with tourist.

Afterwards, we headed back to Verona. I am now a huge fan of Amsterdam, and had such a fun-filled weekend!!!