A Weekend In Amsterdam

DAY 42, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND

Woke up early as always to get to my 8:30 class. After both of my classes I headed straight to the airport. There was a little confusion on the best way to get to the airport but we made it eventually. I got there with plenty of time, security was super quick (I didn’t have to show ID or my passport once lol) and landed in Amsterdam with no problems. Once I got there I waited for Mehr to finish going through customs (I didn't have to do that) and then we met up! We took the train and bus to get to our Airbnb which was on a house boat!!!! I didn't get any pictures of the boat but it was a really neat experience to live in a house boat in a marina full of house boats for a weekend! Once we get checked in with our host we dropped our stuff off and cleaned up before walking into the city. Our Airbnb was absolutely fantastic but the only downfall is that it is a 45 minute walk from the city, we didn't feel like paying for the bus so we walked every day- we definitely got our steps in. Once we got to the city we just walked around for a while, mainly through a more touristy area where the streets were super crowded, before stopping to get dinner at a pub/bar.

We walked around a little more after dinner and couldn't stop ourselves from getting crepes and waffles for dessert. After a long travel day we headed back to the airbnb after dessert to hang out and watch a movie.

DAY 43, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD

We were so incredibly lucky with the absolute best weather for our entire time in Amsterdam. It was high 40s & 50s with perfectly clear blue skies the whole weekend and it was absolutely beautiful. We started today off with a brunch at Happy Pig Pancakes eating some dutch pancakes/crepes were just as delicious as you'd think they would be.

After brunch we did some more walking around the city center and seeing what's around! We walked through the flower market that is in the city of the center which I thought would be all flowers but it was more of a combination of flowers and touristy trinkets. Maybe it's more natural flowers when the spring/summer? Either way there was still some pretty flowers and lots of stuff to see!

We wandered through the never ending canals which we absolutely beautiful- I don't know why but I really didn't expect there to be SO MANY canals and didn't expect how integrated they are into the city. Another thing we instantly noticed were all the bikes, which wasn't too different form all the bikes in Copenhagen but I think the bikers in Amsterdam care even less about hitting people and stopping for pedestrians.

In the afternoon we eventually walked over to the Van Gogh museum but we didn't buy tickets ahead of time and the tickets for today were all sold out so we just bought some tickets to go see the museum tomorrow. After, we walked around the green space near the museum and then walked around Vondel park which is an awesome green space in the city. Since the weather's so beautiful and it's the weekend the park was alive with people biking, walking, picnicking, and playing games!

After the park we headed back to the city and stopped in several cheese shops a sampled some DELICIOUS aged gouda. Then we headed to a stroopwafel place that we'd heard was good! Based on the couple I've tried in the US I didn't think I liked them too much, they were always really hard and nothing too special. But let me tell you, Van Wonderen's stroopwafels were life-changing. IT WAS SO GOOD, 20/10 would recommend if you're ever in Amsterdam. Yes, I'm extra and have ~several~ pictures of this stroopwafel but it was THAT good.

After this life-changing event we walked around some more and wandered into Rembrandt square.

Eventually we went to a Canal front bar and got drinks and nachos (seems like we found the cool spot to hang, it was SO crowded) and then we found somewhere for dinner. Our last activity for the day was going to Anne Frank House at 8:30, which we bought tickets for ahead of time. There was some museum/exhibit type stuff throughout and then we walked through the actual annex where Anne and 7 others were hiding in. It was definitely more about her story than a overview of the holocaust which I found interesting and really thought provoking to explore a single story after learning a lot about the holocaust through classes as well as reading Anne Frank's diary in middle school. No pictures were allowed inside, which I think made the experience more meaningful and feel less like just a check-box for tourists. But here is a photo of the front of the building they hid in during the war:

After finishing up at house we headed home and got some great views of the city and the canals at night.

DAY 44, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH

Today we woke up and went to a yet another pancake restaurant to try and get pofferjtes (which are a dutch specialty like mini, coin-sized pancakes with butter and powdered sugar) but this location didn’t have any so we got Dutch pancakes (kind of like crepes) instead. Even though we were disappointed not to get pofferjtes the dutch pancakes were still yummy nonetheless.

After breakfast we went on a canal tour that we booked the night before. It was a really nice and relaxing tour, not super super informational but still interesting and entertaining. Plus, it could not have been more perfect weather to cruise for an hour. Here are some pics I took on the tour:

After the canal tour we headed to the Van Gogh museum!! I’m not super into art and paintings but I really enjoyed the museum & Van Goghs paintings! My parents have a print of one of his paintings in their bedroom so I immediately recognized it.

After the Van Gogh museum we went to a pancake place nearby to get the pjorteffes we were trying to get earlier and this time we were successful. We had them with strawberries and whipped cream and ice cream too— SO YUMMY.

After that we headed to walk around the red light district and then got some dinner at an Indonesian restaurant since Indonesian food is actually super common here (#colonization).

After dinner we headed back to the stroopwafel place so I could buy a pack to take back for my host family. I also had to buy one more for myself, because of course.

Then we started to walking back to our Airbnb, and ended the night early since I have to be early tomorrow for my flight.

DAY 45, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH

Today I woke up at the lovely hour of 5 AM to get the airport. The bus we took on the way to the Airbnb doesn’t run this early so I managed to figure out the public transportation to find another bus/tram/train combo to get me to the airport (Thanks Copenhagen for getting me used to public transportation!!). I made it right on time for my flight that left at 7:50. My flight went smoothly and arrived in Copenhagen on time. My biggest worry of this trip was this flight being cancelled and me having to miss my classes, but that didn’t happen so yay! Once I got off the plane I went all the way back to the house so I could drop my luggage and get my laptop and school backpack. I grabbed some food and then headed right back into the city for class. After classes I went back home for dinner- it was really nice to be able to go back home after a weekend away and just catch up and eat a nice meal with my host family- definitely a perk of living with a host family!! After dinner I had some work to catch up on after being away all weekend.