I Amsterdam.

This past weekend I made my first adventurous outing to the great city of Amsterdam. Considering I had never before booked a trip entirely without my parents, what an adventure it was!

First of all, my friends and I went the cheapest route we could in booking a trip to Amsterdam two weeks in advice: the bus. Now let me tell you, the bus is a very interesting experience all in itself. My friend and I boarded the bus at the wee hour of 7 a.m. (having gotten up at 5:45 a.m. to hop on the metro to the bus station) and were a little apprehensive of what the outcome of our voyage over would be like. Some very "sketchy" people were sitting in the back of the bus, so we plopped ourselves in the comfortable middle section. Throughout the 8 1/2 bus ride there (10 hours back!), we stopped 5-6 times, each time dropping off and adding people to our passenger list. We stopped in a few well known places, such as Lilles, Brussels and Antwerp. Too bad we couldn't properly visit each place!

Once we arrived in Amsterdam, I had an experience like never before. We literally had no plan of what to do once we got off the bus. No idea where we were located in context to our hostel, the city center, or the Netherlands for that matter. We walked into the metro/train station nearby to get information, and were overwhelmed at the sight we saw. Mass amounts of teenagers yelling and talking to each other in the lobby of the station seemed to shock me right away, and then Policemen and police dogs came on the scene, leading to me feeling a bit uncomfortable, to say the least! Something must have been going on before we had arrived, but we tried to stay far away from the mess.
We finally found out how to buy tickets to Central Station, where we would then find a bus to take us to our hostel. After accepting help from a stranger who let us know that we had taken the metro instead of the train (our passes didn't work trying to get out of the station), we were off and on the bus to our hostel.


That night we explored the downtown area, popping out heads into shops and random restaurants, just to get a feel of the city. Other friends met us from Paris, and by the end of the night, we were all accounted for and ready for the next day.
The next day, my friends and I went straight to the activity I was most excited about; the Anne Frank museum. Though I've never read the book, I was very intrigued by the things I had heard, and wanted to see the famous house myself. The museum was really well done, and very interesting to go through. At the end, I thought it was only fitting to buy the book, considering the location!

The bookcase leading to the secret annex of the house.

In front of the house of Anne Frank.

The rest of the afternoon and night was basically a repeat of the night before, sightseeing as much of the city as we could. Considering we were all poor college students and without planned events, our activities in the city were limited. Just being able to walk around and soak in the culture was cool enough, however!

The biggest thing I loved about Amsterdam? The bikes.


Bikes are everywhere. Literally, everywhere. It was so fascinating to see people doing things while riding their bikes, such as texting, eating, talking with friends, etc. I also got a few bells whistled at me for being in the bike lane without knowing it (since they are everywhere!!)!

Texting and riding. No, no, lady.

We also went to the flower market near central station, as the Netherlands is known for their tulips and other flowers. Although flowers were not in bloom yet, the market still had the amazing scent of tulips in the Springtime!

One thing that really amazed me was the amount of fast food restaurants in Amsterdam! A McDonalds was found every handful of streets. So funny to be in a completely different culture, and yet see something so familiar to your own country.

My trip to Amsterdam was much too short, but I loved it, nonetheless! It was a great start to my trips outside of Paris.

I forgot to mention! My friends from home visited last week, and it was amazing to see familiar faces for once! I got to enjoy their company three days during the week, and then they were off for Berlin. Tomorrow my parents come, and I cannot express how excited I am!

Affectuesement,

George