Ciao ragazzi!
This weekend in Amsterdam was my last weekend getaway of the semester. Next weekend I will be making my trek back to the states after four months of gallivanting around Europe.
My first day in the city was spent wandering around the Red Light District by myself trying to find my hostel. Once I managed to find it, check in, and get settled, I decided to wander around the city considering it was still only five o'clock. This event proved to be a bit more overwhelming then I expected because of the massive hoards of tourists, bikers, and stoners stumbling around the streets. I made myself stay out until it was at least dark enough to see the city lit up by all of the different colored lights before I decided that it was acceptable to go back and get ready for bed.
Let me tell you, wandering around the Red Light District - especially at night - is quite an experience. Seeing all of the girls in the windows, the people gawking at them, and the guys going inside just makes me so sad for humanity. I am well aware that these girls' line of work makes them good money - and I also learned that it is legal - but I just think that everyone deserves to be treated better than they are treated. No one should have to degrade or demoralize themselves in that way just to get by in life. I don't know, I guess some people choose that life and are okay with it but I just can't imagine anyone being very happy with that life. Everyone deserves a better life than that.
The next day, I woke up bright and early because I had to be checked out of my hostel by nine. Before going on yet another free walking tour, I went to a little cafe to try Holland's famous Dutch pancakes. Let me tell you, those things were absolutely delicious! Dutch pancakes are kind of like crepes but they have stuff cooked into them and they are just so good! I wasn't quite ready to try the typical apple-raisin pancake so I stuck with a bacon pancake but it was still great.
Once the tour was over, I spent the afternoon wandering around the city by myself all day until I finally met up with Erin and her friend Leah that night. We spent about an hour getting settled and catching up in Leah's apartment before we headed out to a local pub for dinner. For dinner, we decided to try some more local Dutch cuisine and ordered ourselves some Bitterballen. These are kind of like hollow meatballs coated in breadcrumbs. Besides the fact that these balls were scalding hot, they were delicious! I would absolutely recommend them to anyone that went to Holland.
Our last day in Amsterdam was spent doing all of the touristy things. Part one of our day consisted of making the hour and a half trek to Keukenhof for Amsterdam's famous tulip festival. Now, usually I hate going to flower festivals and things like that, but Erin was dead set on going to this festival and I didn't want to spend another day alone so I figured I might as well go. Let me tell you, I'm glad that I did go! This place was like Disneyland but for adults. The grounds were stunning and the flowers were just so pretty that it was hard not to enjoy your time there.
After having a little picnic and wandering around the grounds for a few hours, Erin, Leah, and I were set on finding ourselves a tulip field. Don't get me wrong, the park had a ton of tulips, but they were all pruned and posed - there weren't any fields full of tulips anywhere in the park. So, we left the park, walked down the street, and stumbled upon this massive field full of all kinds of tulips. We were determined to go play in the tulips, but that proved to be more difficult than we expected… We ended up having to walk through rows of flowers, hop a fence, and jump over a little moat/stream in order to get to our flowers. Once we finally got to our red tulips, we had a blast frolicking in the flowers and just appreciating their pure beauty.
By the time we finally got our perfect picture, it was about dinner time so we decided to stop and get pancakes. The place we went claimed to have the best pancakes in Amsterdam. Now, I realize that that was probably the biggest tourist trap, but Leah (our personal Amsterdam tour guide) said they were her favorite and they were actually really good! This time, instead of getting a typical pancake, I decided to try yet another Dutch staple - poffertjes! These are little mini Dutch pancakes coated in butter and sugar. They were sooooo good. I could eat those for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.
When we were done eating, Erin and I made our way to the Anne Frank House. After waiting in line for about forty-five minutes, we finally made it inside. This was probably the coolest museum I've ever seen. We got to walk around their actual house and see where the Frank family spent years hiding. The house was empty except for mini-replicas of what the rooms would have looked like furnished and quotes by Anne decorating the walls. It was unreal to see what so many people had to deal with during the Nazi-regime. I really have no words to explain it. All I can say is that if you ever find yourself in Amsterdam, make sure that you go to the Anne Frank House - it is definitely a must see.
And with that, our time in Amsterdam was over! Overall, I loved Amsterdam as a city. Everyone says that the city has something for everyone - whether you want the pot and prostitution or simply want to explore the parks and canals - and they were right. While I wouldn't necessarily want to live there because of the excessive rain and lingering smell of weed wherever you go, it is a really cool place to visit.
Now it's back to reality! Time to study for finals and stuff my face with as much pasta, gelato, and carbs as I can before I go home!
Ciao for now!
Sincerely yours,
Just Another Original
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