Amsterdam

Starting off the weekend with a cancelled train was not ideal. Luckily we had Olivia with us to look up a new route and we only arrived in Amsterdam an hour later than planned. When we go there we checked into our hostel- Stayokay Vondelpark and were pleasantly surprised that the bathroom and shower were inside the room! That was a first for us! It really is the little things in life. Then we decided we would make the obligatory trip to the red light district. It wasn’t exactly what I had expected but it was pretty close. It is a very strange place to be. After that we were pretty tired so we went back to the hostel and got some sleep.

In the morning we woke up a little later than intended and ate breakfast/lunch at a pancake house. I got the ham and cheese pancake and it was really good! Then we split up and the majority went to the Rijksmuseum but Kyle, Jessica and I went on a bus tour. It was a nice change from the usual walking and bike tours and we got to learn a lot about the city in a short amount of time. After the tour we went to the canal to watch the Gay Pride Parade. At first when I learned that there would be 2 million people coming in for the parade I wasn’t too happy about it but it was a really cool thing to see and be a part of. Everyone was so excited and music was playing from the boats. People were dancing and wearing crazy outfits: it was one big party. After the parade we all met up again and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon relaxing in Vondel Park.  We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner then took a nap before our reservation at the ice bar. We had always wanted to go to an ice bar and had talked about it in every city we’d been to over the trip so we bit the bullet and paid to go inside. It was a lot colder than I thought it was going to be which sounds dumb but it’s true. Everything was mad out of ice: the bar, the benches the cups, everything. We only lasted about 30 minutes in the room before we were worried our toes were going to fall off so we left to thaw out. When we walked outside of the bar, the whole city was in the streets going crazy. Bars were overflowing with people and we had to hold hands to not get lost in the crowd. It was definitely a sight to see.

Sunday morning we got up and went straight to the Anne Frank house. We had heard that if you didn’t have tickets already the wait would be around 2 hours so we were prepared for it but luckily we only waited around 45 minutes before getting inside. The preserved house turned museum left me speechless. I couldn’t believe I was standing in the very place where the 8 people I had read about in Anne Frank’s Diary had hid from the Nazis. I read Anne Franks Diary in 8^th grade and as the whole world had been, was deeply affected by her story. Her honesty and dedication to recording her true feelings has enabled millions to get a little closer to understanding what it was like in that surreal time period. It was a time of extreme measures in every aspect and it is so hard to wrap my head around it. I don’t know how I would cope with the fear and oppression that the inhabitants of the Annex and millions of others felt everyday of the war. Anne’s actual diaries were in the museum as well as video interviews of people who knew her including her father, Otto, who survived his time in Auschwitz and was liberated by Soviet troops. It was especially eerie that we were at the house on that day as it was the 69^th anniversary of the day the Annex was found by the SS and its inhabitants along with two of the helpers were arrested and sent to concentration camps. After spending all of this time here, I can’t picture this beautiful country filled with such horror.

After the museum we decided to end our visit on a lighter note and went to the Heineken factory. We got to see the big copper barrels where the beer is made as well as go through a short exhibit about the history of the company. Unfortunately in the tasting room I discovered that I don’t much care for Heineken but it was still a good experience. Overall I really enjoyed our weekend in Amsterdam! I only wish I could’ve stayed longer and learned more about all the history that the city holds. I am sure I will be back!