I wouldn't think that even the stairs would be different...

This weekend I went to Amsterdam and was really surprised from what I discovered.  I have always heard stories about Ams and how crazy it is but when I got here it really reminded me of a smaller NYC because of a number of people in such a small area.  Walking and getting around was a struggle at first for me because I don't really like a lot of people in one area but it was interesting to experience.  We got to Ams pretty late and so we went straight to our airbnb that night and spent the night planning what we wanted to do.  The first major difference that I spotted between Ams and everywhere else were the stairs.  They were so incredibly steep and they were small.  I had to try realllly hard not to fall down them when I was coming down.  The next morning, we took a ferry from our airbnb area to central and then we started to head over to the museums.  We first tried to go to the Van Gogh museum but we realized that if we bought our tickets for later in the day, we could go experience more of the city instead of waiting in a line (since we were going to do that anyways).  So then we decided to go to the Rijksmuseum and walk around and look at the different art.  It was awesome to be able to see the night watch and see the thought process of how the artist painted the painting.  Once we made our way through the museum we headed to the Anne Frank house.  We got there 2.5 hours early so we could wait in line and that was the best decision we could have done.  While waiting in the line, we played cards, talked with other people and also got to see a fight in the line.  Once we were inside the house it was an amazing experience to see the exact place where Anne Frank lived.  But what also got me was the book at the very end showing the names of all the people that died just like her, who also had ambitions just like her, but were not given a memorial.  After going to the Anne Frank house we then went to go eat dinner and that was the best food I have ever eaten before.  They were these special pancakes that were so amazing.  Then we went to the Van Gogh museum which we were excited for because Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists.  The museum was amazing and I am so glad that I got the audio tour guide to really help me experience and understand Van Gogh.  That night we went back to our airbnb because we were exhausted with traveling and we planned what we were going to do the following day.  The next day we decided to do the canal tour first.  I took a canal tour in Prague and loved it so I was excited to take one here.  However, I really liked the one in Prague a lot more.  After the canal tour we decided to do the big swing on top of one of the highest buildings in Ams.  I have an extreme fear of heights and so at first I was freaking out but then I realized how amazing it was and loved it.  Finally we had to go home after doing all of this.  Out of all my weekends, this one was the most touristy and I could tell the difference.  Overall Ams is a gorgeous city, but not a city I could see myself in.