Adventures in Amsterdam

My first weekend journey takes me to the city of Amsterdam just a four hour train ride from Bonn. Luckily I was not traveling alone but with ten of the other students that are studying abroad with me. You would think that traveling with a group of ten people would mean you would get to your destination no problem but with having two train transfers of course there were a few hiccups. First one girl almost missed our first train and had to sprint to the doors that had just closed and then was forced to pry them open to let her on. Then our first train was slightly getting to our next stop so we all had to run to make it on our second train, but in our panic we didn't realize that we had gotten on the wrong section of the train. Luckily when someone came to check our tickets they caught our mistake and told us that we needed to get off at the next platform and get back on in a different section because the section we were in was scheduled to split off at the next station and take us in a completely different direction. So this was the second time we all were in slight panic but luckily our mistake was fixed and we all made it safely to Amsterdam. Since we got in late and were all tired from our trip we all decided to call it a night to get a good nights sleep for our long day tomorrow. The next day started off with breakfast at the Pancake Bakery which was definitely worth the wait! Peep the breakfast below!

Breakfast at the Pancake Bakery

Breakfast was then followed by a canal cruise throughout Amsterdam. If you ever go to Amsterdam this is a super touristy thing to do but is something that's a must do! We were in luck and the weather was great with no cloud in sight. When the cruise was over the drop off was right by the Anne Frank house so we were all able to see the house but sadly the tickets to the museum were all sold out. From there we decided to wander around and stumbled upon the Royal Palace of Amsterdam and the city square next to it.

Canal in Amsterdam

Royal Palace of Amsterdam and surrounding Square

Next stop was the flower market! Sadly tulips were just out of season so they were in short supply but that just gives me another excuse to come back! No worries though there were plenty of tulip themed gifts if thats what you're looking for. Along the way to our next activity we stopped in a cheese shop and I can honestly say that was one of the best cheeses I've ever tasted and wish I could have taken all the samples!

Bloemenmarkt

All the gouda you could ever want!

The last major stop was at the Heineken Experience. This took us through the history of Heineken in the building where it all started as well as showed us how their beer is made. The tour then took us to a beer tasting and showed us how to properly drink beer. If you thought that the Heineken Experience was solely just a history lesson then you'd be wrong because then the self guided tour turns into many interactive rooms that gets you engaged in the brand of Heineken from take pictures with Heineken filters to putting you into a 4D experience were you yourself are bottled and distributed throughout the world. The tour then ended in their bar where we were given two free beers and were able to compete to see who could pour the best beer. Although I myself am not a huge fan of beer I really enjoyed myself and would go back anytime! Night time came around which of course meant venturing to the infamous Red Light District which is just like they describe it. The next morning sadly came too fast and soon it was time to head home. Amsterdam is a place where you could spend a whole month and do something different each day so you can bet this is not the last time I'll be in Amsterdam!