amterdam: netherlands

I decided to split the weekend into two posts, by city, so it's not too overwhelming to read all at once. 

When we finally arrived in Amsterdam, we figured out the metro system and found our hotel. Luckily our hotel was a three minute walk from Central Station and located in the center of the city. When we got to our hostel, which we actually found out was a hotel, we were upgraded to a private room. We had paid for three beds in a room of six, but they gave us our own room, which was great. Our room was on the top floor of the hotel, with no elevators. I can't even explain how many stairs there were...a lot! Also, each stair case got narrower and steeper as we went up. By the final staircase to our room, it was basically a ladder. Seriously, it was a near death experience every time we went up or down them! We decided to not waste any time and just start exploring. With no real destination in mind, we picked random streets and canals to walk down. Amsterdam is full of so many beautiful canals that wind through the city.

Amy and I on one of many beautiful canals.

As it was getting dark, we made our way to the red light district. For those who may not know, prostitution is "legalized" or regulated/ tolerated in Amsterdam. In some ways this is a good thing, because it means that the government has control of it. The girls are required to get a certain amount of yearly check ups for diseases. In other ways, it creates a very weird environment because it's so out in the open. I won't go into too much detail about the red light district but basically there is a main street where prostitutes sit in a small room with a glass door which is actually lined in red lights, looking for business. There are also many "live sex shows" that you can pay a good amount of money to go see. It was eye opening to say the least. It's one thing to know that prostitution goes on in the world, but another to actually see it first hand.

The Red Light District.








Amsterdam is an even more breathtaking city at night.

Since Sunday was our only free full day in the city, we decided it would be fun to rent bikes for the day. On a side note, we read that on a given day more than 50% of the population in Amsterdam uses a bike. There are literally hundreds of thousands of bikes in the city, including parking lots for just bikes. They are literally everywhere! The streets are super biker friendly, all including a bike path. However, it was overwhelming at times because you're literally in a rush hour of bikes! We laughed as we slimly avoided another accident or falling off our bikes. It was an adventure in itself to bike the city, but definitely the best way to get around. We started the day by heading to an area called Waterloopein. Then, we rode to the museum area of the city where the Van Gogh museum is along with many others (also where the famous iamsterdam letters are). We got lunch at a great outdoor cafe and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Then we rode our bikes through Vondel park, which was so beautiful and fun. It's a great, spread out park with tons of room for biking. There were many musical performers and people picnicking. After the park, we rode to a neighborhood called Jordaan, which was my favorite (also where my best friend Mandy lived when she was abroad last semester!) The canals were so beautiful, and there were many riverboats where people lived on the rivers. We went to the Anne Frank Huis, which was a self guided tour through their living quarters when her family lived in the small annex in the Netherlands in hiding. It was so sad to see how they lived for two years, in silence and completely isolated from daylight. After the tour we went for food in a neighborhood that Mandy recommended to us, full of cafes. We all had amazing meals and I finally got sushi!

Our three bikes...we named them Sally, Windel, and Hansel :)

I amsterdam!

 Us with the famous lettters!

Amy and Katherine on their bikes, riding through Vondelpark.

I loved all the riverboats along the canals.



Just me and my bike, Windel!

The Anne Frank Huis.

 BEN'S COFFEESHOP!

Funny story of the weekend (among many): On our final day, we had to be out of our hotel by ten. I went to go take a shower. I was about three minutes into my shower and was completely soapy. I literally like just lathered shampoo and body wash and didn't rinse off at all and the water just completely shut of....not even cold water or a trickle of water. I stood there yelling to Amy and Katherine. They went down to the reception desk to tell them which really did no help. The people working at the hotel didn't speak very good English and didn't really seem to understand the situation. They handed Katherine a towel and sent her on her way. So I stood there for a solid fifteen- twenty minutes, then out of no where, the water just turned back on. We laughed about it later how you can't have everything. It would be all too convenient to have a nice hotel that's clean, in the city center, AND has hot, running water :) We ended our trip running around buying souvenirs for people then went out for Dutch pancakes, which are more like giant crepes (so good!) We took a train, then bus to get to the airport. After a two hour flight, then three hour bus ride back to Galway, it was a long day of travel but oh so worth it!

Delicious Dutch pancakes to end the weekend.