All the CAPA kids from our apartment building (not an exageration) plus a few others went to Amsterdam this weekend and had a blast.
Before going on the trip I was really nervous for the usual reasons (forgetting things, losing things, being in a new place), but after I was packed I started to feel a bit better. We took a coach from London Victoria overnight to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Along the way we made a few stops, including an approximately 2 hour ferry ride across the English Channel! Upon hearing that we were to take a ferry, I imagined a grungy cargo ship, but to my delight it was more like a cruise ship. There were lounges, and cafeterias as well as some music videos playing. On the way there, there were lots of large groups of youngsters (mostly German I believe) who did not speak much English, blocked stairways and walkways and laughed and sneered at us. It was interesting. I didn't see any adults with these kids either, so that was slightly unsettling. I slept a decent amount on the 11 hour drive over to Amsterdam and when we reached there the area was deserted. We managed to find our way to our hostel using their subway and started enjoying the sites - especially the canals. We dropped off our luggage and went to find some breakfast. At breakfast I remembered I forgot to ask for tap water and instead got a very expensive bottle of H2O. I had learned my lesson, from then on nobody would even serve you tap water. What a waste of money. Hmph.
Natalie and me at a cafe eating breakfast
After some refueling, we split up. The group of us were set on seeing the sights. We went to the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh museum and the Heinekein Experience. While they do have a seemingly useful bus system, the area is still considered very walkable, so we walked since we weren't exactly sure where we were going and so that we could take in the city better. The line at the Anne Frank House was quite long, but well worth it. There was a group of guys in front of us that were actually US students studying abroad in Barcelona who were also visiting. One guy was even from Pitt and one of my friends knew him!
The Anne Frank House was very good. I have read Anne's diary and am familiar with her story. The museum did a great job of engaging visitors through a variety of methods. Most moving were the videos interviewing people who knew Anne personally - like her father and good friend.
After Anne Frank, we visited the Van Gogh museum. He is from Amsterdam, as I had coincidentally learned the week before in my art history class. We happened to be learning about Impresisonism and Post-Impressionism that week. I had seen one of Van Gogh's Sunflowers in the National Gallery in London on Friday, then proceeded to see more of his Sunflowers and other works in Amsterdam on Saturday!
After the Van Gogh museum, we went to the Heineken Experience. I don't like the taste of beer at all, but they did a good job of entertaining their visitors with different videos, simulations and demonstrations. On the way back towards the hostel, we stopped by The Letters, which is a very popular tourist photo op. Essentially, they are humongous letters that say I amsterdam, with the "I" and "am" in red, so as to say "I am amsterdam."
Later that night we roamed around some more and did a quick walk through the Red Light District (which is world famous). It was much less scandalous than I had imagined.
On Sunday, we walked in the same direction because some of the others wanted to see the letters. The day before I had had a "young dutch cheese" baguette. Today I had "old dutch cheese," it was a bit more flavorful than its immature counterpart. I also had the best icecream cone that I have ever had in my life! It was plain vanilla, but deliciously creamy and the waffle cone was divine. Mmmm I had wanted another, but I resisted. After lunch, some went on to see the museums again while the rest of us returned in the direction of the hostel. I had had a mishap with the ticket machine upon arrival, whereby I put in a 10 Euro bill for a 2.60 ticket and instead of being given change, I was given a receipt directing me to Centraal Station to collect my approximately $15. So a group of us went in that direction and I got my money back. After that, more roaming, some dinner and then we were back on the bus on our way to London.
My young dutch cheese baguette and the ice cream cone that changed my life (background)
The bus ride was generally comfortable, and upon arrival in London I recovered until the late afternoon. The trip was great and I am so glad I got to go!
