Adventure #1: Amsterdam

Before I dive into the fun parts, here are some things that came before it all:

• 8 hour flight delay (never use Vueling airlines)
• Valencia airport security is questionable (my passport was never checked but hey not complaining)
• 6 out of 15 people bailed on our hostel last minute (do not travel in large groups)
• Learned how to take the metro from my apartment to the airport (much cheaper than a cab)

When we finally managed to arrive in Amsterdam, it was 3am. The Amsterdam airport is huge but also super nice and cute with Tulip shops and fairy lights. We never went through customs and I am lowkey sad I never got to have my passport stamped. There was a layer of fog surrounding the city when we got to the hostel that made Amsterdam feel old and mysterious, and it ended up being both.

Our hostel was supposed to have 15 people but long story short we ended up with 9. A little advice: don't travel in large groups. People will bail on you, paying the bill in Europe is hard because they don't do split checks, and there is never a time when everyone is happy. Still the hostel was nice (in my opinion) and our group had a ton of fun acting like it was one giant sleepover. The location was great. It was a three minute walk to the Van Gogh museum and had a huge open park right in front of it. There was an ice skating rink and street vendors in the middle, right by the Rembrandt Museum. 

First day there, was much colder than we all expected it to be. So, wrapped up in scarves, coats, and gloves we visited the Heineken Brewery, which I highly recommend. It's a self guided tour through the brewery and at the end you get two free beers. The tour was filled with history as well as entertainment and was honestly an awesome and interactive experience. Did you know Heineken is 95% water? and there are only four ingredients? Even if you aren't a big fan of beer, it's a cool thing to do. 

Afterwards, the group split up and went to do various things. Mikayla (a KD sister at NAU) and I went off on our own to explore the side streets and grab some food. We settled on a sushi restaurant near the canal where we both tried something new, squid on a stick (to be blunt)... and wow it was good. The flavor was much more fishy than even just plain yellowtail from a restaurant in the states. Next we went to a notorious 'coffee shop' in Amsterdam called, The Bulldog. No we did not smoke, we just grabbed tea and sat at a small table to check it out.

Later that night, we went to the red light district because when in Amsterdam, it's kind of a must. It was an experience to say the least but I loved every second of the adventure. We couldn't stay long because all the bars we hopped into were packed and also extremely expensive. Biggest advice here: go with a group of guys. The strip it is on is sketchy and the streets are packed with a mix of people (both sketchy and normal). Luckily Mikayla and I went with five guys who kept by us the whole time because the girls who went alone talked about people who would try to holler at them, follow them, or grab on to them. I experienced none of those things though. 

Thick dutch fries: just like normal
fries but really good with a dipping sauce

Poffertjes: mini pancakes but 10000x
better and tastes more like a pastry

Bitterballen: think Thanksgiving dark turkey,
mashed potatoes, and gravy, served in a
 fried ball with mustard.

Second day in Amsterdam was just as cold and just as fun. We woke up early and took a canal cruise through the city which is a must. I got to learn so much about the history of Amsterdam as well as see parts of the city I had no idea existed. On our way back to the hostel there were a bunch of street vendors set up in a park, many more than usual anyways so I stayed and tried authentic dutch food which are more like snack foods than actual meals. 

Last day there, I visited the Van Gogh Museum. It was smaller than I thought it would be but extremely beautiful both on the inside and outside with three floors to display the works on Van Gogh. My favorite painting had to be the Cypresses. Oddly enough, we could not find Starry Night, not even a mention of it, but maybe we just didn't look hard enough. Another cool part was they had letters that he had written to his family on display and you could listen to them in your own language. In some letters when he had included a drawing where he would label the black images with the colors he saw. Like if he drew an ocean he would write "bleu" in the ocean part which I thought was freaking cool. 

Leaving Amsterdam, I felt a little sad. Now I can say that I am happy to be back home in Valencia but at the time I didn't want to go. I plan to go back and see the Anne Frank Museum, the countryside, and the Rembrandt Museum at some point. I didn't know there was so much to do there until the days had already flown by and I was leaving. 

Overall a beautiful city that I highly recommend. To me, it's exactly what I picture when I think "old European." Watch for bikers because they for sure will run you over. Everything is much more expensive than you would think so find the yummy hole-in-the-wall looking restaurants because their food is good too and much cheaper. My final piece of advice is to wake up early, find a cute bridge on the edge of town, watch the sunrise and tell me about how you can't stop smiling.

Amsterdam at night is like a fairy tale