How do I even begin to describe Amsterdam? I could answer this question by quoting Mean Girls, beginning with the fact that Amsterdam is flawless. There is nothing that a person could desire in life that is not found in this fantastical land. I have been anticipating writing this blog post for several days now, and I'm so excited to tell you all about my trip.
On Wednesday morning, I arrived at the Eindhoven airport, which is approximately two hours away from the city of Amsterdam. The reason why I didn't fly directly into Amsterdam was because it was more expensive, and so from the airport, I took a bus which allowed me to enjoy a journey where I was able to pass through Holland's countryside. Eindhoven was great because it allowed me to enjoy the beautiful views of tulip gardens, windmills and farmer's. Not only did I get to see a part of Holland that many people ignore when visiting the country, but it was also cheaper. I arrived in the actual city at 10 am, and words can not properly describe what I felt upon stepping off the bus and into the city of Dixie bikes and canals. My friend Shayna who visited Amsterdam in April of 2011 described Holland as, "The land of tulips, tall people, and all things legal. You can get away with just about anything, except maybe for murder."
Amsterdam was a breath of fresh air (literally). I was immediately mesmerized by it, and I was like a kid in a candy store. Its kind of hard to describe, but if you believe in past lives, something inside of me kind of clicked. I knew my way around immediately, and it was almost as though I'd been there before. What did I want to do first? The question gave me a rush of excitement that I could not handle. I decided to go to my hostel first called The White Tulip, located in the Damrak area where I checked in and locked my bag in the storage. Then I introduced myself to my roommates, grabbed my purse, my map, and headed out into the unknown.
The first place I wanted to visit was The Anne Frank house, something that has been on my bucket list since I ever even knew what a bucket list was.
During my entire vacation, I almost felt like a local, because I definitely blended well. While being here, I realized that I do not have enough orange clothes in my closet. Normally, orange doesn't work for me (I'm a summer), but orange is the colour of Holland because it's the Queen's favourite colour.
Every April 30th, the entire country celebrates her birthday (Queen's Day) and dresses up in orange. Knowing this, I knew it would be foolish for me to leave the country without sporting something orange.
On my last day in the city, Chris and the other boys who stayed in his hostel all wanted to visit the zoo, and so I tagged along with them. It wasn't different from any other zoo, but it was a great day and a nice way to spend my last moments in the city. It also happened to be one of the guys' birthday, so we went out to a nice Italian restaurant on the Damrak for dinner. I got a plate of gnocchi and ordered a vanilla sundae with chocolate fudge running down it's side like a skier on the Swiss Alps with whipped cream and slices of pear on top for dessert. It was the perfect meal to end my vacation. Other things happened during my time in Amsterdam that, as I mentioned before, are too inappropriate for me to document for the entire world to see, including a story involving a stripper and a banana. But let's not open that can of worms. That's all I can tell you about my time in wonderland, and I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into my four day getaway.
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