Amsterdam

Oh, Amsterdam, where to begin?

It’s a city of the imagination, college students desiring to experience the “red-er” side of the city, while art enthusiasts clamor to such exhibits as Van Gogh. From Amstel to Heineken to relics of a Third Reich past, Amsterdam is a city for all generations and all tastes- soon demonstrated by our random collection of activities throughout the weekend.

After a hurried run and a frantic search for the train to Brussels, Belgium on Friday, Taylor, Sarah, Brooke, Casey and I began our voyage to the mythical land of the Netherlands. Then, after a quick stop in the capital of waffles and chocolates, we caught the train to Amsterdam, arriving in the city at around 10 pm.

I was breath taken. This was my first canal-based city in Europe, and I can’t even begin to describe my obsession with the small rivers creeping around the city, the quaint houseboats, and the gorgeous townhouses lining the cobble stone roads. I snapped pictures (yes, even more than usual) of everything in the city that had so quickly stolen my heart.

However, there is another side of Amsterdam, as we soon discovered as we made our way to the Bulldog, our hostel located in the heart of the red light district. When they call it the red light district, they aren’t exaggerating. Red lights line the windows of special cubbies, occupied by scantily clad women. And, the smell of marijuana is never far. Despite the questionable location, our hostel was nice, a very populated and happening place, centrally located and comfortable (despite a snoring 35 or older man living in our room…)

Saturday morning, we all rolled out of bed to fresh fallen snow and a shining sun- nothing better for a day of site seeing in January! It as just beautiful, the canals looking even more like a Christmas Wonderland of old times. Our first stop was the Van Gogh exhibit. We figured out the tram system and made our way to a classier museum district, awed by the views of the city through the windows of the train. The Van Gogh exhibit was cool- it was fascinating to see real paintings done by such an acclaimed artist. Overall, what I took away most, was the supportive and inspiring relationship between the sick Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo. A photograph in the museum showed their two gravestones, side by side. Most of what we know about Van Gogh is from his correspondences with his brother, who supported him financially and emotionally. We were a little disappointed with the museum however as we were all dying to see Starry Nights. After leaving, I Googled the location of the painting, having expected it to be in the Amsterdam exhibit. Turns out, the painting is located in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Serves me right for heading to Amsterdam to see the painting, when all along its in my own backyard.

We then heading to the famous I AMsterdam letters. They are really just a site for tourist photographs, with the I and the AM in red and the rest in white. The letters are large enough for you to climb through and take some cutesy photos. I set my paparazzi photographer (Spencer Kubin) up and modeled with the girls for a wonderful photoshoot that’s made for the photo albums!

Then we headed to the truly educational part of the trip- the Heineken Experience at the Heineken Brewery. I was a little hesitant for this, after having done the Guinness tour in Dublin, I felt that I had done every brewery tour. I am thankful my friends were desperate to try their first sip of beer and for persuading me to join them. It was AMAZING. I had so much fun going through the exhibit/interactive museum. After ignoring the tedious process of how to actually make the beer, I learned about the marketing history and the plans for Heineken’s future, as well as a delightful visit to the Heinken bar at the end. We also took part in a 4-Dimmensional ride where the museum “brews you” by having you go through the process. Great laughs, great beer, and great friends. What an amazing last event for the day!

After a really healthy dinner Saturday- I have never seen more delicious baked goods or cheese dipped French fries than I did in Asterdam- we enjoyed the night life and headed to bed early. It’s difficult traveling so much, we’re starting to get tired! (God forbid)

Sunday we decided to split up, with half our group heading to the Amsterdam Zoo (which I heard was pretty incredible) and the rest of us (Kubin, Casey, and myself) going to the Anne Frank House. As most know, Anne Frank was a 13 year old German/Dutch Jew who went into hiding in the back of her father’s business building with her mother, father, and sister, and four other Jews, during Hitlers occupation of the Netherlands. After two years in hiding, their location was betrayed and the group of 8 were sent to concentration camps, all of them being killed except for Anne’s father, Otto, who had her diary published. We felt it was important to see the house, despite the depressing content, as an educational experience and understanding the personal side of the mass genocide that cursed Europe in the mid-century.

Nothing in the house was unexpected, as we viewed the 6 or so rooms the family lived in for two years. It was smaller than expected and unfurnished since the Nazi’s ripped it apart. However, it was eerie being the exact same room in which such an innocent victim lived and wrote her timeless words of growing up. I’m really happy we visited such a historic location, even with, if not especially because, the heavy weight it left on us as we left.

We caught a 3 pm train home from Amsterdam and were safe back in Luxembourg no later than 8:30.

What an amazing weekend though. I realized I was not a fan of some of the things Amsterdam is infamous for, but overall the canals stole my heart and the fresh fallen snow put me in a refreshed and obsessed mood!

After the quick turn around, we leave tomorrow for our Mini-Field tours! I’ll write more about that later, but wish me luck!