PANNENKOEKENBOOT!

Amsterdam Feb 5-7, 2010

First trip out of Spain for the semester! And it was so hard to go back because I loved Amsterdam so much!

We woke up the morning of the 5th at about 3am (so basically took a small nap) to catch our flight. The flight was no problem and the airline was surprisingly nice. Justin, Alison, Adrianne, Clara, Kaelan, and I landed in Amsterdam and took a train to the central station which was about a 5 minute walk from our hostel. Which we found surprisingly fast given I didn't have the magical powers of my Iphone which has saved me so many times in Barcelona (crazy roaming fees in Amsterdam I didn't want to pay). We stayed at a place called the Globe which was surprisingly nice given it was the only one that was left to accommodate us since we planned the trip so last minute. We had a 6 person private room with our own bathroom. That was great for us given it was the first hostel for most of us... gave us a nice transition to ease into the experience.

After a dropping our stuff off we headed out on the town, with only two days we didn't have much time to rest. I soon became the nap nazi (Justin soon reminded me maybe I shouldn't use this word in Amsterdam), so we could take full advantage of our short time there, despite the fact that I was ridiculously sick and just wanted to sleep all day. Sorry to everyone who I was with and all the coughing you had to put up with. So we bought something called a Holland Pass that a friend recommended that got us admission to a few different attractions and museums, and we got to cut the line at many of them. A really great deal, I would recommend it if you are going to visit Amsterdam. So that got us free admission onto a cruise of the canals. Amsterdam is covered in canals so it was a great way to get a quick panoramic view of the city and see all the different areas.

After this we did some walking around and shopping (Justin and I bought some sweet hats), grabbed some coffee to perk us up and saw the house the artist Rembrant grew up and worked in. We also went in the Sex Museum on a whim. That was hilarious... basically just a bunch of porn on the wall and penis statues. For dinner that night we went to an all you can eat dutch pancake dinner cruise with various toppings. I will let you ponder the amazingness of that for a moment....... That was for sure one of the highlights of the trip.

Day one was coming to an end and we all knew we didn't have the energy for a full night out on the town so we decided to walk around the red light district to see what that was all about then head to sleep early. Red light was interesting... nothing too shocking I guess but there were girls all in the windows looking for some clients, and sex shops and shows everywhere. We resisted going in any of them but we heard some interesting stories from other travelers about what goes on inside.

Up bright and early the next morning for a busy day. I was nice and chipper thanks to a good swig of cough medicine before bed so I wasn't kept up by the noisy neighbors. After turning up the wake up music we eventually all got out of bed and only a half hour behind schedule decided to stop for breakfast. I got a delicious cup of coffee and probably the most amazing breakfast sandwich I have ever had in my life! Holland has the best food.

First thing we did that day was head to the Anne Frank House, the place they hid and where the diary was written. We found the place pretty easy, (lovin' my map following skills) and beat the crowds which was cool and the museum was amazing. You get to walk through the whole office building below the annex, then behind the book case and into the annex where the eight people in hiding lived. Its amazing reading some of the quotes from the diaries then seeing the place they applied to. After the annex there was a room showing what happened after and a message from Anne's father, the one person who survived the concentration camps and the man who found Anne's diary and had it published. That was pretty emotional and amazing to see.

After the museum we took a cab over to the Van Gough Museum. We got to skip the line thanks to our holland pass and got in free. The museum was pretty clouded and they didn't have starry night on display so that was slightly disappointing, but learning about Van Gough's life was really interesting.

Then we headed over to the Heinekin Experience. And ran into the Iamsterdam statue on the way so stopped and did the tourist pictures... it was a must. I absolutely loved the Heinekin Experience. Got in free with the Holland Pass and took a self guided tour through the museum then saw how they brew beer, and did the Brew You ride... kind of like a virtual reality type ride where you are the beer. After this you get a sample and they tell you a little bit about the science of drinking it. This was probably the best Heinekin I have ever tasted.

At the end of the tour there is a bar where you use your drink tokens. Each person is given two. But most of our group wanted to get back to the hostel to freshen up for the rest of the night so Justin and I ended up with quite a few tokens and had a blast hanging out at Heinekin. Then the gift shop after made my day. We both got Heinekins with our name on them.

On the walk back to the hostel we wandered the streets a little and stopped to get the fries they sell on the street. Sooooo good. We even saved a few to give to the girls back at the hostel do double check that it wasn't just the Heinkeins talking.

Quick turnover, and 30 minutes later we we showered and back on the town. There are Argentinean steak houses all over the city so we decided to treat ourselves to a steak. After this we headed to a pub crawl we had looked into earlier. We were too late to make the better one so we went do a different less popular one. It was still pretty fun because free shot hour didn't have a crowd and we definitely got our money's worth!

Back to the hostel at about 3 or 4 am and in bed. 7 am we are up for our flight and make it to the airport in time to head back to Barcelona. I still don't want to leave! A few short hours later I am back in bed and sleep the whole day! Missed the superbowl but the 49ers weren't in it so nothing too tragic.

So basically can't wait for the next trips! We have an ISA trip to Valencia at the end of February, and Sarah and I just booked tickets to Rome for the following weekend! We will be booking Paris and Dublin soon I'm sure. And maybe Greece and Germany! And Morocco over spring break! Ah so many places! Hopefully the funds hold out. I am trying to be good!

Love and miss you all!! Don't forget to skype me!