"I'm from Holland! Isnt that wierd???"

So after this weekend I think its safe to say that Amsterdam is my new favorite city in Europe.  I was a little unsure what to expect from the city considering its slightly raunchy reputation, but Amsterdam defied all my expectations and definitely blew me away.

Amazing french fry place right beneath the hostel

We arrived in Amsterdam on Thursday night and after struggling for a good hour to find the right train to take us to our hostel we made it to Dam Square which is a wonderful area right in the middle of the city. I was a little nervous about the hostel quality after reading some of the reviews but the place was actually quite nice and the eight of us ended up with a pretty sizeable room to ourselves, which reminded me of summer camp in a wonderful way.  Our hostel was also above what seemed to be the most popular french fry stand in Amsterdam which was of course a wonderful addition to our trip.

Thursday night we all got ready and then went out to find a pub for the evening.  The one we ended up finding was right in the middle of the red light district which was an experience I was not entirely prepared for.  Walking along a street filled with prostitutes and sex shops definitely made me feel more like the naive girl from Georgia than I usually do, but I managed and it was still an experience worth doing.

Friday morning we woke up early to the sounds of a local clock tower chiming incessantly for a good five minutes.  This was a little overwhelming, but it did make us all get out of bed so I guess that's a plus.  We spent most of the day walking around the city, an experience I greatly enjoyed considering how beautiful Amsterdam is.  The canals are everywhere and they are flanked on both the sides by small roads and adorable houses.  I also remembered during out walk how wonderful it is to travel with guys. The boys basically took the lead on all navigation and directions and I just got to sit back and enjoy the sites.  Under the lead of our fearless sherpa Noah, we walked a good six miles on Friday and managed to make it to a cute vintage neighborhood called 9 streets, Vondelpark, the IAMsterdam sign, and some beautiful canals.  A particular highlight of the day was buying bread and cheese from a local shop and eating it while sitting on the side of a canal.  Between this and the fact that it was one of the nicest days ever in Amsterdam (I of course was still cold and wore my giant jacket) the whole day was pretty amazing.

Amsterdam <3

Fantastic Farmer's Market in Amsterdam

We once again went out to some local pubs on Friday night causing us all to wake up a little later on Saturday.  Once we made it out of bed we all headed over to a farmers market in the heart of Amsterdam.  This place was amazing.  It had tons of booths with different types of foods and treats but it also had a bunch of other ones selling records, clothes, and other souveniers.  We spent over three hours at the market eating tons of delicious snacks and shopping. Afterwards we all walked over to the Rijksmuseum which was incredible.  The museum is huge with tons of paintings from famous Dutch artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer.  After the museum we were all feeling energized enough to make our way over to the Heineken Brewery for a tour.  I was a little nervous about the tour since I didnt love the one I did at the Carlsberg plant in Copenhagen, but this tour was amazing.  The whole thing kind of felt like Disneyland for adults, fully equipped with lessons in how to brew beer, a ride, a bar, games and a movie.  It's definitely a must see in Amsterdam.  After the experience we were all pretty tired so we picked up dinner and headed back to the hostel for a fun night in.

Me enjoying my cheese and mushroom pancake

Sunday we set out on a mission to find traditional dutch pancakes and eventually ended up at a local pub.  The pancakes were massive, crepe-like, and smothered in melted cheese so needless to say I greatly enjoyed myself.  I think the waitress was a little overwhelmed by all the noisy Americans in her pub demanding pancakes but all in all it was an amazing experience.  After the pancakes we chilled in one of the many parks for a while just relaxing, and then headed over to the botanical gardens.  The gardens were fun and had some cool things (including a california redwood and a butterfly house!) but I think we were there just a little too early in the year to get the full effect, because most things werent really in bloom yet and everything still looked a little dormat.  It was still fun to walk around though and I think we all enjoyed our afternoon.  After the gardens we all headed over to the Amstel canal, which is the biggest canal in Amsterdam and probably my favorite part of the city.  We got there just as the sun was setting and eventually settled ourselves at one of the many outdoor cafe's to enjoy a drink.  I have to say, sitting on the edge of a canal with a beer and some friends is one of the most amazing experiences ever and I would sincerely recommend it to all.  It was especially wonderful when a local  in a boat began playing "The Way You Look Tonight" on his trumpet while sailing down the river.  Once the sun set we all just headed to dinner and then out for another fun night.

Outside of the Anne Frank House

Monday was our last day in Amsterdam which was a little sad, but since we didnt have to fly out until 930 we managed to get a fair amount done.  In the morning Rachel, Sarah, Rob and I headed over to the Anne Frank house.  The museum and the house was probably the most amazing place I went while in Amsterdam.  The experience was a little intense, but it was so incredible to see the place where Anne Frank actually slept and to see all the original pages of her diary and stuff.  I read the Diary of Anne Frank in 9th grade and the book really touched me, so it was great to get to experience her world.  After the museum we met up with everyone else and headed to lunch at another amazing little cafe right on the canal.  Afterwards we all walked over to museum square again to finish our last day in Amsterdam with the Van Gogh museum.  I really liked the museum, but I think I enjoyed the Rijksmuseum a bit more just because it had more variety.  After the museum it was time to head to the airport so after one last quick stop at the french fry place beneath our hostel we all headed out to the airport to fly back to Edinburgh.

Needless to say, the entire weekend in Amsterdam was incredible.  I had a great time getting to know everyone I was with and just experiencing one of the most amazing city's in the world together.  I hope to make it back to Amsterdam sometime soon, but if not I have nothing but great memories from my time there.

This week is going to be busy with lots of work and research, but I'll try and update soon!