Amsterdam

A.J., Ana, Lauren, and I left Friday night to go to Amsterdam, a city that is known for its culture (and other things illegal almost everywhere else.) A.J. and I stayed in a different hotel than Ana and Lauren, and since phones the Italian phones didn’t work in Amsterdam (except with a 6 euro/minute charge), we did not see them at all during the weekend. A.J. and I still had fun.

Saturday morning, we set out our plan of action to tackle everything we wanted to do there. The first thing we wanted to do was go to the Anne Frank house, the office with the hidden annex that Anne Frank and her family hid during the Holocaust until they were caught by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps. It was an incredible museum that truly captures Anne Frank’s precocious level of writing and the tragic story she told through her diary. It was one of the most moving exhibits I have ever been to, and it was a great start to the day. Next, we ate lunch on our way to the Van Gogh museum. We went by a coffee shop on our way which had Bob Marley in the middle of the Star of David. It was an awesome sight to see but also very random. The Van Gogh museum was also incredible, and by putting his works side to side with an annotated look into his life, we were able to see how his art reflected what he was going through. This was evident by the angrier strokes with the paint only months before he committed suicide. Still, he was a very influential and genius artist, and his work was incredible. After the Van Gogh museum, A.J. and I ate a waffle. To everyone who reads this, get a waffle if you go to Amsterdam. They are unbelievable. After the waffle, we continued to our final museum for the day: The Heineken Brewery. We were able to see how the beer was made, complemented by frequent bar stops for a cold Heineken beer. Heineken tastes a lot better out of the keg, even if it is already good bottled. We walked around and took in the rest of Amsterdam after the Heineken Brewery, and went back to the hotel to retire for the night.

As I have tried to show throughout this blog, Italy is a laid back place. However, Amsterdam takes laid back to a whole different level. No one cares about anything there. People will ask policemen for where they can get high. I was offered hash by the bartender my first night. There is even an organization that I read about that will check your hard drugs to make sure they aren’t tampered with. Drugs are explored very openly there, as is sex. It is a little uncomfortable coming from such a strict rules system, but also very entertaining. It ended up making a great weekend destination that I won’t forget.