Amsterdam
Netherlands
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Netherlands 〰️
We took the first flight out of Lisbon and landed in Amsterdam before noon. We took the train to our hostel to check in, which was conveniently only a few steps outside the train station. After settling into our 4 person room, I was heavily craving some Dutch meatballs I had tried at the Foodhallen the last time I visited Amsterdam. We tackled the trolley system and eventually made our way to the familiar food hall I had visited the previous year with my friends I had met while working in Barcelona the summer before. To my surprise, the meatballs I had been dreaming about for the last year were not as good as I remembered but it still felt nice to share a special memory and moment with my college best friends.
Blair, Cat, Dani, and I ventured over to Vondelpark after sharing a few appetizers and drinks at the Foodhallen and took in all the beautiful architecture and greenery while trying our best to avoid the bikers. We strolled through the park taking pictures and sitting on tall benches where our feet would dangle over the ground. After we made our way through the park, we found ourselves in the museum district and admired the surrounding architecture.
To our surprise, a few college friends were in Amsterdam at the same time! We met up with Julia and Jason at a burger joint called Cannibale Royale. To no surprise, the restaurant was filled with intricate, barbaric descriptions about historic cannibals and the walls were filled with funky trinkets. The food was good and beer was even better - now with a bit of a buzz, we ventured to meet a few of Jason's friends at a local pool bar. On the way over, we shared a joint and walked through the infamous Red District. Every other door was lit up with red lights and filled with alluring women. I soon found out that a dark door meant an occupied one.
When we got to the pool bar, I played a few rounds with Jason’s friends while Cat flirted her way into 10+ free shots for our group; shoutout sexy bartender Dave (Cat misses you dearly). The rounds were fun (both of drinks and games) and we made our way to a speakeasy around the corner with beautiful cocktails and life recaps on post grad life. Julia and Jason were heading home early the next morning so we said goodnight and noted their recommendations as our trip was just starting.
It was Friday morning and we were lucky enough to have Sarah, another friend from school, fly in from Barcelona and join us for the weekend. She was completing the same program I had participated in the previous summer and had weekends off to explore Europe. The now five of us decided there wouldn’t be a better way to explore Amsterdam than on bikes and boats.
We rented bikes from our hostel for the day and went over to the farmers market. I directed us with one hand on my bike and the other hand occupied by Google Maps. We made it in one piece, feeling like seasoned locals, locked up our bikes, bought a doner kebab for lunch and ate as we walked through the little street shops. I was mesmerized by all the jewelry and had to stop myself from buying an expensive vintage silver watch. Instead I caved for a silver bracelet made from three flowers, the center being the biggest, each with a circle turquoise centerpiece. After strolling the entire street market, we hopped back on our bikes and made our way back to the Museum District, this time actually venturing in.
We arrived at the Stedelijk Museum just as it started to rain. Each of us grabbed a little audio guide tool and went our own ways to take in the modern and contemporary art. Before we knew it, the museum employees were notifying us of the museum's closing and ushering us to the gift shop. We hopped back on our bikes, now drizzled with raindrops, to see more of the city. We biked to the Begijnhof and to our disappointment it was already closed but we didn't waste the journey and made it to Kalverstraat Street for some shopping. After each of us bought our outfit for the evening, we biked back to the hostel, returned our bikes, and got ready for the next form of exploring: boating.
We made it to our canal wine tour with not a minute to spare. One of Dani’s hometown friends was solo-traveling and also happened to be in Amsterdam that weekend - Alexis met up with us at the dock and we all quickly became friends. Blair, Cat, Dani, Sarah, Alexis and I got acquainted with our shipmates and cheers-ed our plastic mini wine cups as we made it out onto the water learning little details about the city from our captain.
The two hour boat tour flew by and we were eager to keep the night going. After we docked, we stayed back with our feet dangling over the water, mingling with strangers, and trying to flag down cute Dutch boys out on the boats. It did not take long for the six of us to find a boat willing to take us back out on the water. We watched the sunset from our Dutch friends’ boat, noted down their club recommendations, and got dropped off two blocks from our first stop on our newly formulated bar crawl. The night was just starting as we made friends with strangers and explored many new bars - we even made our way back to one familiar pool bar to say hello to Cat’s bartender crush, and maybe get a few more free drinks.
The next morning was a rough one. Everyone slowly woke up around 10am and got ready for our only solidified plan of the trip: the Anne Frank House, which we had bought tickets for months prior. Thinking our tickets were for 1pm, we shared stories from the night before and laughed at how if we were back at home, none of us would leave the couch all day. Around 10:45am, I checked our Anne Frank tickets and was found in disarray. Our tickets were for 11am, not 1pm. I ordered an uber which would be arriving in 3 minutes as we threw on clothes, jumped out of bed, and ran downstairs with last night's makeup on. The uber was silent - both due to devastation and pounding headaches.
On the verge of tears, we arrived at 11:10am. The year prior I had not had time to make it to the Anne Frank House and felt it was very important to learn about the history that had happened in Amsterdam not too many years prior as my grandparents were survivors as well. I went to speak to the ushers and we were pleased to hear that our tickets were going to be honored. Everyone was relieved, Blair especially who ran down the street to buy water to try and calm her brutal hangover.
About thirty minutes later, we entered the Anne Frank House and chose to each have our own individual experience. I was last to leave and walked around the corner to meet up with my friends ordering some crepes. We ate and discussed the tragedies that had occurred exactly where we were standing less than 100 years prior.
After our debrief and poor efforts to cure our hangovers, we made it into the city center to buy some souvenirs and make a stop at Manneken Pis for some french fries. Within 5 minutes the weather changed from sunny to a complete downpour so we had no choice but to find coverage in the nearest ‘coffee shop’.
Our group of five ended up stumbling upon the biggest coffee shop in the world, Prix d'Ami, which was more of a club than anything. We bought a wide selection of treats and waited out the rain before enjoying our joints at a more quiet spot. The rain didn't let up but we were indeed fed up after wanting a chill vibe but instead were sat next to the DJ. We found a quieter coffee shop and relaxed there for an hour until the rain truly stopped. With the weather now clear and it being my last night in Amsterdam, I thought there was no better way to end the trip than with a true Amsterdam trip: truffles.
I found my way back down a familiar street and into a shop I had bought truffles at the previous year. I spoke to the same clerk, Isaac, who helped me decide that it was time for a higher dose. I bought 15mg instead of the previous 10mg and munched on my gritty treat outside while my friends smoked the rest of our joint. In an hour the truffles would kick in and I wanted to be surrounded by the beautiful nature in Vondelpark.
To this day I am still trying to decipher my trip. It was a very individual experience as my brain was firing but I could not transfer those feelings into words. My friends and I hung-out in a children's park and were all so happy as we swung on the swings and laughed together. We walked through the magical trees along the water and took in everything. Soon the sun started to set and we made our way to dinner. This is where things went south for me so I decided to chill in the less stimulating bathroom until my friends finished our quick dinner. I was usually the one to navigate us but since I was in a different universe, I allowed my friends to take over that responsibility. On the trek home, we found ourselves in fact, very far from home and instead eight miles in the wrong direction. We hopped off the trolley and my brain, still not functioning, decided it would be smart to walk right in front of it as it started moving forward. Thank god for my friends and my own quick feet - I jumped back realizing my near death experience and held onto someone's hand the entire way home. I felt I had been through every stage of life from being a kid on the swings to facing death: by trolley. After a few deep breaths, we situated ourselves in the right direction and home to the hostel for our final night in Amsterdam. We said goodnight to the beautiful streets, new friends, and canals and prepared for our train to Paris the next morning.
