On thursday night we left for Amsterdam and for once we weren't flying Ryanair! We were shocked at the leg room available and the fact that snacks were passed out during the flight. We took advantage of the free wine and beer and passed. It's become the thing to take pictures of each other sleeping because somehow we always end up in the weirdest positions with the strangest facial expressions. This particular picture left me with the worst crick in my neck and got Mary and I some strange looks from the family across the isle.
We got in pretty late and because we needed to get up early for the Anne Frank house, some of the girls went to bed and the rest of us explored the area and got a snack to eat. The night is beautiful in Amsterdam with all of the lights reflecting off of the canals.
We stumbled upon an asian grill and I was in heaven. I never thought I would say this but I don't know if I can eat another piece of pizza. Actually, give me a week and I will want one, but when we are finally given variety we tend to go nuts. Throughout the voyage to Holland I ate:
-indonesian food that was so spicy we were all sweating but absolutely delicious
-fries fries fries with all different types of sauces (mayonese, ketchup, curry)
-a delicious hotdog drowned in relish because aparently Italy doesn't believe in pickles
-shoarma which is this shaved roasted meat with a garlic and chili sauce in a pita
-dutch apple pie
-a strawberry tart
-cheesecake
-a salmon sandwich
-and a lot of apples that my economical side brought along for the trip
It would be an understatement to say that I was full the entire time I was in Amsterdam.
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But anywho, the next morning we went to the Anne Frank House which was a mixture of an eery atmosphere, depressing and devastating emotions yet extremely moving. You get to tour the entire building that they hid in for two years, which was a storefront with a secret attic and back part. It was incredible to hear the stories of not only Anne but her whole family and the people who aided in helping them. I had no idea that the two men who were in charge of the building, business and hiding them were also sent to concentration camps although they survived. Anne's father is the only one out of their entire family and the other family that was hiding with them to survive. We left feeling a little gloomy but also in awe of a family with such courage and strength.
We went on the search for Dutch pancakes but instead came across Dutch apple pie which OH MY GOD was absolutely delicious. It was served with fresh whip cream that was so thick you could hold the plate upside down and it would stay. We finished and walked into the center of town only to stumble upon a men's beach volleyball tournament, definitely the weirdest thing I have seen in Europe so far. They had literally poured sand into the middle of the city center and had a DJ playing hip hop and techno = so strange.
From there we went to Vondel park where I could stay for hours; it was so beautiful and there were people covering almost every inch of green. There was music and food and laughter and babies and couples and enough bikes for everyone that goes to the University of Oregon...twice.
That night when we went out we met an English cricket team and they might be the funniest group of guys I have ever met. They had this deal called "wild card" that was like the ultimate truth or dare. There was a pot of 100 euros and if you didn't complete whatever the dare was you lost your money. One guy had to slowly take his pants off in the middle of the dance floor and I looked over right as these girls around him were slowly backing away from him - scared - and all of his friends were dyeing laughing. Another guy had to get down on his knees and act like he was looking for something on the floor for 15 minutes.
The next day we went to the I Amsterdam sign and after taking some classic pictures, and fighting people to take those photos, we headed over to the Van Gogh museum. It was one of the coolest museums I have ever been too. They had it arranged chronologically so we could see his progression as a beginning artist, a troubled man and then right before he committed suicide. After the museum we went back to the park because we loved it so much. Mackenzie's cousin lives near Amsterdam so we met up with him and because one of his friends owns a boat, we got a free tour of Amsterdam via the canals. We boated to a local microbrewery and got to hang out, listen to a live band and enjoy some Oregon style microbrews.
I thought Amsterdam was going to be a run down, drug infested city but I fell in love with it. It had much more of a village feel with the beauty of the canals, architecture, delicious mix of food, and great people. The Red Light District was funny to go through but it was such a small section of town and in no way reflected all of Amsterdam. I could go back and I know that I will someday.
The travel home was absolutely crazy; my biggest fear is crashing in an airplane and I woke up to being in the middle of thunderstorm with literally, thunder outside of the airplane. It was absolutely terrifying. But alas, we made it home and despite us all being on separate flights we found each other in Florence and without fail we ran into each other, running to catch buses and trains.
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