Amsterdam, as you know, is a big tourist attraction--mainly because of the legalized marijuana and mushrooms, as well as legalized prostitution. Being the straight-edge that I am in many ways, one would think that this would not be an enjoyable place for me to visit. However, in the end, I loved it! Amsterdam is actually a really quaint city. The houses and buildings are tall and thin and resemble doll houses all lined up in a row. The Red Light District, however, is a tad bit different. That's actually where our hostel was located. We began a three hour tour first thing our first morning there that took us through all the main landmarks, including seeing our first few prostitutes in the Red Light District. In this district, the prostitutes are protected by the law (and each other) from anyone trying to expose them publicly (they will smash your camera and pee on it if you try and take a picture),. They display themselves in rented out windows with red lighting and pose trying to get passers by to come in and pay for their services. It's unreal. Also, look out for the blue lights. Those mean that they may have lady and man parts! Uh oh. hahaha So many fun facts come out during those tours.In the few days we were there, besides seeing the prostitutes and watching half the people on the trip get high from the legal marijuana from the "coffee shops" around town, we went into the Anne Frank House, explored the city, and had amazing pancakes. The Anne Frank house cost 8.5 Euro to get into and explained Anne's story along with artifacts from her family's stay in the secret apartment. We also got to walk through the actual apartment where they had been housed in Amsterdam before being betrayed and discovered, see actual journal pages from her diary, and really try to understand what it was like being cramped in that small apartment for two years, hoping she wouldn't be taken away by the Nazis. It was really emotional to see. Walking through made Anne less of a character (or Apples to Apples trump card) in my mind and more of a real person. Between that and seeing everything in Berlin, I was educated on the Holocaust and Nazism during this trip in such a real way. It was amazing to experience.
Outside of the Anne Frank house
My friends and I also found our way to the "I Amsterdam" sign in the middle of the nicer part of the city. We spent a good amount of time posing on the letters and relaxing in the park nearby. We then made our way over to this fantastic pancake house, which was built around an old carousel. I splurged a tad and got the Carousel Pancakes...the most elaborate creation on the menu. It was a giant pancake covered in powdered sugar, mixed fruit, two scoops of ice cream, and whipped cream. After not having pancakes, or any American breakfast food for that matter, for the past two months, it was like heaven. After that, my friends and I did some shopping, returned to the hostel, fell asleep at an embarrassingly early time ("It's 9:30...and we're in Amsterdam..."), and then got up to head to Paris the next morning.
Love.
Even though Amsterdam is a pretty scandalous place, I fell in love with the city and really enjoyed the easygoing culture, as well as the quaint appearance of the area. Even if you're not a partier, I'd highly recommend a visit. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment