Amsterdam

Amsterdam was our longest leg of the trip- Monday morning through Friday morning. We arrived Monday and got to our hostel, which was located near the museum district. Monday was spent walking around the area. We got world famous fries from Vleminckx (I’d recommend with samurai sauce) and did some shopping.

fries!

Then we rested up before we went to a concert. We saw Spanish indie pop star Alvaro Soler (known for his song El Mismo Sol). After the concert I got some yummy falafel.

Us and Alvaro Soler

On Tuesday we rented bikes and biked all day. I think renting bikes was the best way to see the city. I had heard that in Amsterdam there were more bikes than people but I didn’t believe it until I got there. Bikes seem to take precedence over cars and even pedestrians. We met Dana’s parents for dinner at their hotel which was nice because we were so hungry from biking. We went to a bar called Bar Louis (with a namesake cat) and played cards and board games.

Judy, me, and Maggie

me and my trusty bike for the day

I Amsterdam sign

On Wednesday we woke up early and went to the Van Gogh Museum. The temporary exhibit was a comparison between the lives of Van Gogh and Edvard Munch. I didn’t realize the two artists were nearly contemporaries but had never met. Then we had some much needed brunch and I got huevos rancheros (eggs and avocados!!!). We headed back to the hostel for a rest before getting some Thai food for dinner. We met up with a childhood friend of Judy’s who was studying in Amsterdam for the semester for pie.

brunch!

On Thursday we got up early again and went to the Anne Frank house. I had really been looking forward to this after reading the diary at a younger age. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I went in with no expectations and was blown away. There is no furniture in the house but there were many video displays and innumerable letters and artifacts that tell the story. I was able to keep it together until the video of Otto Frank describing how he never really got to know his daughter. I think the museum struck me so hard because I was a teenage girl not too long ago and the enormity of the senselessness of the Holocaust was tangible to me in that moment.

After the Anne Frank House we wandered around and ended up back at Bar Louis for lunch. I had an amazing smoked salmon and capers open sandwich and Judy had a burger.

Bar Louis

It ended up being that we were in Amsterdam the week of Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) festival for dance and electronic music. We got tickets to a show that night. It was fun but it was house music, which is hard for me to enjoy because there aren’t any words. The Dutch people are very orderly during the day but at night they really like to have fun.

Amsterdam was perhaps the most interesting leg of our trip but also the most expensive. We ordered a liter of water at lunch one day and were shocked when the bill came and it was €6! Pro tip: order tap water when you can!

Me and my namesake barbershop!