A Weekend in Amsterdam

Weekend trips can be a bit crazy. Trying to fit an entire city into 2 or 3 days can be (very) hard. My trip to Amsterdam was especially crazy because my friend and I booked our trip less than 48 hours before we actually left. We booked our flight on a Wednesday night and left early Friday morning. Overall though, it turned out to be one of the best cities that I’ve experienced.

Amsterdam is an extremely charming city, with it’s small streets, busy canals and friendly people. Amsterdam is often described as an onion. No, not because it smells, but because the canals create different layers to the city, each with different characteristics. The people of Amsterdam were some of the nicest I have met since studying abroad. I don’t understand any Dutch but the people here were more than willing to answer any questions I had.

From day one in Amsterdam, it was almost non-stop. My friend and I arrived in Amsterdam around 9:30 am. We took an early flight, thus we had all day Friday to explore. Our first outing on Friday was to Keukenhof Gardens, which is a 30 minute drive outside of Amsterdam. This place was by far one of my favorite sites that I’ve been to in Europe. The garden is only open from March 24th to May 16th. I had no idea this was even in existence when I booked my ticket to Amsterdam and I got extremely lucky that it was open during this time period (April 8th). Most of the flowers were in bloom, especially the ones that were located indoors. Everywhere you turned there were more flowers. The park is huge and it consists of lakes and small rivers that flow throughout, as well as an old windmill. Luckily because I went earlier in the season, the crowds weren’t as bad. I was told later on that the crowds get very crazy during mid and late season when everything is in bloom, which is understandable because it is so beautiful. If you ever plan a trip to Amsterdam, I really recommend going during this time of year, just so you are able to see the flowers.  The weather this time of year isn’t terribly warm and rain is very common, but if you are able to experience this garden, it is definitely worth it. I spent a good portion of the day walking around here and I probably could of stayed until it closed but after being up at 4:30 am, I was pretty exhausted.

My next stop on Friday, was to the Red Light District in Amsterdam. I wasn’t about to go to Amsterdam and not see this infamous place. My friend and I went later in the evening, and there were many people walking around the area, which was essentially a long strip of buildings along either side of a canal. The experience was interesting to say the least, but it was (in my opinion) worth seeing. Each building has large windows on the street level with women dressed in either lingerie or very skimpy clothing. They try and get both men and women to come inside by flirting with them through the glass. I did see a few people go in and also a few come out as well. The name of the area also suites it because every window has a red light on, giving the entire street a red haze effect. Overall though it was interesting, my friend and I actually ended up looking up the rules and regulations of the area when we got back to our hotel. One rule for anyone who may end up in Amsterdam, don’t take pictures of the girls, it’s illegal!

On Saturday I had another eventful day. First I visited the Van Gogh museum, which was very interesting. I learned a lot about his life, the struggles he encountered, as well as his difficulties with mental illness. He was a very intelligent man but he was very tortured as well. One of my favorite paintings was Tree Roots, which is rumored to be one of his last paintings, due to the fact that it is unfinished on one corner and because the painting doesn’t make much sense. The picture was beautiful, but slightly haunting because of the chaos within it.

After the Van Gogh museum, I made my way to the Anne Frank House. This was probably the most emotional stop on the trip. We got there later on in the day and waited for an hour to get inside. It was worth the wait though. The house was very interesting, it had a lot of narrow staircases and we were able to actually touch the secret bookcase that lead to the hidden portion of the house. Unfortunately the house wasn’t furnished, probably due to how small it was, but there were pictures on the walls of how it had looked when Anne had actually lived there. Towards the end of the tour you were able to actually see some of the journal pages she wrote on. It really made me stop and think about what happened in the house and I can’t imagine being locked inside for so long, only to be discovered. I left the house not knowing how to feel. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity though and I’m glad I was able to go.

Later in the evening on Saturday, my friend and I went on a canal cruise. I loved this part, especially because I love being on the water. We were on the water for an hour and a half and went all over the city. It was great to be able to see Amsterdam from a different view, especially when the sun went down and all the city lights came on. Our captain pointed out a few of the main points of interest and we even floated down through the Red Light District. On Sunday we went back out on the water, this time in a paddle boat. We rented one for an hour and we were given a set route to follow. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard due to the fact that it was very hard to steer the boat and I think we did more circles than anything on the ride.

Overall Amsterdam is a wonderful city and I would definitely go back if I had the chance. Even though I did a lot during the 3 days, I still feel like I missed out on some of the city. I would of maybe done a city tour or gone to a few more museums if I had the opportunity. So far, Amsterdam has been one of my favorite cities, especially because of the canals and because the city isn’t too large. It was easy enough to walk from one attraction to the next, which was really nice. Hopefully one day I’ll find myself cruising along the canals again, until then I’ll just keep scrolling through my hundreds of pictures from the trip.