I spent my weekend with my two roommates in Amsterdam. The journey to get there was a little interesting: we had to take the metro to Milano Centrale station to catch a 50 minute train to the airport. You would think it would have went fine, but I guess it didn't help that our platform number was not posted until 5 minutes before the train departed, and the train ended up arriving late to Malpensa Airport. We ended up running through security to catch up to our gate, just to see a chaotic queue of people waiting around anyway.
In spite of everything, Amsterdam was amazing. It was very blustery and cold, but the weather added to the charm of the city. We ended up buying a pass for a "hop on hop off" tour, so we had access to the canals of Amsterdam all day. We saw all the main sights: Dam Square, Anne Frank's home (the outside), central station, the Red Light District, and the Amsterdam sign. We also spent a good amount of time in the Leidseplein neighborhood (we actually learned the bus line to take us there as well!), which is the main point of nightlife in the city.
The entire time we were there, we were marveled at the kindness of the Dutch people and their willingness to help. Anytime we were lost, the locals took a genuine interest in helping us find our way (speaking English better than a native speaker). In my three days here, I always felt welcomed.
We were told Dutch food really isn't too popular, and that there is a saying in Dutch which states, "in Amsterdam, you can eat in any language." In other words, ethnic foods are very popular there. Despite this, the Dutch foods I most enjoyed were the frites (fries with Dutch mayonnaise) and pannenkoeken (similar to a crêpe but bigger). The atmosphere of coffee shops and the coffee in general were also amazing!
I hope to visit Amsterdam again soon!
In spite of everything, Amsterdam was amazing. It was very blustery and cold, but the weather added to the charm of the city. We ended up buying a pass for a "hop on hop off" tour, so we had access to the canals of Amsterdam all day. We saw all the main sights: Dam Square, Anne Frank's home (the outside), central station, the Red Light District, and the Amsterdam sign. We also spent a good amount of time in the Leidseplein neighborhood (we actually learned the bus line to take us there as well!), which is the main point of nightlife in the city.
The entire time we were there, we were marveled at the kindness of the Dutch people and their willingness to help. Anytime we were lost, the locals took a genuine interest in helping us find our way (speaking English better than a native speaker). In my three days here, I always felt welcomed.
We were told Dutch food really isn't too popular, and that there is a saying in Dutch which states, "in Amsterdam, you can eat in any language." In other words, ethnic foods are very popular there. Despite this, the Dutch foods I most enjoyed were the frites (fries with Dutch mayonnaise) and pannenkoeken (similar to a crêpe but bigger). The atmosphere of coffee shops and the coffee in general were also amazing!
I hope to visit Amsterdam again soon!