Amsterdam

Let me begin with Wednesday April 14. That day was my host mom’s birthday! After my morning classes and finishing my presentation in economics I set out to buy my mom some flowers for her birthday. I went to this flower shop near my school and I explained to the flower shop lady that I would like to buy some flowers for my host mom because it was her birthday. She showed me everything and I picked out these cute yellow flowers and I pot a silver pot for them. It was perfect! As I was paying the flower shop lady said my French was very good. That comment made my day so much better! She was very nice and helpful and she wrapped up the flowers very nicely! As I walked in the door with the flowers, I saw Francoise and immediately said “Joyeux Anniversaire!” and she said Merci and gave me bises (kisses on the cheeks). That evening for her birthday dinner, her niece and sister came over and Rochelle (her niece) had made an apple crumble cake. It was DELICIOUS. And we also had strawberries and kids champagne because her sister can not have alcohol. I didn’t mind. I loved the apple flavored bubble soda. It reminded me of the sparkling wine we always had as kids for new years. It was a good night spending it with the family and although I was super tired from a stressful day of my presentation it was relaxing to sit back and enjoy a French meal.

Thursday evening at 9:30pm I left the apartment to meet Kirsten and we were off to Amsterdam. We departed from the bus station later then the set time but I was happy to be getting out of Paris finally! Our bus was packed with Americans, which was kind of annoying, but they soon quieted down and fell asleep. Kirsten and I did not expect to have a full bus so we originally sat in separate seats across from each other so we could have the window seats. But as the bus filled up we were separated and I sat next to a guy who later in the night fell asleep with his head on my shoulder and his leg practically on top of mine. Our seats were not very big and there wasn’t really any room to stretch out and he was taking up 1/3 of my seat so I moved my shoulder and he woke up and finally moved away and out of my bubble. He made my shoulder quite sore and I was really happy when we were finally in Amsterdam! We arrived in Amsterdam at 6:30am and we found the metro and we were on our way to Centraal Station.

We first started by taking the tram to Kirsten’s hostel and she checked in and then we found my hostel and I checked in. When we were at Kirsten’s hostel we arrived 30 minutes early so we waited around and while we were waiting Kirsten made a comment about sitting on the couch and I thought she was being funny because the cushions were all messed up. 5 minutes later she said… “Is that a person?” At first I was like “Nah!” and I made a double look and I was speechless..IT WAS! Haha ..Her hair had looked like just one of those furry pillows and her body was covered by all the pillows. The guy working there then got up and woke the girl up and told her to get out. It was confusing as to why she was there. We thought maybe a prostitute but who knows, its Amsterdam! After we both checked in we headed out to find the Anne Frank house. The museum was very interesting but I was bummed that we could not take pictures at all. The stairs throughout the house were extremely steep and skinny. I wonder how those Nazi’s ran up the stairs so quickly. As we walked through Anne Frank’s room, it was completely quiet and all you heard were the sounds of the wood cracking from the people walking above you. It was very moving and it made me think of how quiet they must have been in order for no one to hear them. Part of the museum was under renovations so we could not view the real diary of Anne Frank so we saw the replicate which was a bummer too.

During the museum I received the BEST text message. My friend Brittney from Texas had finally made it to Amsterdam and they were at their hotel. After the Anne Frank Museum we booked it to her hotel and as we were walking down the right street I hear…KIRSTEN…and it was Brittney running up to me and her orange UTArlington sweatshirt on was not hard to miss! I gave her the BIGGEST hug and I started crying. It was not just little tear drops, it was like a waterfall on my face. It was so nice to see a really good friend and to get a HUG. After hugging her mom and grandma and finally I stopped crying, we dropping our backpacks off at brittney’s hotel and we went out to see Amsterdam together. We did most of our sight-seeing Friday and walking everywhere and then in the evening we picked up some food and went back to the hotel and ate and relaxed there. At night, they walked me back to my hostel and I noticed that my hostel was in the Red light district…haha. My hostel was horrible, 16 girls in a room, (I think none of them have never been in a hostel before because they didn’t act like they had been), the lights were turned on for about 2 hours during the night, girls were talking endlessly, phone alarms went off without being turned off, and finally when I left in the morning, the breakfast was packed so I just checked out and left. I picked up some bread, orange juice and an apple at the boulangerie next to my hostel and then I went to Brittney’s. Her hotel was so nice and they let me eat there. I had 2 pieces of toast and on one of my toasts I put half nutella and sprinkles and the other half blueberry jam. That jam was to die for!!! So because they let me eat there I saved my bread and apple for lunch!

Later that Saturday we found Kirsten and we headed out to the local market and I bought some caramel and chocolate fudge. It was soooo good! Everyone else bought cheese and other meats and vegetables. After the market, we walked around most of the day and then in the evening we ate along a bridge and below us was a boat full of people. We yelled out asking how much he charges for a ride and he said 100Euros. We were shocked by how expensive but we figured he was joking and then he said jokingly that Amsterdam is expensive…which is not true. Amsterdam is one of the cheapest cities in Europe. After sitting on the bridge for a while the man on the boat came up and invited us for a ride! It was SO nice of him and we of course could not deny his offer! We all got on the boat and he took us all through the canals through Amsterdam and behind Centraal Station where the big port is. The guy was hilarious, with a joint in one hand and a cigarette in the other and glass of wine sitting beside him! His dog in the boat was the first dog that I have gotten to pet while in Europe. I miss dogs SOOOO MUCH! His name was toby and he was absolutely adorable. Anyways, the guy showed us where the oldest part of Amsterdam is and he showed us where the celebrities stay like Sting when they come. After having a relaxing boat ride along the canal, we left the rest of our candy with the kids on the boat and the wine with the adults and we headed back to the hotel to rest for an hour before we left for the bus station. It was sad to leave Brittney and her family but we had to get back to Paris. Once again our bus was packed. Many of the people on the bus were trying to get home any way they could because the airports are closed and the trains are full so the buses are the only option for many. I don’t know why that volcano decided to erupt now! It better stop and the air better clear up because I have to get back to Texas soon! I hope Brittney and her family have a safe trip home and I hope they are able to leave on time! Overall, Amsterdam was relaxing and the only thing that I didn’t get to do was go to the Van Gogh museum but I think the free boat ride around the canal made up for it! J

PS: Amsterdam had TRILLIONS of bikes and I’m so happy I didn’t get run over by one.