Kelsey, Jessica, and I had a wonderful adventure in Amsterdam! I was really nervous and apprehensive about this trip since we were going to go without a guide. I was really afraid that we would miss our train or get lost somewhere in the city. It's is Amsterdam, anything could go wrong, but it didn't...or at least not to us. After switching trains twice (all by ourselves) and three and half hours later, we arrived in Amsterdam. I fell completely in LOVE with this city! It is amazingly beautiful and I will be traveling there again sometime in my lifetime.
When we first arrived at the train station, we immediately bought a 48 hour tram pass so that we could travel through the city. It was the best money that I ever spent! We were able to cover a lot more ground this way. When we got off the tram at our stop, we pulled out our map just like tourists (haha). While we were searching for the road that our hostel was one, someone walked up to us and asked if we needed help. Low and behold, they spoke English. They were originally from Boston and were there studying at the university. They couldn't find the road either so Kelsey asked this sweet little lady at a kiosk. (We ate at this kiosk the next day. It was a fried piece of dough with powdered sugar. It tasted just like a funnel cake!) She didn't speak very much English, but she pointed us in the right direction. After that, we only had to ask two more times where things were located.
Our hostel was nice for what we paid. We had our own private room and bathroom which I was very excited about. As soon as we walked in the hostel, there was a German soccer team waiting for us at the door. They were really nice and tried to speak Spanish to us, but when we spoke back in Spanish they were slightly confused. Guess what else our hostel had??? A cat! She was so sweet and of course I had to love on her, but she was a bit sassy!
After we got settled in at our hostel, we went out exploring and found this wonderful Italian place to eat dinner. It was the best freshly made Italian I have ever had! After we finished dinner, we walked out into one of the squares and waited for the next tram so we could explore a different location. While we were waiting, we looked across the road and saw a hot pink wig laying on the ground. I thought that it was odd, but we were in Amsterdam. Then we saw a poor elderly man seizing just a few feet away from us. I think that it had been going on for a while, because there were tons of people around him. Luckily the ambulance arrived shortly after we saw this. I was so thankful that he was okay. We caught the next tram that arrived and went to a few shops before heading back to the hostel.
The second day that we were there, we went to the Anne Frank House. The line was extremely long, but I was determined to wait. It was extremely cold and windy, but it was totally worth the wait. Unfortunately photography is not allowed in the house, so I do not have any pictures to show. However, it was a very emotional and educational experience that I highly recommend! After we left the house, we walked around and explore more of Amsterdam. Once we arrived at our hostel, we noticed that an ambulance was sitting out if front of it. We were a little scared as to what had happened. Two cop cars and three ambulances later, we found out that some of the people staying decided that they did not want to get along. We never really found out exactly what happened, but the lovely lady at the front desk said that everything was fine and there was no danger.
On the last morning that we were there, we just explored. We were going to go to the Van Gogh Museum, but we were not for sure how long it would take and did not want to miss our train. Oh! Let me tell you about our little train experience on the way home. Our train was scheduled to leave at a little past 4:30. Well, 4:30 comes along and we are still sitting in our train waiting to leave. 5:00 rolls around and we are still sitting there waiting for information. Finally sometime after 5, we find out that someone had jumped in front of the train the was ahead of us. I was really shocked when they told us this, but our lovely Russian friend that we met on the train told us that it happened more often than you would think. After an hour of waiting for the policemen to clean up the accident and get things moving, we left the station. We were over an hour and a half late, but we finally made it back to Werne.
Here are some pictures from our trip. Enjoy!
When we first arrived at the train station, we immediately bought a 48 hour tram pass so that we could travel through the city. It was the best money that I ever spent! We were able to cover a lot more ground this way. When we got off the tram at our stop, we pulled out our map just like tourists (haha). While we were searching for the road that our hostel was one, someone walked up to us and asked if we needed help. Low and behold, they spoke English. They were originally from Boston and were there studying at the university. They couldn't find the road either so Kelsey asked this sweet little lady at a kiosk. (We ate at this kiosk the next day. It was a fried piece of dough with powdered sugar. It tasted just like a funnel cake!) She didn't speak very much English, but she pointed us in the right direction. After that, we only had to ask two more times where things were located.
Our hostel was nice for what we paid. We had our own private room and bathroom which I was very excited about. As soon as we walked in the hostel, there was a German soccer team waiting for us at the door. They were really nice and tried to speak Spanish to us, but when we spoke back in Spanish they were slightly confused. Guess what else our hostel had??? A cat! She was so sweet and of course I had to love on her, but she was a bit sassy!
After we got settled in at our hostel, we went out exploring and found this wonderful Italian place to eat dinner. It was the best freshly made Italian I have ever had! After we finished dinner, we walked out into one of the squares and waited for the next tram so we could explore a different location. While we were waiting, we looked across the road and saw a hot pink wig laying on the ground. I thought that it was odd, but we were in Amsterdam. Then we saw a poor elderly man seizing just a few feet away from us. I think that it had been going on for a while, because there were tons of people around him. Luckily the ambulance arrived shortly after we saw this. I was so thankful that he was okay. We caught the next tram that arrived and went to a few shops before heading back to the hostel.
The second day that we were there, we went to the Anne Frank House. The line was extremely long, but I was determined to wait. It was extremely cold and windy, but it was totally worth the wait. Unfortunately photography is not allowed in the house, so I do not have any pictures to show. However, it was a very emotional and educational experience that I highly recommend! After we left the house, we walked around and explore more of Amsterdam. Once we arrived at our hostel, we noticed that an ambulance was sitting out if front of it. We were a little scared as to what had happened. Two cop cars and three ambulances later, we found out that some of the people staying decided that they did not want to get along. We never really found out exactly what happened, but the lovely lady at the front desk said that everything was fine and there was no danger.
On the last morning that we were there, we just explored. We were going to go to the Van Gogh Museum, but we were not for sure how long it would take and did not want to miss our train. Oh! Let me tell you about our little train experience on the way home. Our train was scheduled to leave at a little past 4:30. Well, 4:30 comes along and we are still sitting in our train waiting to leave. 5:00 rolls around and we are still sitting there waiting for information. Finally sometime after 5, we find out that someone had jumped in front of the train the was ahead of us. I was really shocked when they told us this, but our lovely Russian friend that we met on the train told us that it happened more often than you would think. After an hour of waiting for the policemen to clean up the accident and get things moving, we left the station. We were over an hour and a half late, but we finally made it back to Werne.
Here are some pictures from our trip. Enjoy!