On the weekend of the 6th of November, I flew to the lovely Amsterdam for Museum Night, or Museumnacht, as the Dutch call it. During this event, 45 museums throughout the city have special events from 7 PM-2 AM. Tickets included entrance to any of the 45, public transportation from 6 PM-6 AM, entrance to any of the museums on the list during the day as well as discounted entry to afterparties. Unfortunately, due to exhaustion, E and I were unable to make it to that last bit. I thoroughly enjoyed it--we ended up going to the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum, and Rijksmuseum.
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| This is a picture of the giant Chupa Chups display they had outside the Rijksmuseum. I was really excited to get free lollipops. |
Aside from museums, we also strolled through several outdoor markets, including Waterlooplein, Albert Cuypmarkt, Bloemenmarkt (the flower market), and Dappermarkt. They're all worth checking out. Speaking of shopping, I did quite a bit down Kalverstraat on my first night, in addition to some shopping in De Negen Straatjes, or the nine streets, on Sunday afternoon. I actually got a new trench coat, which should hopefully come in handy in London next semester! All in all, my first day in Amsterdam was entertaining, albeit exhausting due to the fact that I got little to no sleep in the days preceding the trip due to midterms. It mostly paid off--I did quite well on the paper that was due that Saturday!
We went on a very informative (and fun) walking tour in which we discovered why all the buildings lean and all the staircases are so tiny.
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| We also saw the coffeeshop in which they pulled the lost in translation thing on Matt Damon in Ocean's Twelve. Our tour guide was excellent! |
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| I was unsurprised to see these urinals in the street--I'd read about them earlier. However, I still needed to get a picture. |
If you go to Amsterdam, you have to get stroopwafels! They're everywhere but I recommend the ones at the Albert Cuyp Market. I actually stocked up on stroopwafels at one of the Albert Heijn supermarkets (they’re everywhere!). I’m really excited to have another one later on. I'm sure the packaged ones won't be as delicious as the one I had at the market (as seen below), but I'm sure I'll still be grateful that I have them.
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| This man made them right in front of us and it was one of the best things I've ever eaten. |
This lovely city is also known for its delicious pancakes! We spent a significant amount of time searching for the famous Pancake Bakery, and I must say that it was completely worth it.
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| I got little poffertjes and I loved them. |
Another typical Dutch dish is the Vlaamse frites, or Flemish fries, with mayonnaise. I'd heard somewhere that the best fries in Amsterdam are at Vleminckx Sausmeesters Vlaamse Friteshaus, so I had it on my itinerary for Thursday, and randomly stumbled upon it while turning into a side street during my first Dutch shopping adventure. That moment in which I realized that I'd accidentally found the place was quite exciting.
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| The fries were delicious, despite the fact that I normally despise the mere sight of mayonnaise. |
We also had some random falafel and amazing food from this Turkish restaurant, which came highly recommended by P. It was great to see the area surrounding the Turkish restaurant; it wasn't near the center so I'm sure that most tourists miss out completely. Also, while wandering around in the rain one night, we stumbled upon this great restaurant where we had dinner...it was called Witteveen.
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| I took this picture at night after taking the wrong tram about ten stops in the wrong direction. In case you can't tell, it's the Iamsterdam sign. |
Overall, my experience in Amsterdam was excellent while it lasted. I don't know if I'll ever return, but I must say that if I knew how to ride a bicycle or… speak Dutch, I would probably actually try to move there.
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| The canals were absolutely gorgeous, especially at night. |
I could have sworn I got a picture of a windmill. but I can't seem to find it...we definitely saw it though--V, who was studying there last semester, recommended it to us.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to writing a post about my trips to Madrid or Montserrat or anything, but I promise to at least try!
Anyway, here's to sampling delicious food in random cities! Amsterdam wasn't on my list of places to travel to in Europe, but I'm so glad I did.
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