This past weekend some friends and I traveled to Amsterdam, and it was a lot of fun. We stayed in the Stayokay Hostel Zeeburg, and it was really nice, with breakfast included. If anyone plans on staying in Amsterdam, I would stay there. The only downside about the hostel was that it wasn't centrally located. The first night we were in Amsterdam my friends and I walked to the city center, and it took about an hour to walk there, and an hour back. The next morning, we decided we were never going to take that walk again, and asked the front desk for tram tickets. A 48 ticket only cost us 12 euro each, and we could take any tram, bus, or night bus, so I thought that was a pretty good deal.
The first thing we wanted to do in Amsterdam was see the Anne Frank House. This is where Anne Frank and her family hid from Nazi Persecution for nearly two years until they were caught. Anne's father made the house into a museum in 1960. I was unable to take photos while in the museum, which is completely understandable. As I was walking through the Secret Annex, it was hard to imagine how eight people could have lived in such a tiny space for so long. There were workers below the Annex during the weekday, so the family also always had to be extremely quiet. I think anyone visiting Amsterdam should visit the Anne Frank House. I would suggest going right at opening time, or purchasing tickets online. My friends and I waited in line for two hours, which wouldn't have been that bad, but the weather wasn't particularly good.
Another thing we did was visit the Heineken Museum. It was actually really cool, because we got to learn about the history of the beer, and saw how it was produced. There was also a very tiny amusement park ride, which was a little cheesy, but creative. The museum also has a very big gift store, so I was able to buy a lot of souvenirs for friends and family.
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| The Heineken Museum |
After we went to the Heineken Museum, we walked to the I Amsterdam sign. There were a ton of people there so I didn't get very good photos, but my friend Kelsey managed to get a really cool one with Susan in it.
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| Susan and the I Amsterdam sign |
After we went to all the typical touristy areas for more souvenirs, we all just walked around a lot. We found our way to the Red Light District, and there were weird museums and gift shops to see there as well. Amsterdam is also really pretty with all the canals. I really enjoyed this trip, and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to go, and I will definitely be going back in the future. However, the main language in the Netherlands is Dutch, and I couldn't understand a single word. It was comforting to be back in Germany, and understand at least half of what people are saying.
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