I don't know why, but whenever I think of Amsterdam, I can't help but call it Hamsterdam. Weird. No idea where that came from either.
It seems like last Monday was ages ago, so it's kind of a struggle for me to think back that far. So much has happened in the last week. I'll do my best to document the important parts, and hopefully make it somewhat exciting. :) I really wish I could have updated the blog as I went, but I only had my phone and can't write posts from there. So I'll try to get caught up. Okay, okay.
Last Monday, the 20th, I arrived in Amsterdam. I knew the exact street of our hotel and it was really easy to find from Central Station, it was on the main street in Central Amsterdam. I walked up and down that dang street like 5 times, I am not kidding you, looking for the hotel. I knew it was there somewhere! Finally got a little frustrated and stopped in a little shop to ask where the "Orange Tulip" hotel is. There was a guy and lady working at the counter and they said its just a little ways down, YOU CAN'T MISS IT. Well, jokes on you, because I did miss it, about 5 times. This time, I waked super slow and looked at every square inch of the row of buildings. Found it! A small door with the tiny words "Orange Tulip" written on the door. Typical Netherlands style, you walk in the door and straight up a super narrow set of stairs.
I waited around and went for a little walk until the friends I was meeting there arrived. We were all pretty tired, so it was an early night.
The next morning, the other two slept in and I went for a walk since I can't sleep past 8:00 am. There was a steady mist of rain falling the whole 3 hours that I walked around, but I honestly didn't really care. I just embraced the full experience by ending up pretty soaking wet by the end of the morning.
Amsterdam is such a fun town to explore because the architecture and the canals make every street look different. There really are more bikes than people in the city.
I found a famous pancake place on a cute little street, so had my first Dutch pancake breakfast there. You guys, it was so good, but I could only eat about half of it. I got the "Autumn Special" a regular pancake with roasted pears, raspberry spread, cinnamon icecream, whipped cream, and Belgian chocolate flakes. Probably one of the best things I've ever tasted in my life. Just look how happy I am, and that was before tasting it. Geez.
I've also decided it would be really fun to try living in a houseboat.
The beginning of the second day, the three of us went to the Rijksmuseum. The museum is huge, and almost overwhelming. I think I read that there are 83 rooms filled with art works of all kinds. I'm sure it would take all day to walk through every room, probaby more if you get lost.
We took our time and wandered for a few hours then were at the point of "we've had too much art" and decided to hit the highlights and leave. We saw a few pieces by Van Gogh and Rembrandt's famous piece. It was a good time, the museum was just renovated and looked beautiful. I'm glad we did this, and it was a perfect activity for a day that was rainier than normal.
To be continued.....
(When I get around to it, which is hopefully soon)
But, I did sleep in the airport last night and got on a flight at 5:30 am, so cut me some slack.
(My UP24 bracelet summary said: you slept for 1 hr 41 min, in bed for 2 hr 10 min, awake for 10 hr 19 min. Stellar.
There's also nothing better than starting your Monday morning by going through airport security at 5:00 am. They were such a happy group of folks, let me tell you. :)
Happy Monday everyone!