Thursday afternoon, we both landed in the Schipol airport early afternoon. After collecting our Holland Passes, we hopped on a train to the city center to catch a tram to our Airbnb. Our short trip from the station to our tram stop was beautiful! The sun was out and lit up the whole city.
After we dropped our bags off in our room, we went out for a walk and sat down at the Bulldog for a late lunch. Afterward, we continued to wander around Leidseplein for a little before heading to Gunther von Hagen's Body Worlds exhibit, close to Dam Square.
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| Nutella Bakery |
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| Dam Square |
The exhibit was extremely interesting, focusing on the physical and mental health of humans. It began on the top floor and ended on the first. When we stepped out of the elevator to the eighth floor, we were greeted by various bodies and body parts in display cases. As we stepped closer, we realized that they were real and plasticized - creepy, but fascinating! We made our way down the building, we saw all types of crazy things, but the baby series took the cake. On one of the last floors of the exhibition, there was a segment focusing on the development of babies and there were plasticized versions of everything from a zygote to a 6 month-old fetus. Besides the fact that all humans used in the exhibit were donors, the museum does not release the stories behind all of the people used. Therefore, Sara and I were left to wonder about who everyone was and how they got there. We were not allowed to take photos on the floors themselves, but we were able to snap pictures of the quotes in the staircases.
The night ended with a late Italian dinner and a pretty walk along the quiet canals!
On Friday, we started our day with bagels! Both of us were overcome with happiness - three months too long without a bagel and cream cheese! The bagels were delicious, as were the almond milk lattes.
Next, we took a canal cruise. This was the perfect way to see the city. For about an hour, the little boat took us around town, showing us important buildings (like the Anne Frank House and the Amstel Hotel) and recounting the history behind the leaning houses, bridges, and Amsterdam people.
When the tour ended, we roamed through Vondel Park. It was so beautiful in all of its autumn glory and we didn't realize how much we had missed being near trees. I never noticed how few trees I'd seen in Lyon until now. Before we knew it, it was time for our cheese tasting appointment!
We arrived at the Reypenaer store for our lesson! We had so much fun learning the background story behind the family run business and trying the five different cheeses and 3 different wines that afternoon, probably one of my favorite things we did that weekend.
Cheese tasting was followed by more food: stroopwafels, a Dutch cookie made with gooey caramel in between two warm, thin waffles. My fresh stroopwafel was the best thing I ate that weekend. Unfortunately, we didn't remember the name of the little shop and it was one of the few places that sold them fresh so we never had them again, despite our serious searching.
Before we headed back to the apartment to rest a little before dinner, we made our way over to the Red Light district. It was still early evening so the area was still relatively quiet, but we could see a few girls already in their windows. It was really shocking and disturbing to see. For the most part, the girls looked extremely normal - many were as young as we were and looked like someone we would see in class. They all looked a little bored and cold, texting on their phones or opening and closing their doors without much expression. The worst part was seeing them talking to creepy-looking men, knowing that the red lights hanging above their windows were not just a show, but their life.
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| At the edge of the Red Light District |
Saturday was our last full day in Amsterdam, and it was probably my favorite day we spent in the city. We got a late start to our morning and didn't make it to the Pancake Bakery until almost noon. Regardless, we had an incredible walk over. It was the first day we actually were able to peek into stores lining the canals and appreciate the water views.
One of our friends who had studied abroad previously and visited Amsterdam recommended the Pancake Bakery and we were extremely glad she did. The restaurant was tucked away on the basement floor of a building, but busy with two big groups waiting outside to be seated when we arrived. Thankfully, we were able to sit down quickly and we ordered the "Sweet American" pancakes and "Autumn Special" poffertjes - so good. Our Holland Pass even got us two free glasses of cider!
After brunch, we checked out all the cute shops we'd pass earlier and just bask in the sun surrounded by trees with colorful leaves! The rest of the day was spent exploring until our legs were too tired to take us any further and we went home.
On Sunday morning, we went to our favorite bagel place again for breakfast before visiting the Van Gogh museum. It was remarkable, seeing so many of his paintings in one place! My favorite was the painting of the peach tree blooming, which I had never seen it before. Unfortunately, we had to move through the exhibit quickly since we were short on time. Afterward, we speeded over to one of the boutiques we visited the day before so I could buy a special Christmas present for someone! Then it was back to the apartment to grab our things and jump on to airport shuttle.
Goodbye, Amsterdam! We miss you already!
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