Mary Meets Budapest: Mary Meets Amsterdam

I finally did it! This past weekend I went with seven JSBP friends (and met up with another friend) to Amsterdam. This was the trip I was most looking forward to—visiting Amsterdam has long been on my bucket list. And rightfully so.

6 am Irish coffee in the airport!
Ready to go!

We left on Friday on a 7 am plane to Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. To do this, we left our apartment at 4:30 am (I had set my alarm for 3:15, but it never went off, so I ended up hearing voices in the kitchen at 4:20 and waking up then…but still made it out the door)! For a bunch of college kids, that’s impressive. We arrived in Amsterdam and were immediately swept off our feet. We weren’t sure which way was up or down, and struggled to understand the map. But eventually, we were off and made our way to the hostel. Our first hostel was amazing. We stayed at the Flying Pig Uptown, which is about two blocks away from the Van Gogh museum and some others. It was in a really beautiful area. The one downfall? Somehow, we all ended up staying in double beds…I luckily spent the night in a bed with Sarah and not some random person. I don’t know how that happened but it was definitely strange.

Canadian Pancake,
the hip to my hop.

My goal for Amsterdam was to spend as much time as possible relaxing and enjoying the city for the people and culture. I think we accomplished just that. Friday we went to the Anne Frank House and it was certainly an eye opening experience. Walking in the very home that hid Anne Frank and seven other Jews during WWII was moving to say the least. Walking through the halls, seeing her room and the hidden bookcase that we’ve all heard about puts everything in perspective. It’s one thing to learn about in school, and completely different to be there in person. I’ve never read Anne Frank’s diary, but now I’m inspired to. I think that will really help me appreciate what I saw. After that somber experience, we got lunch at Sara’s Pancake House. Amsterdam has lots of pancake houses. There I had one of the best and most interesting pancakes I’ve ever had the pleasure to taste. My taste buds were happy.

Silly statue.

Red Light District

I got my first taste of the Red Light District on Friday night. I don’t know why, but for some reason I expected it to be funny and enjoyable to walk through. I was WRONG. It is disgusting and repulsive to see these women put themselves on display and trying to make money by selling their bodies. It is unsettling to walk by and see a closed curtain on one of the windows because you know that some man is paying to be with a woman, and that that is her job. It’s just as bad to see a group of men standing outside together outside a window while being extremely vulgar towards a woman in a window. Granted, she’s a hooker in the Red Light District, so she experiences this often, but no woman should have to put herself in a cage every night to make money. It’s wrong! I don’t understand the appeal of it. The whole Red Light district is a creepy little circus. And in my opinion, it’s more interesting from a distance.

Red Light District: the main drag

My happy homeless songbird

On Saturday, after meeting a homeless man who traded me an American dollar for a euro, we found the famous “I Amsterdam” sign! After the requisite photo shoot, we collectively went to the Van Gogh museum. Wow. Museums are slowly becoming more appealing to me. It was amazing to see the development of his work and understand the depths to which he reached with his paintings. I was glad to understand where his inspiration came from, and I learned to appreciate his use of color in the time we were there. After walking through I ended up buying two prints of his works. I really liked the Skull of the Skeleton with the Burning Cigarette because it was representative of his personal struggle at the time, and he meant the entire painting as a joke…I guess we all have our own sense of humor. I also bought The Bedroom. This was the first Van Gogh painting I was ever exposed to, and the museum even had an exhibit showing what his room in Arles actually looked like. It was definitely cool, and a great experience to see…especially in Europe. Sometimes this all seems like a dream.

Christian Hostel.

Sunflower kisses!

We left the Van Gogh museum in a hurry because we realized that we were late to check in to our other hostel, Shelter City. This hostel had a more central location to downtown, but it was a Christian hostel. This in itself was creepy, maybe more so because as we were checking in the janitor (who may have been somewhat delusional) kept poking his head out through the doors and preaching to us. A warm welcome to say the least! This hostel had strange rules and evening prayer! It may have been cheap but it was not the place for us.

The adventures of Court,
Mar, and Lucie

After checking in and going out with the bunch for a bit, I reached my breaking point. In travelling, I have learned that I am too independent to walk around and be hunkered down by all the interests of eight or nine people, who all butt heads. Courtney and I decided to meet up with Lucie and have our own adventure. Adventure we did. The city became a blur of colors and laughs that day, and we blew off so much steam just walking around being spectacles as we regularly do in Europe. We met a bunch of people and had a great time just exploring the city without any worries or troubles. Everything was amazing.

Bikes galore

The Bulldog, famous coffeeshop

On our way to class this morning, Tito said that you know you had a great time in a city if you forget that it rained for the duration of your stay. I couldn’t agree more. We spent almost the entirety of our trip getting soaked in the freezing rain, yet I am in love with this city. It’s more than moving from coffee shop to coffee shop. I really absorbed this city and I look at it as a place where I could happily live and thrive one day. The people are friendly and are willing to talk to you for as long as they can, the canals are a nice break from the drudgery of pavement. The tulips are gorgeous, and the best part of it all is that people ride their bikes everywhere! I literally melted inside when I saw a couple holding hands while riding their bikes. Amsterdam was perfect in everyway. I fell so hard for Amsterdam that I think I’m going back at the end of November. Seriously.

Last of all, I want to give Philosophers Stones a shout out for making Amsterdam the city of red velvet.