I just arrived back in Paris to my house, and I am thoroughly exhausted from an incredible weekend in Amsterdam. Melissa and I traveled via the Thalys high-speed train from Paris to Amsterdam on Friday-Sunday. It was a leisurely 3 hour train ride each way, and the train was 10 times nicer than any Amtrak. We arrived in Amsterdam at 6pm on Friday, and immediately had a mini culture shock. There were fast moving trams and bicycles all through the streets, and we couldn't read any of the signs in Dutch! However, after about 10 minutes, we figured out the awesome public transportation system and realized that everyone in The Netherlands speaks English! We eventually made it to our hostel before heading out for a night on the town.
Hostels are certainly a new and weird experience. The atmosphere is young and vibrant because all of the other guests are college-age travelers. However, it is strange to share a room with strangers and to trust them not to take your belongings while you're gone. Luckily, I felt much more comfortable since my friend Melissa was in the room with me. The facilities aren't that great, but it is certainly an easy and affordable way to travel Europe.
Heineken is the proud national beverage of the Netherlands. It is available at every restaurant or bar, and it is always the least expensive beer available. Quite a change from our American import beer standards. Other than the plethora of restaurants and bars, there are also "coffeeshops" on every corner. Although it is not legal in Amsterdam, marijuana has been decriminalized and is sold (and regulated strictly by the government) in the over 200+ coffeeshops of the city. It is certainly an interesting experience to walk through the streets of Amsterdam and to constantly smell the scent of weed. However, only 5% of Dutch smoke or consume weed regularly, so this phenomenon is a largely tourist experience.
Although you may not know much about the Dutch, Amsterdam is an incredible city. It is very small for a European city in size, and it is easy to walk from one end to the other in half an hour. The size of the city, along with the hundreds of canals and bridges that run throughout the city, make it a very charming place. The people are very friendly, and they are willing to help you out in any way possible. The only real danger of the city is the bicyclists. Almost every local owns a bike to get around the city, but they are not happy when tourists get in their way.
After seeing the Van Gogh Museum (a native Dutchman), we went for a 3-hour walking tour of the city. This great organization called New Europe gives walking tours of major European cities for free, and we had an amazing guide from Alaska on our walk. We saw many of the famous sites of the city including the Red Light District (prostitution is legal and taxed/regulated by the government), the Royal Palace, and the Anne Frank house. Amsterdam is a very tolerant city, and thus it has a largely diverse and interesting population.
We also saw the Heineken Experience on our final day of the weekend trip. 15 euros got you a 2 hour walking museum and experience of the world of making and living Heineken beer. Also, it got you two beers at the end of the tour to enjoy before you go on your way.
Overall, Amsterdam was an amazing experience and worth all the money/time. Unfortunately, it's back to reality here in Paris, and I have to [start] work on my French newspaper article presentation tomorrow for my government class. Can't wait for next weekend on the French Riviera!
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