Amsterdam

Oh how I loved Amsterdam. There is just something so charming about the city. All the canals, bikes, flowers, cute houses...I love it.

I got a lot of recommendations from Liz on things to do in the city. My favorite thing we did, by far, was rent bikes for the day. You have to do this if you're in Amsterdam. It's the best way to see the city and get around town.

My second favorite thing was the Anne Frank Museum.

This place was incredible. I LOVE history and the Holocaust has always been one of the most interesting things for me to study. It was such a humbling experience to walk through the actual house. The original bookshelf is still there. When we came to the bookshelf and the stairs, that's when it hit me: I was walking through history. Such a crazy feeling.

The pictures Anne put up on her walls are still there. The original pictures! On one doorframe is the markings that show how much Anne and her sister grew during their time spent in the annex. Seeing those kinds of things just makes the history come alive.

If you can't tell, I HIGHLY recommend this if you ever go to Amsterdam. You have to see it.

After riding through Vondel Park, we found an outdoor market. So fun.

On the edge of the city, there is a brewery in a windmill. I don't like beer (and Rachel doesn't really either), but if you do, this is the place for you. There are tons of picnic tables outside. The locals come here after work so it's not a huge touristy area. Even if you don't want to try the beer, it's still a great photo op. Definitely a fun, relaxing atmosphere!

I can't wait to go back and explore some more!

Eating our way through Amsterdam

Amsterdam was one of my favorite places we visited. Before I talk about anything else, here is some of the delicious food we ate.

Bagels and Beans

This place had so many good options to choose from. I went with a cinnamon raisin bagel with bananas, cinnamon, and maple syrup. With a cappuccino to drink. Yummm.

Burger Meester

This place was sooo good. And I don't even like meat that much. The burgers were ginormous. I tried to take a bite like normal but it hurt my neck (not even lying). So I ate the rest with a fork and knife.

Thank you, Liz, for the recommendation!

Screaming Beans

We stumbled upon this hole-in-the-wall by accident. I only got a croissant and orange juice. But man was that juice good. Freshley squeezed deliciousness.

Rachel got a filtered coffee and she said it was great. I don't really drink coffee but this girl knows her stuff. So I trust her.

Last but not least, dutch apple pie. It was good, but I like American apple pie better. I'm more of a hot pie/thick crust with ice cream kind of girl. Dutch apple pie is cold with hardly any crust and a lot of raisins.

In summary: it was dessert so of course I liked it. But it's not for everyone.

Kindness of Strangers

Brussels to Amsterdam

Method of Travel: Bus

At this point, we used planes, trains, and automobiles. Success.

Yes, we took a bus to Amsterdam. It was only 15 euros so we snatched that up. Once we got to the city, we had to take the metro to our hostel. We sat down across from a man who could have been Joseph Gordon-Levitt's twin. Score.

He asked us where we were from and made small-talk. We got to one stop and he got up to get off. We told him goodbye and he said, "Why are you not getting off? This is the last stop."

Uhhhh great. We were supposed to be going in the opposite direction. He was nice enough to show us where to go and told us which stop we needed. 

So once we got to the stop we needed, it was raining and we were tired. We were in the middle of an arena and there was a line of taxis. We walked to the first one to ask him to take us to our hostel. When he saw where it was, he told us it would be much quicker and cheaper for us to walk. He didn't want to take our money since it was so close. Apparently our map was completely wrong on the distance!

Praise the Lord for kind strangers!!

On our second day in the Netherlands, we went to the Hague to visit one of Rachel's family friends. It was so incredibly nice to be in an actual home and cook a real meal in a real kitchen. I'm so thankful they let me (a complete stranger) come into their home. It was such a nice relaxing day.