Amsterdam. Oh boy Amsterdam...you sure did surprise me.

Can I go back to Amsterdam like now please? I really wish I could have stayed longer but since our travel budgets are very much depleted, myself along with my roommates Melanie and Lisa decided to only stay one night in Amsterdam.

We took Eurolines (surprise!) early Saturday morning. The bus ride was about 4 and a half hours long, like my usual custom, I slept the whole time.

Around 1:00pm we arrived in Amsterdam. Finding our hotel was pretty easy- we did get a little lost but surprisingly everyone in the city was super nice and willing to give directions.

Near our hotel

We stayed at the Hotel Mozart, great place and excellent location but bad customer service.

Hotel Mozart

Once we checked in we had to rush to make our tour appointment at the Anne Frank House. A common theme throughout my travelling in Europe is this: At some point during every trip we take... we always end up looking like COMPLETE idiots. "Power walking" to the Anne Frank House in the pouring rain was our moment in Amsterdam.

Thankfully, the museum was a 15 minute walk from our hotel so we arrived right on time. Word to the wise: if you can ever buy tickets online...DO IT. The line for the Anne Frank House was at least a 2 hour wait...but since we bought our tickets online we got to skip the line and walk right in.

History has always been my favourite subject to learn about to going to the Anne Frank House has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

Front of Anne Frank House

After the tour, we were STARVING so we found a random little restaurant and had our first meal of the day at 5pm.

Another example of why the Dutch are some of the nicest people in the world: while waiting for our bill, the restaurant manager came up to our table and gave us a list of the best nightclubs in Amsterdam. It was a really nice gesture.

That night we went to The Bulldog Cafe. It’s located in a very touristy square called

Leidseplein Square

The Bulldog if you don't know what it is, then you need to watch more movies.

 

Once the early evening starts- the streets are filled with young tourists. No one is walking around stoned out of their mind, no one is so drunk they’re falling over themselves- people are just having a good time. One thing that did surprise me but also put me at ease in the city is that at most every tram or bus stop there are security guards that help navigate all the tourists.

Amsterdam was an awesome city, I’m really glad I went while I was young and with friends. I cannot wait to go back.

We spent a few hours there- Lisa spilt a drink on me- she felt really bad- I laughed… that’s about all I’m going to say about The Bulldog.

Then we moved on to the Red Light District.

This is when it get awkward.

First of all we had no idea where the Red Light District was…like how do you ask for direction to something like that? Well- bless her little Westminster heart- Lisa marched up to a security guard at The Bulldog and bluntly asked how to get to the Red Light District. He looked up at her, laughed, but then graciously gave us detailed directions as to how to get to one of the most "scandalous" places in Europe. Another future reference- Red Light District starts at tram stop Dam.

I’ll admit- I was nervous to go to the Red Light District- I’ve obviously heard all the stories about it- I mean, duh I’ve seen Eurotrip.

Here is the total truth: it really was not that bad. I swear. We walked along one of the streets in the area for about 20 minutes and saw all we needed to see.

Stolen picture from google of the Red Light District...you're not allowed to take pictures when you're there.

The street was crowded but was full of other dumb tourists so it really wasn’t that sketchy. I mean I think Melanie, Lisa and I were trying to "keep our wits about us" so we really weren’t in any real kind of danger.

All along the street were obvious brothels- I mean when you see an almost naked woman dancing in a store window it’s pretty obvious as to what could be going on in there.

The women were surprisingly attractive and not really doing anything too provocative. Seriously it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Also along the street were sex shops, strip clubs, and peep shows.

After our very short journey into the Red Light District we took a break and ate a late night snack of delious Mexican food.

On Sunday, we went to the Van Gogh museum. As I have mentioned before, I am not the biggest art person but I do respect it. The museum is really nice- it was only about a 15 minute walk from our hotel to the museum.



Van Gogh Museum



After the museum, we went back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and then headed back to Eurolines for our ride back to Brussels.

Outside the museum square

My overall conclusion of Amsterdam… I really do not know how to describe it. It honestly is one of my new favorite places in Europe. The people are nice, the streets are clean and there’s just this feeling of freedom when you’re walking around Amsterdam.

Day and night in Amsterdam are like two totally different worlds. During the day, not to be rude, but there’s a lot of older people walking around. I’m talking like grandma and grandpa kind of old people. The city is so rich with history that I can see why people in their…golden years…would want to explore it.

Melanie and I being dumb.