An old posting series is returning! Worldly Wednesday will highlight my travels while I was studying abroad last semester. Our first destination is Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Amsterdam was not on my list of places I had to visit but I am very glad my friend and I decided to go for a four day weekend there. In connection with my photos, here are my thoughts on the city…
The Brightly Colored Sandwich: Yes, I could get a sandwich anywhere. But, my friend found this wonderful breakfast restaurant in her guidebook called Omelegg. I highly recommend eating at this quaint spot in the Red Light District but you will probably have to wait outside. We also ate at a cafe called Blushing for two meals that had delicious sandwiches as well. I did not know what type of food to expect but overall our meals in Amsterdam exceeded my expectations.
The Canals: Amsterdam is known for its canals and it was especially pretty when we visited in the fall with the foliage changing colors. We took a canal cruise as well which I recommend as we were able to take a break from walking all day and hear about the history of the city with the audio guide. If you have a map, it is a very walkable city and we walked all around each day, sometimes from one end of the city to another. We would count how many canals to cross to keep our sense of direction.
The Clogs: My friend ended up purchasing some clog slippers during the trip but I just enjoyed browsing at all of the different stores. It was interesting to see the many clog variations and see how each retailer used the shoe.
The Museums: We visited the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and of course the Anne Frank Museum during our weekend. The Rijksmuseum was neat and very large. The famous I Amsterdam sign is in front of the museum. The Van Gogh Museum is a must do but make sure to go before it gets too crowded and buy tickets ahead of time. I couldn’t go to Amsterdam and not visit the Anne Frank Museum, especially since my friend and I had done a project on Anne Frank for our English class the semester before. We were not able to get tickets in advance, but that morning at breakfast I checked online and a few slots opened up. So, I used my international data and got us in. It was such a moving experience to be able to see where Anne Frank hid and now I’m inspired to re-read her diary.
Travel on my Mind 