Amsterdam!

What a cool (and crazy) city! Just two hours from Madrid and the two countries are completely different! For starters, you're supposed to speak English there.  For some reason, whenever I'm in a foreign country and need to ask a question my mind switches to Spanish. I feel bad when I speak English in Spain, because I know I should be practicing my Spanish. In the Netherlands, however, the common language is English, and their English is very good. I constantly had to remind myself to speak English. 

Highlights from this trip!

1. The Heineken Experience-  What an incredible marketing tactic! This was not just a brewery tour but an 'experience'. In addition to a visit to the brewery, there was a video, simulation ride,  a bar, and even a Heineken lounge that showed Heineken commercials all over the walls. They definitely figured out how to reach the consumer.  The place was packed, and when it closed at 7, they were kicking people out.  It was a lot of fun though and the Heineken was good. I guess they did their job?...

2. Walking Tour-  On our second day we did a really great walking tour (it was also free-even better!). We walked all around the historical parts of the city, the canals, the markets, Dam Square, and our tour guide was really great. He also took us to the Red Light District (which I also revisited at night), but don't have any pictures because we were told if we took pictures we might get urine thrown at us...figured it was best not to risk that.   It was obvious the tour guide knew a great deal about the city, and he told us many interesting facts and anecdotes. He spent almost four hours with us and it was a really great way to get to know the city.  I like walking tours as opposed to bus tours because you really get to be in the action. 

 the narrowest house in the world! about 4 feet wide!

3.  Anne Frank's House-  I don't think I really knew what to expect.  The line to visit the house was over one hour long, and we got there at 9:15 in the morning. The annex was a lot bigger than I had anticipated.  Not that I would want to live there for 2 1/2 years and never go outside, but it had two floors, a couple of bedrooms, kitchen and living room.  All of the rooms were unfurnished because Otto Frank wanted the rooms left in the same way they were left after the Nazis raided the annex, so it was hard to really visualize what life was like there. It does amaze me, however, how young Anne Frank was and how much of an impact she had.  The diary of Anne Frank has been translated into over 60 languages--second to only the bible. She was only 13 years old and was quite influential.  It was hard to believe that I was walking through the place she spent so long and actually wrote her diary.

4. Van Gogh Museum- I didn't really know that much about Van Gogh but heard the museum was worth seeing. For an artist who only painted for 10 years, he had a lot to show! The line to get into this museum was also over an hour, and packed! He did have a lot of really cool paintings and it was easy to see how his work changed as his influences changed. There was also a funny giftshop. You could buy bags, t-shirts, even a bicycle with a pattern from his paintings (for example, almond blossom, the painting to the left)...but I guess we were in Amsterdam so that shouldn't have been too surprising.

5.  Food!- Although I love Spanish food, it was nice to get a break from it and eat food from many other parts of the world. While Amsterdam doesn't necessarily have its own cuisine, they are famous for their pancakes as well as french fries. They have sweet ones (banana and chocolate/nutella) as well as savory ones (ham and cheese, mushrooms, etc..,) and both were delicious. They also had a ton of french fries, and a chain called Febo- which is like a vending machine of fried food. While it wasn't my favorite thing we ate there, it was something we had to do. 

6.  Meeting People!- We went on a Pub Crawl our first night, and met people from all over the world. It's crazy the different types of tourists that come through.  Our last night, as we were looking for something to do between dinner and the rest of our evening, we went to a sports bar. While the Patriots were playing a less than stellar game, we ran into someone I had met on a summer program 5 years ago, who was with people one of my other friends went to High School with.  Small world...

I would call my first trip out of Spain a success!