Amsterdam

In mid-April, I had my first two final exams. After the first, I bought myself a glow-in-the-dark watch to celebrate. After the second, I bought a plane ticket to Amsterdam.

Well, technically I bought it before I took the exam. But you know what I mean. I celebrated passing both my exams in the A-B range with a trip to Amsterdam is the point I’m getting at.

Olivia and I had talked about meeting up again in Europe during my trip to Copenhagen – we discussed a couple possibilities: Budapest, Paris, Barcelona, and settled on Amsterdam. Olivia’s already headed home, so for her Amsterdam was one of the last trips she was able to make out of the Scandinavia area.

This trip marked my first Ryan Air experience – and it was an experience. Tiny suitcases, lots of conditions of travel, and… a song when we landed? The trip went smoothly, though, from trains to buses to flights to more buses.

I flew into Eindhoven, an airport about an hour and a half from Amsterdam, and took a shuttle into the city. Coordinating with Olivia, who had already arrived, was a little difficult without phones or internet – we decided to meet at the city library, within walking distance of the station where I’d been dropped off, before heading to our AirBNB place. I’m pretty proud of myself for finding the library with absolutely no knowledge of Amsterdam and without asking anyone. And I never even headed in the wrong direction! Outside of the library we had our first sighting of the famous I Amsterdam sign.

Welcome to Amsterdam!

Olivia and I grabbed dinner at a place nearby that turned out to be Italian. I just can’t get away! But I ordered the least Italian thing on the menu (pasta with curry and duck) and enjoyed the heck out of it.

 

Yum!

Our room for the week was a spare room in the apartment of a really great couple. They had maps, museum passes and metro cards for us – all we had to do was put some credit on the metro pass and wander the city.

My first full day in Amsterdam, we headed for the Hermitage Museum, which is housing most of the Van Gogh Museum’s collection while it’s being restored. Van Gogh has always held a place in my heart, and my walls at home usually have at least one of his paintings on them. It was really interesting to see so much of his work collected and organized by style. I had no idea he only painted for 10 years, and that he worked on so many diverse styles in that time. There were the classics we know and love, Japanese-inspired paintings and some pointillism that hearkened back to my days as a Seurat-obsessed child (what a weird obsession for a child).

We sped through the Hermitage part of the Hermitage Museum, stopping to try on a few pieces from Peter the Great’s wardrobe. Olivia sounded surprised when she said I could pull off the coat.

Rocking that Peter the Great coat

Olivia in a very nice hat

 Next up for us was quite a bit of wandering and the Stedelijk Museum, the modern art museum in Amsterdam. I really enjoyed this one – I’ve seen a lot of renaissance art this semester. Van Gogh was a really great way to break it up, as was the Stedelijk. My favorite collection was a set of paper models of an artist’s studio and apartment. Lucy McKenzie made paper pop-ups of buildings and drew the furniture in pencil on the walls. It was fascinating to walk around them and see the level of detail in the tiny rooms.

Another favorite from the Stedelijk

Outside the Stedelijk, in front of the Rijksmuseum, we had our second I Amsterdam sighting. What a cool spot! We also stopped by a photography museum that had some really cool, experimental photography. Amsterdam has some good stuff, y’all.

The next day we went to the Anne Frank House and the Rijkmuseum. Obviously, the Anne Frank House is a huge part of coming to Amsterdam. It’s the must-see, and it was very powerful. It’s stark, in a way, and I think that lends a lot of gravity to the experience. I haven’t read the diary since I was young, but so much of it came back to me as I walked through the halls and staircases of this tiny annex.

The Rijkmuseum was a quick trip for us – Olivia had already seen the majority of it, and it had been a long day. We braved the hordes of tourists surrounding the Rembrandts and Vermeers for a few quick peeks. There’s a definite Dutch style, let me tell you. Seeing it all lined up, the similarities were pretty clear. Of course, my favorite part was the dollhouses. I'm a sucker for dollhouses. Olivia surprisingly already knew this, and took me straight there. What a good friend!

One very rich lady was very happy

On the last of our five days in Amsterdam, we took a bus to Keukenhof Gardens, a huge botanical garden outside the city. It was absolutely beautiful. Many of the tulips were already blooming, and I may have gone a little bit picture-crazy… It was so nice to take it slow and eat a sandwich on a beautiful lawn. Wandering the gardens was an all-day activity, and well worth it.

 

Some fancy tulips at Keukenhof

In a wooden shoe, not for the first time in my life

Highlights of Amsterdam, according to me: The Van Gogh Museum. Keukenhof Gardens. Stroopwafels. Architecture along the canals. An English-speaking population. Falafel.

Amsterdam was a great trip. So far, it’s the only city I’ve visited where I can imagine myself, long-term. This might be due to the fact that I spent the most picturesque years of my childhood in a Dutch town – it felt familiar. The architecture, the sweets, the words, the windmills. It was a very nostalgic experience, considering I’d never been to the Netherlands before. I’m so glad I was able to visit Amsterdam, and I hope I’m able to go back soon.