the last of my spring break saga...

Alright, guys, here it is: the final post about my spring break. Thank GOD! From here on out, I am dedicated to clearing the backlog and fully catching you up to where I am now instead of living in the now-ancient past (that is, as long as my internet decides to behave less like a stubborn fit-pitching child).

My two days in Amsterdam were relatively uneventful. It is a beautiful city, and I would definitely love to go back, since I feel like I missed out on a lot of what the city had to offer. I didn't get to do a canal tour or rent a bike, see the Van Gogh museum or check out the flea market.

The first day, I arrived around 2 PM after an epic journey from Eindhoven. I was under the impression that I would be able to get either a direct bus or train there with relatively little trouble. However, I was told upon landing at the airport at 9:30 AM that the next bus would not be leaving until 12:30 PM. Fortunately, there were buses leaving every 10 minutes to the train station, where I was told a train ticket would actually cost less and be quicker. Cool. Upon arrival at the train station, however, I was given a "schedule" along with my train ticket. This schedule apparently told me when to get off the train and catch yet another bus before getting back on another train...except that I don't speak Dutch, so it was all Greek to me (haha, punz). Luckily, I had heard a group of Italian kids next to me asking for the same train as me, straight to Amsterdam, so I was able to follow them through the transportation maze, until, five hours later, I finally docked in the Netherlands capital.

After settling into my hostel and showering, I set out by myself to look around the city, despite my extreme exhuastion. The city is actually often called the "Venice of the North" because it is built on canals.

The National Monument in Dam Square

See? Canals.

Anyway, my first day there was, like I said, uneventful...until I returned to the hostel. I walked in and met the girls I was sharing my 6 bed room with. One of them looked familiar, but I was exhausted and quickly retreated to the bathroom to put on my PJs. When I came back out, I stared at the girl again, and she stared back at me until I realized that it was Stephanie, a girl I had gone to middle school with! I had known that she was studying abroad in Bath, England, but had no idea that she would be in Amsterdam at the same time as me! After a loud and excited reunion, she introduced me to her travelling companions. We talked for a bit before all passing out.

The next morning, we woke up earlyish in order to get to the Anne Frank House before the crowds. We were somewhat unsuccessful, as there was a line around the building when we arrived. The wait wasn't bad, though, and the museum was quite interesting, especially for me, since I've never actually read The Diary of Anne Frank.

Anne Frank statue.

Anne Frank's actual house.

I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I didn't know she was hiding out in the Netherlands...I definitely thought she was in Germany. Whoopsy.

After our tour of Anne Frank's house, we set off in search of the infamous Sex Museum...but ended up a bit lost.

Fortunately, Amsterdam is kind of a nice place to be lost. Very beautiful.

And amusing.

What they say about it is definitely true...I saw my share of "coffee shops" and prostitutes. It's kind of funny until you actually want a legitimate coffee shop, with lights and seats, to sit and read in, and all you can find are smoke-filled rasta-music-playing holes.

Haha, "They're Among Us." Silly Dutch people.

We did finally find the Sex Museum, which I personally feel would have been more interesting with a more "history of sex" feel versus the "display as much porn as possible" vibe that I got.

After the museum, Stephanie and her friends headed back to the hostel for a midday rest, and I went on a fruitless search for the supposed flea market that the city has. After I failed to find it, I too, returned to the hostel for a nap. I ended up passing out, catching up on all sleep lost in London, until past dinnertime. I went out and got a Dutch pancake for dinner, wandered a bit more, and then went home early, knowing that I had to get up early for my flight.

My journey back to Italy was long, but easy, with nothing special to note. It was very nice to return home, though, and very odd that this apartment is finally feeling like...home.

So that is my spring break recap! YAY!

Oh, and don't forget...