Amsterdam
Woke up the next morning happy to be in Amsterdam!
It's full of streets like this.
And canals like this.
Tried getting into the Anne Frank House, but the line was too long again. So I found a computer at the cafe next door and bought a ticket online for Monday morning so that I could skip the line. The website was in Dutch, so I tried to read it the best I could and prayed to God that I was buying the right thing.
Then started my strolling around Amsterdam heading towards the Hermitage Museum on Amstel Strasse.
There were bikes everywhere!
There was art everywhere and I felt at home.
Seriously, such a place exists! Gorgeous :)
Selfies: product of traveling alone. This was on the Amstel Dam (Canal), hence the name Amster-dam
Made it to the museum and was very glad I had bought my ticket at the Hostel ahead of time because I avoided this long line:
When I exited the museum this line was wrapped around the building outside the entrance. Crazy!
It was recommended to me by the friends I met the previous night to go to this museum instead of the other two I had originally planned on visiting as the others were under construction. The Van Gough paintings had been moved to this museum and it was also home to some great Impressionist paintings.
By then it was raining (London and Amsterdam have that in common), so I walked a bit in search of a place to sit down and eat lunch.
Found this Spanish place with really cool interior!
And this is the result of trying to eat tapas by yourself...
Quite delicious though.
I then hopped on a Canal Boat to take a tour through the city by canal.
Their famous drawbridge.
People live in this! They have to pay taxes on it and pay for the mooring space. Heat, electricity, and running water are also all hooked up to it.
Our driver.
We passed this couple as we went underneath a bridge and I couldn't help but take a photo. Amsterdam is such a romantic city!
View from the water.
This is a parking garage just for bikes!
After the Canal Tour I walked through the Boemmarkt (flower market).
And of course I sampled some cheese along the way :)
How could I resist?
I then happened upon this fresh herring cart, which I had read in my guidebook was certainly a thing to try while in Holland.
So I thought, when in Rome...
It was certainly interesting...oh my goodness. The fish wasn't really cooked, like at all. Luckily the crunch of the onions covered the crunch of the fish a bit, and the flavor. But it creeped me out a bit. I finished 3/4 of it, but then I couldn't stomach the rest. But I will try anything once! (Probably won't try this one again, haha.)
Stopped in the Bible Museum because it sounded interesting!
They had cool artifacts and tons of Bibles. Including this one:
The first printed Bible in the Netherlands
Then I went inside this Houseboat Museum for ten minutes before it closed. Caught it just in time. It was rather tiny, as one could expect I guess, but certainly enough room for two.
Even though I didn't think it was possible, Amsterdam's beauty multiplied at night.
Certainly happy to be here!
The building lit up on the left is the Anne Frank Huis.
I then stopped by my favorite bar again for a drink and sang a few songs for my friends while I was there. It was really cool. The bartender, Trees, introduced me over the loud speaker as a musical theatre student from New York City and everyone was so supportive and sang along when they knew the words. I sang quite a few songs and had such a wonderful time. There were quite a few more people there Saturday night and so I was able to meet even more incredible Dutch people. Seriously, they are the best!
This is my buddy Erik singing at the bar. He has such a wonderful voice!
That night I also met this group of guys that was a part of a choir just outside Amsterdam and we sang Christmas carols randomly throughout the night. They were the sweetest and we had the best time.
They then brought me and a girlfriend I had met at the hostel (who took the picture below) out to dinner at this famous Indonesian Restaurant nearby. It was absolutely delicious and we had great conversation. They told us about their families and a lot about the culture of Holland. We also continued to sing Christmas carols. :)
Sama Sebo: absolutely delicious food.
My friend and I walked home and fell right asleep. I had quite the day that Saturday. I saw so much, walked a lot, and fell even more in love with Amsterdam.
Proost!
(Cheers in Dutch)
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