Red Lights in Amsterdam
So I left with seven other people Thursday night to Amsterdam. We got in very late, so we simply checked into our one star hotel and went to bed. The following day is where our adventures really began.
The first thing we did on Friday was head in the direction of the Anne Frank house. We got there an hour earlier than our reservation so we had time to take pictures, visit the Tulip museum, and stop at a cafe. Visiting the Anne Frank house was a pretty cool experience. I'm pretty into history so I felt visiting was an essential and I'm glad I went. Afterwards we ate lunch and decided to check out the Red Light District before we returned after dark. On the way, we stopped at a book market on the street. After doing an extensive search, I made a lucky find: a first edition copy of The Silmarillion. Okay, the first American edition....but still a first edition at least, so of course I had to have it. Now I have no idea how much this book is normally worth (though I think I saw it going for $40 at ebay), but I ended up paying 15 euros for it, which I think was a fairly good buy. I'm happy at least. :) Anyways, after the Red Light District we went back to the hotel and then out again to the Rijks Museum. Part of it was closed for renovations, but I still got to see some cool stuff. For dinner we ate Thai food and afterwards visited a bar and a blues club. Then we revisited the Red Light District and finally stopped at an Irish pub. At that point our group split in half, one half continued onto clubbing and the others went back to the hotel. I was in the latter group and quite happy to go to bed.
We got a late start the next day mainly because the others didn't get back to the hotel until 4am...though honestly I didn't mind. We firstly went to the Van Gogh Museum...I enjoyed it, though I expected there to be more of his works there. For lunch, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. One of my friends collects pins there, so going was a must. Afterwards, we split into smaller groups. I joined the group that went to a flea market. There I bought a 6 euro print. In the evening, we ate dinner then headed to a couple coffee shops. We planned to go clubbing afterwards, but we couldn't find the place we were looking for so we gave up and went back to the hotel.
The next morning I got some necessary shopping done. After that, a few people wanted to go to the House of Bols (a cocktail tour). Only three of us went in; I chose not to pay for the 10 euro entrance fee and got lunch instead. Once that tour was over, we hopped on a train around 3pm and got into Well at around 6.
So that was my weekend in a nutshell. Amsterdam was a lot of fun. I want to return one more time...to see Varekai, the Cirque du Soleil show. A few of us were talking about going once it opens, but that would also mean we'd have to take a couple class cuts (which is totally doable). So we'll see what happens.
Did I mention already that my travel plans got completely rearranged? I really need to write about that before I go to London, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow...
The first thing we did on Friday was head in the direction of the Anne Frank house. We got there an hour earlier than our reservation so we had time to take pictures, visit the Tulip museum, and stop at a cafe. Visiting the Anne Frank house was a pretty cool experience. I'm pretty into history so I felt visiting was an essential and I'm glad I went. Afterwards we ate lunch and decided to check out the Red Light District before we returned after dark. On the way, we stopped at a book market on the street. After doing an extensive search, I made a lucky find: a first edition copy of The Silmarillion. Okay, the first American edition....but still a first edition at least, so of course I had to have it. Now I have no idea how much this book is normally worth (though I think I saw it going for $40 at ebay), but I ended up paying 15 euros for it, which I think was a fairly good buy. I'm happy at least. :) Anyways, after the Red Light District we went back to the hotel and then out again to the Rijks Museum. Part of it was closed for renovations, but I still got to see some cool stuff. For dinner we ate Thai food and afterwards visited a bar and a blues club. Then we revisited the Red Light District and finally stopped at an Irish pub. At that point our group split in half, one half continued onto clubbing and the others went back to the hotel. I was in the latter group and quite happy to go to bed.
We got a late start the next day mainly because the others didn't get back to the hotel until 4am...though honestly I didn't mind. We firstly went to the Van Gogh Museum...I enjoyed it, though I expected there to be more of his works there. For lunch, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. One of my friends collects pins there, so going was a must. Afterwards, we split into smaller groups. I joined the group that went to a flea market. There I bought a 6 euro print. In the evening, we ate dinner then headed to a couple coffee shops. We planned to go clubbing afterwards, but we couldn't find the place we were looking for so we gave up and went back to the hotel.
The next morning I got some necessary shopping done. After that, a few people wanted to go to the House of Bols (a cocktail tour). Only three of us went in; I chose not to pay for the 10 euro entrance fee and got lunch instead. Once that tour was over, we hopped on a train around 3pm and got into Well at around 6.
So that was my weekend in a nutshell. Amsterdam was a lot of fun. I want to return one more time...to see Varekai, the Cirque du Soleil show. A few of us were talking about going once it opens, but that would also mean we'd have to take a couple class cuts (which is totally doable). So we'll see what happens.
Did I mention already that my travel plans got completely rearranged? I really need to write about that before I go to London, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow...