Amsterdam!!!

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Well, I can now say I survived Amsterdam and have travelled into Europe! And boy was it an experience. I most certainly felt like I was in a different country over there...wow. So, you may be asking...how did you go to Amsterdam during the week? Well, in Ireland they like to have what we call 'study weeks' and we have about three more left in the semester. It's supposed to be a time to catch up on readings and study for future exams...but I gladly opted to go out travelling. My friend Erin and I headed out on Tuesday and hit the ground running. We arrived, checked into our friendly hostel and went to explore what the city had to offer. It was pretty late, so we basically stayed around the hostel, but definitely got a sense of what the city was about. Tons of people were out walking - locals and tourists alike, and even more were out biking! Even in the dark you could make out the billions of bikes that line the street..pretty amazing.

On Wednesday we woke up and went straight to the most anticipated museum I've ever gone to...the Van Gogh Museum! Oh my gosh, it was just absolutely wonderful. I was in pure delight. Simply pure delight. Van Gogh's style of painting is just so appealing to me and it was really interesting to learn all about his life and to see his progression through different artistic styles. It was really interesting too, because you could actually see his change through life too. My favorite periods were, by far, his earlier works (which consist of real earthy dark tones, and were mainly paintings of local peasants) and his later works (from the mental hospital). Oh, I just can't get over how brilliant Van Gogh was...he certainly has my heart. Making the experience even more amazing was a guest exhibit featuring Rembrant and Caravaggio. Have I used the word brilliant yet?! These paintings were almost to die for. And the exhibit was set up to be able to compare the two artists styles and see them side by side. I wasn't too familiar with Caravaggio before going, but he is definitely right there with Rembrant. And it was really neat to see the two styles compared, because both artists painted many of the same themes (mostly biblical) and it was interesting to see their different artistic takes on the subjects. So, as you can imagine, we basically spent the day here...but we did get to meet up with our friend Marisa, who arrived in Amsterdam the day before with her brother. We rode the tram up to where she was staying and got a little taste of the more stereotypical Amsterdam. Yes, you said it...the infamous Red Light District, fitted with its open windows and unique 'coffee shops.' We only walked through, but that was enough for me.

Anyways, continuing on Thursday was an awesome day! We began the day with a tour of Anne Frank's House, which was a real eye-opener. Although it wasn't as emotionally exhausting as the Holocaust Museum, it definitely bore many of the same traits. After that, we did a few other neat museums and also took a canal tour. Amsterdam is full of canals and everywhere you go you have to cross a bridge. Because of the increase in population and not enough housing, the canals are lined with the coolest little houseboats. It was so cool to be able to see the whole city by boat and we learned a lot of the history. Did you know that in Amsterdam, in order to move out of your house, you have to put all of your furniture through the window and down on a hook? Yeah, their hallways are too narrow for big furniture, so every home is fitted with this 'furniture hook' outside attached to the roof. I was amazed by this! What a pain it would be to move right? Also, Amsterdam has over 10,000 bridges and over 100 different canals!!! Wahoo...isn't that crazy just in itself?

Well, that about concludes my first trip into the mainland! We ended up not doing as much touristy stuff as maybe planned, but we definitely soaked in all Amsterdam life had to offer. I had a great time and will certainly never forget that crazy city. Love you all.

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Comments

[Kjelsty]

Yahoo!
Looks like a great trip liked the pictures. The grey skies are good for photos:)