WEEKEND IN AMSTERDAM
August 9-11, 2024
Last weekend in Europe, spent it in Amsterdam (and Brussels!)
Friday, August 9th
After my last class that day, I took the Eurostar to Amsterdam. I finally arrived at 11:30ish pm, and checked into my Airbnb. However, I found out that my powerbank died (like DIED died), and there was no way to recharge it. My phone was on 12% battery, and I only had an "American" charger. I was freaking out at this point because I had my Eurostar tickets to London on my phone, not to mention my London to Cambridge train tickets. So if my phone actually died, there was no way for me to get back home. And so I slept, or at least attempted to. My Airbnb was in a very touristy area, with a lot of bars and pubs. Between the stress I was facing over my charger situation and people at pubs yelling over soccer at 3 am, it was hard for me to get any sleep.
Saturday, August 10th
I "woke up" at 8 (notice how "woke up" is in quotes, because I didn't get any actual sleep), and planned on getting coffee, breakfast, and a European charger. I saw some locals that owned a cafe right next to my Airbnb, and asked them where I could get a European charger. The lady was so nice and said she could charge my phone for me, recommended a place where i could get a charger, and told me to get some more rest. And so I did. (By the way, on the very slim chance that you're reading this, I cannot thank you enough!!!) I slept for a couple more hours, picked up my newly charged phone, thanked her, and got myself a new charger and power bank.
After that, I got breakfast, and went to the Rijksmuseum. I saw paintings from the Netherlands, and other European countries. I also saw a lot of pottery, porcelain, and historical artifacts such as ship models and historical clothing. I also admired the architecture inside the Rijksmusem, the stained glass windows, and the library within.
I also had the opportunity to walk around Amsterdam and take pictures in front of canals. While I'm pretty tall for an American girl, coming to Amsterdam was one of the rare instances where I felt short. Dutch people are known for being really tall, and it definitely isn't uncommon to see women over 6 feet.
I saw another museum, the Moco Museum. This one was a bit more of a modern art museum, and there were many interactive exhibits, such as a mirror exhibit, and some video exhibits.
At this point, I was so tired that I went back to my Airbnb and took a nap. After I woke up at around dinner time, I got some noodles, walked around the streets of Amsterdam, did some cheese sampling, and basically just hung out with friends for the rest of the night.
Sunday, August 11th
I woke up, got coffee and breakfast, and checked out of my Airbnb. I wish I was able to go to the Van Gogh Museum, but tickets were sold out, but I did get to go to the Heineken Experience. I learned a lot about the history of Heineken, toured the brewery, got to try some Heineken beers, and after that, I got to go to the rooftop and get a nice view of the city.
After that, I was about to go to the train station, then went on one last walk around the city. When I finally got on the train, I took the train from Amsterdam to Brussels, then Brussels to Lomdon. Between these two trains, I had a few hours, so I walked around Brussels, admired its architecture, but didn't have time to do any actual touristy stuff (though I wish I did!)
I got back to London at 10:30ish pm, then got to Cambridge at around 1. And I had at 8:45 am class the following morning, so that's fun. But it was worth it, because I got to experience a whole new part of the world. Stay tuned for more travels!