This city was much prettier than I expected it to be (although the weather, not so much). The buildings were gorgeous, and the entire city was built along a canal. I got to wander around and explore by myself for awhile since I arrived before my friends (somehow I managed to book the last seat on the flight we wanted, oops). Our hostel was in a great location (the only good thing about it), and everything we wanted to see was less than a 20 minute walk.
We spent the first day walking around. Besides the city's beauty, we were also extremely impressed by the food. This city had every single cuisine, and multiple restaurants of each. It was also delicious, at least the places we ate at. My favorite was Wok to Walk, a noodle bar. We also could not get over how prevalent drugs were. They literally sold all drugs, from marijuana to ecstasy and hallucinogens, in stores. They advertised them in the windows. I can't even imagine being part of a culture where this is acceptable. Needless to say, it was a much more relaxed culture than I am used to.
The next day we were productive. We started off at the Anne Frank House. I was a bit disappointed by how much of a museum this had been turned into, it didn't feel like I was in the original house. However, it was still emotional to see the whole thing, and to know that despite all the renovations and the museum exhibits, I was still standing in the very place the Franks hid. After this, we ate at the Pancake Bakery, a famous pancake place in Amsterdam recommended to us by all our friends. It lived up to it's rep.
We then walked along the canal until we got to the famous I AMSTERDAM sign, where we took the necessary touristy pictures before heading to the Heineken museum. This museum was very cool, I was impressed. We got to see the whole process of how they make beer, and my favorite part, of course, was the 3 free beers included in our admission.
We spent the rest of the night just exploring and walking around, taking it all in. We walked through the Red Light District for a bit, and this was truly a culture of it's own. Similar to Brussels, there were prostitutes, however there were also more cross dressers and, well, just interesting people in general.
The weekend went by fast, but it was one of my favorites. I'm glad I got to see a city that is so unlike anywhere else in the world. I highly recommend a visit.
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