Amster-Dam that was a great weekend

This weekend I took my first international trip within Europe to Amsterdam with Angelica, Christine and Nicole. We had originally planned to stay in an Airbnb however Christine and Nicole, who got there a few hours before me and Angelica, said that the room was freezing, in a bad part of town, and that the owner of the apartment was staying there as well. The girls did not feel safe staying there and I completely understood. We ended up staying in a very nice hotel which was more than double the cost of what the Airbnb would have been, however you can't put a price on safety so I was okay with paying the extra money. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and honestly, that little bit of chaos that happened with the living situation was well worth it considering the weekend that followed. Our hotel was located downtown where all the shops and restaurants were so it was the perfect location to get around town without much walking.

The first day, after we got into town, we all went to dinner at an Italian restaurant and I had a glass of Heineken since Amsterdam was where it was made. Although I don't consider myself a beer connoisseur, I thought it was very good. One thing I'd like to mention is that in Amsterdam, EVERYONE speaks english, so much so, that I couldn't tell if it was their first language or not. Although I love everything about Germany, it was very refreshing in Amsterdam not having to worry about language barriers or any of the complications that come with it. Anyways, the next day we hit the town early for breakfast and took a boat ride throughout the canal system in Amsterdam to enjoy the unique architecture that the city has to offer. The boat system that they have there is a "hop on hop off" type deal which was useful because we could use the boat almost like a taxi to take us all over the city. We went to the Anne Frank museum which was personally the biggest highlight for me. Just being in the house evokes so much emotion that makes you realize how detached you are from the reality that people actually had to endure during the Holocaust. After that, we went to the Body Worlds museum that showed plastered bodies of real people who donated their body to science and it was wicked cool.

On the last day, we went to a torture museum and the flower market where I bought some famous Holland tulips to send home to my mother. We also explore the red-light district which was very casual contrary to my previous assumptions. At the end of the day, Angelica and I made it back to Bornheim at 11 pm which left us with plenty of time(not really) to study for our Signals and Circuits test that we had the next morning! All in all it was a great trip and I can't wait to go on  more.

OH ALSO, I just remembered that while we were in Amsterdam the last day, we went into a store called Froccella. Since being in Europe I noticed that everyone was wearing fur hooded jackets and I wanted one to fit in but I couldn't find one anywhere. Luckily, I found one at Froccella that was made with real raccoon fur and then the girls bought beanies with real fur on them too. Here's a pic of our stylish purchases.