THAT'S RIGHT! We went to AMSTERDAM this past weekend and it was just plain magical. Friday after school our group had quite a bit of time before our train departed from Bonn, so I went home to finish up my laundry and get some homework done. That night, I made a pizza before saying goodbye to my host family for the weekend. Even though I was only going to be gone for two days, I felt sort've melancholic leaving my host family. I'm nervous that I will be really sad when I leave for Spring Break for two weeks soon. Alas, we made our way over to Bonn Hbf before hopping on our train to Amsterdam. We only had to change trains once in Cologne, which was a breeze. We got to Amsterdam pretty late Friday night at 11:30 pm, and we quickly scrambled to find a way to get to Almere, where are AirBnB was. Thankfully, we found a day pass that allowed us to get to our Airbnb and back the next morning. Once in Almere, our Airbnb host promised to pick us near the station to take us back to the house, but none of us knew which parking lot he was referring to. Thankfully, he pulled up to a lot right as we were walking past it. Truly a miracle he found us because I wasn't sure how we were ever going to find him. Our host was very gracious and hospitable, he offered to make us breakfast the next two mornings which was so thoughtful of him. Once we got to the house, we put our stuff down and quickly went to bed because it had gotten really late.
The next morning we ate a strong hearty breakfast before taking a train to Amsterdam for the day! Once we got there, we were all overwhelmed by the immense crowds there. I guess I was naive, but I couldn't believe so many tourists decided to come to Amsterdam the same weekend as us. Thankfully, we made our way to the town square and were able to start our walk around the city. I have seen so many pictures of Amsterdam's canals and I just want to say that they don't do them justice. I have never been to such a peaceful and picturesque location before. Seeing all the boats float down the river while people zoom by on their bicycles was quite a sight to see. It was also crazy to see the Dutch "coffeeshop" culture in person. The carefree spirit the Dutch have is something that I wish we could take back to America. We also got to visit some flea markets and tulip shops and it amazed me how many tulips were available even though tulip season is not for a couple of months! After walking around for a few hours we decided to get a snack: Dutch pancakes. We quickly found a place and I got a chocolate pancake which was just divine. Following our gluttony, we continued our tour of Amsterdam by heading over to the Anne Frank House. Our appointment was at 7:30 but we had some time to kill so we went to the nearby Cheese museum. There, they had tastings for all different kinds of cheese and they were all fabulous. After feasting on some cheese we headed back to the Anne Frank House for our tour. It was very moving to be in the Anne Frank House and getting to listen to some pieces of her famous diary. The bravery she and her family had was powerful and I hope that I would have the same outlook on life she had if I was ever in a life or death scenario. After our tour, we were hungry again so we decided to eat at a burger place near the famous red light district. The restaurant was packed but fortunately the host found us a table really quickly. The burgers we had there were by far the best burgers I've eaten since coming to Europe. I would easily go back even though I can find that type of food back in the US. Maybe I loved it so much because it reminded me of home a little bit. After dinner, we decided to head to the Red Light District just to mark that off our bucket list. I'm just gonna say that scene is not for me. The culture there was unlike anything I have ever experienced before, and I know that I will never see that type of culture in the US so it was particularly interesting to see in person. After that, we waded through the enormous crowds back to the central station because it was getting really late. Thankfully, we got on a train and headed back home.
The next morning, we slept in a little bit from our arduous day before. We ate another feast of a breakfast, before saying goodbye to our Airbnb host. After arriving by train in Amsterdam, we walked on foot about a mile to this park which had the "I AMSTERDAM" sign. We took some pics before touring the nearby food trucks. Even though some of the food looked incredible, I was trying to save money so I didn't get any :/. We then decided to take a canal tour of Amsterdam. Thankfully, we found a cheap tour for only 11 euro. The whole experience was magical. Getting to learn about the history of all the different canals and seeing them on the water was truly an experience I will never forget. After the tour, my day of troubles began. It all started when I had a diarrhea outburst. Sorry for the gruesome image but it was truly terrible. I would end up having to go to the bathroom at least 5 times on the way back to Bonn. After walking around some more we had to head back to the central station to catch our train back to Bonn. Unlike the train we took to get to Amsterdam, we had to change trains 4 times on our way home. The first exchange went smoothly, but at the second change, we missed our train because we were unsure if it was the right train to get on. I was beyond annoyed with everything that had happened so far, but I am so proud of myself for not getting too upset and for having a good attitude throughout the ideal. In fact, the extra hour way gave me some time to find snacks as I was getting pretty hungry. We finally got on the next train about an hour later, but my diarrhea had acted up again and I had to deal with the train bathrooms which was truly an out of body experience. Thankfully, we made it home smoothly and we were able to get a good night's rest for the upcoming week of school.
School this week has been the first week where I have truly been stressed by the amount of work and tests that are coming up. With 3 tests next week in lab, German, and Physiology, and our Enmodes presentation. Next week will truly be a test of my mental fortitude. But thankfully, our group has finally figured out a decent idea of implanting the lung device in the chance without breaking open the sternum. After talking it through with Dr. Wasser and the TA's, we have committed to our idea and are going to begin making our PowerPoint presentation for next week. Thankfully, I have finished all my homework for the week so I won't have to stress about it during our weekend ski trip to Garmisch-Parkinkerchen which I am BEYOND excited for. I love skiing and getting to ski in the Alps will be a dream come true. I will talk about the ski trip and about all of our school happenings on next week's blog.
Until then,
Tschuss!
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