part of a series recounting our 2011 european vacation. for other travel-related posts, click here.
after landing in brussels, the next stop on our adventure was amsterdam. after my family decided a trip to germany was for sure happening, josh and i began scheming other locations we’d like to hit. there was paris (both of us have been and weren’t super psyched to go back…but being the most romantic city in the world…..) and london and amsterdam. josh has been to all the aforementioned locations but one of the top cities on my travel bucket list was amsterdam. josh loves amsterdam, so done. where else? me, being the art nerd i am, i began to research the locations of the top pieces of art on my art bucket list. yes, i have categorized bucket lists. number 1 was “death a marat” by david, which just so happened to be in brussels, which just so happened to be one of the cheapest cities to fly into. check and check.
i must say, my hopes for amsterdam were high (no pun intended) and i must also add that i wasn’t let down in the slightest. i loved amsterdam and would go back in a heartbeat. transportation was cheap and easy to understand, the city is clean (though not in the mental sense) and it has to be one of the best places for one of our favorite activities: people-watching.
what i will say, is that i was not prepared for how “loose” amsterdam is with drugs and prostitution. sure, i knew college kids flock there for cheap highs, but who knew it would literally be everywhere. i associate people and places with smells and the aroma of pot will no longer remind me of a DMB concert, it will forever mean: amsterdam. and the prostitution. oh man. josh tells the story so much better than me, so i’ll just leave it at that.
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my overall opinions of amsterdam: very cultured, beautiful views from every/any angle, can be complicated to navigate, language so not an issue.
favorite part of the city: the energy. so much going on in such a small area makes for constant entertainment. oh and our hotel.
favorite beer: i only had a heineken, so that hardly counts.
least favorite part: i don’t think there was anything about amsterdam that i didn’t like. though the surprise wafts of pot really caught me off guard.
would i return: absolutely. i’d love to go during tulip season.
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