Amsterdam, Netherlands

       We arrived to Amsterdam early in the afternoon when it was 90 degrees and humid. Our hostel room was up several flights of steep stairs, and consisted of two bunk beds in a 8x8 room, which is not enough space for four guys. To say our first day in Amsterdam was full of complaints would be an understatement. However, the weather cooled down dramatically over the next few days, which raised our spirits and allowed us to fully begin to appreciate what Amsterdam had to offer. Since we were in Amsterdam for a full five days, I will share only some of the more noteworthy experiences. There were some technical difficulties with the camera, so I don't have many pictures of Amsterdam. Here are a few.

        The world championships of beach volleyball was happening in the middle of Dam square, which was located within a minute walk of our hostel. We didn’t watch the matches, but the venue was cool to see and we got to see a few of the teams walking around the streets. We mostly just assumed they were the volleyball players due to them being tall and tan. 

       Our hostel was full of young adults around our age. We made friends with a group of guys from Britain and a group of girls from Australia. It was interesting and entertaining to talk to them. We spent hours talking about the differences and similarities between the countries, affirming and disproving various stereotypes, and attempting to mimic the accents.

       One of the best experiences of Amsterdam was touring the Heineken factory. Heineken, the world famous beer, has its origins in Amsterdam. I was expecting it to mostly be a walk around the factory and a history lesson on the company. However, it ended up being an extremely interesting, entertaining, and interactive tour, and concluded with some free tasting.

       For those who are not familiar with the city, there are several water canals that connect the large city. One day we took a hop on/hop off tour of the city via the canals. Hop on/hop off tours allows you to travel the canals, get off at set locations close to the main tourist attractions, and get back on when you want to go to another location. First, we went to the Anne Frank museum. When we heard the line was three hours long, we got back on the boat and went to the van Gogh museum to get a little culture in our lives. We had some mixed feelings about the museum. We learned a lot about the life of Vincent van Gogh and were able to view many of his pieces of art, which was interesting. However, we were mad that one of his most famous pieces, Starry Night, was not actually at the museum. Afterwards, we had lunch in the park nearby where we witnessed something we all wish we had not. Riding their bikes through the park was a group of over 100 older men completely naked. Funny, but not a pleasant sight.

      On our last day, we committed to waiting in line for the Anne Frank house because it was something all of us wanted to experience. Waiting in line was completely worth it. While we all knew the story of Anne Frank and her diary, touring the house provided a completely new understanding for us. The tour allowed us to grasp the gravity of her situation and gave us a glimpse into her world through her eyes. It was a powerful and humbling experience. As a side note, we happened to be touring her house on July 6^th, which is the exact day the Frank family went into hiding back in 1942.

      We were all sad to miss celebrating July 4^th in the United States, but we tried our best to celebrate abroad by having hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. Also, we were able to watch the US women’s victory in the World Cup Final, which was at one in the morning for us. Thankfully we were able to score four goals in the first 20 minutes so we didn’t have to stay up for the whole game.

Some observations about Amsterdam:
1.) Keep your head on a swivel. The city tram, bikes, and cars come out of nowhere and aren't afraid of pedestrians.
2.) Hostels do not believe in air conditioning.
3.) There are an an abundance of coffee shops, and they sell more than just coffee.
4.) The city is extremely clean and places an emphasis on recycling.
5.) Be prepared to stand in a three hour line for the Anne Frank house tour.
6.) The canals are rumored to be 3 meters mud, 3 meters water, and 3 meters bicycles.
7.) The buildings lean slight forward at the top. Some buildings look like a fake set for a play.

                                                  -Kevin Loquaci