Lone American
Lone American in Amsterdam, you ask? No way, you say.
You're right. Not in Amsterdam, but on the weekend tour I joined to Amsterdam and Bruges (separate post, make sure to check back on my thoughts on my favorite place I've visited so far!). My friends were visiting Edinburgh for the weekend so I thought I would try to find a tour to join and save the solo travel for later. I ended up picking the Amsterdam & Bruges tour with UK Study Tours because it left at 9 PM on Friday, meaning I could still go to my physics class -- attendance counts here!
I should've known when the tour guide asks me at Victoria Station in his accent how I found this trip, to which I replied: "Google?" Before that though, I went up to a group of people standing together and asked the two people at the edge if there were going to Amsterdam. Maurilo and Jordana ended up being my two friends on the trip, and I'm glad I had the courage to go up to them and start talking. Then we boarded the coach bus of 72 people, which included the groups that met up at other locations in England. I looked around and saw that I really was the only American. Everyone on the bus was speaking Spanish or Portuguese, and I'll admit, it was a little daunting. Here I was, joining an English tour with people from all over the world. I got to meet people from Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, France, and South Korea, though. While I started off joining the tour myself (like several others on the trip), I ended it with some lifelong friends; there is just something about being stuck on a bus and ferry all together for an entire night that is a bonding experience, as is spending a whole weekend traveling with the same group.
We met at Victoria Station at 9 PM and spent the whole night traveling. I didn't realize how tough this was going to be when I signed up for the trip. A train to Gatwick, a bus to meet up with the bus with everyone else on it, bus ride to the port of Dover, 1 AM ferry from Dover to Dunkirk, bus ride from 4 AM to something AM when we arrived in Belgium (half the bus got off here because they were visiting Brussels and Cologne for the weekend), then bus ride from Belgium to Amsterdam. 8:30 AM we finally pull over somewhere near Amsterdam for breakfast, after which, we drive into the city and start the day with a canal cruise -- my favorite!
After the canal cruise, our tour guide showed us around the city, pointing out where places like Anne Frank house were and taking us through the flower market. He then led us to Museum Square, where the famous Rijksmuseum and I Amsterdam sign are. Jordana, Maurilo, and I obviously hit the I Amsterdam sign first, watching everyone climb the letters and trying to decide where we wanted our pictures. Maurilo tried to climb the M letter but couldn't pull himself up and instead ripped his pants. (Next time, Maurilo!) I decided the M would be a cool place but climbed the A first to get over to it.
We went to buy Maurilo some new pants and then hit a small cozy place in the main center area for lunch, where we all got burgers and fries. Lunch took so long because of slow service, so afterwards we decided to walk around some. We tried to check out the Anne Frank house was but the line was several hours long, time and an ability to stand in the freezing cold that long we didn't have. We were slightly disappointed at how modern the house looked, perhaps it was renovated but it didn't look like the buildings around it to our surprise.
Starting to get tired, we were on the hunt for somewhere we could get some sugar. We got lost walking around, stopping at each canal to admire the view, but eventually made our way over to Bakery Cafe near Museum Square for some warm Belgian waffles with Nutella. We then needed to find our way back to the hotel where we were to meet up with the group, but everyone we asked about Tram line 4 didn't know about it or didn't know where it stopped. Standing in the rain and 45 minutes later, we decided to split an Uber back.
We stayed at Hotel Novotel, which was really nice! A big bathroom with a nice shower, complimentary breakfast, and a comfy bed was much appreciated. It was a little out of the city center but worth it.
The group reconvened at 8 for free time to eat dinner and then drove over to the Red Light District for a walking tour. I mistakenly drank tea on an empty stomach at dinner so wasn't feeling well afterwards and was only able to walk around the Red Light District for 20 minutes before having to head home for the night. It was interesting to walk around and see something you really don't see anywhere else. Up until then, I always thought the Red Light District was a figurative term, not that it also had literal red lights marking each room where the girls are. Learn something new every day.
Sunday morning was another early start with breakfast, a stop to see a windmill, and a trip to a farm outside of Amsterdam, where we learned how you make traditional wooden clogs and cheese! A girl helped the tour guide make a clog, which he then engraved her name in. The farmer's wife taught us all about the Gouda cheese they make on the farm. Each day they make a different flavor, everything ranging from nut to garlic and chive (my absolute favorite) to chili. After the demonstration we got a chance to taste all their cheese (I highly recommend doing a cheese tasting if you ever visit Amsterdam, it's too good to pass up!) and peruse their souvenir shop, which had wooden clogs that we all tried on for fun!
