This past weekend, I decided to go on a trip to Amsterdam totally alone, and it may have been the best decision of my life. I gained a whole new level of confidence and independence in just 3 days, plus I honed my travel skills.
My first big accomplishment was fitting everything for the weekend into one backpack. Normally, I am a heavy packer, so this was a big deal for me and it gave me mobility in the city. From now on, I will definitely do my best to travel light. You really don't need everything you think you need, and trying to drag a suitcase around is just far more work than it's ever worth.
When I got off the train to central Amsterdam from the airport, this piano was the first thing I saw. To me, this was a great introduction to a city.
I stayed in a nice little hostel called the White Tulip. It was clean and felt secure, and I would definitely suggest it to anyone looking for a place to stay in Amsterdam. However, I don't think I will ever get used to the lack of air conditioning in Europe. You know the feeling like getting broiled alive a couple hours after sunrise when you are camping in a tent? Yeah, my room felt like that. Albeit, it was a very warm, humid weekend, but inside was warmer than outside during midday!
I visited the Rijksmuseum, which is absolutely massive, and saw a lot of art. Despite devoting 3 hours to it, I probably only saw about half of the museum. A piece of advice to anyone who really likes museums: give yourself a LOT of time for this one but definitely make time to see this one.
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| Old opiate containers |
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| Cannon |
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| Tomb weeper statuettes |
The next
morning, I went to Rembrandt house, which was Rembrandt's home before going bankrupt. They reconstructed the interior based on the
records of what was sold at auction from the house. It was a nice chance to
see the way that not only Rembrandt lived, but also the people of his time. The inside of the house was gorgeous, and it was neat to see where he worked on his art and where he made his prints.
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| Rembrandt's kitchen |
I also went to the Van Gogh museum, which is probably the best museum I have ever been to in my life. You definitely need to visit it, and you must get the audio guide along with it. It is a perfectly organized museum with a clear story to tell. You get to watch as Van Gogh's art and talent evolves over the short ten years that he was an artist. Unfortunately, photos aren't allowed. (Don't tell anyone, but I did manage to take a couple.)
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| Van Gogh's palette |
That night I went to the Heineken experience. Instead of a brewery tour, it is a self-guided museum where you see the history of the company and get too see how the beer is made. Overall, it is incredibly corny, with lots of advertising thrown at you and even a lovely video of the head of Heineken blatantly reading from cue cards about the values of the company. There were a couple of neat things, though, like getting to try wort, which is a sugary water and barley mixture that is made early on in the brewing process. They also teach you the technique to pouring the perfect beer from tap, which I pulled off on my first shot.
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| Fermentation tanks |
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| Bottling machine |
On my last day in Amsterdam, I went on a canal tour, and I am quite glad I did. It was only an hour long, but I got to see a lot of gorgeous buildings and learn some interesting facts.
Do you see that tiny, 2-story building by the front of the car? That is one of the
slimmest buildings in Amsterdam. They used to tax people based on the
width of their homes, which explains this beauty.
All-in-all, it was an amazing trip and Amsterdam is certainly a city I want to visit again someday.
The next
morning, I went to Rembrandt house, which was Rembrandt's home before going bankrupt. They reconstructed the interior based on the
records of what was sold at auction from the house. It was a nice chance to
see the way that not only Rembrandt lived, but also the people of his time. The inside of the house was gorgeous, and it was neat to see where he worked on his art and where he made his prints.
I also went to the Van Gogh museum, which is probably the best museum I have ever been to in my life. You definitely need to visit it, and you must get the audio guide along with it. It is a perfectly organized museum with a clear story to tell. You get to watch as Van Gogh's art and talent evolves over the short ten years that he was an artist. Unfortunately, photos aren't allowed. (Don't tell anyone, but I did manage to take a couple.)
That night I went to the Heineken experience. Instead of a brewery tour, it is a self-guided museum where you see the history of the company and get too see how the beer is made. Overall, it is incredibly corny, with lots of advertising thrown at you and even a lovely video of the head of Heineken blatantly reading from cue cards about the values of the company. There were a couple of neat things, though, like getting to try wort, which is a sugary water and barley mixture that is made early on in the brewing process. They also teach you the technique to pouring the perfect beer from tap, which I pulled off on my first shot. 
On my last day in Amsterdam, I went on a canal tour, and I am quite glad I did. It was only an hour long, but I got to see a lot of gorgeous buildings and learn some interesting facts. 
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