I have been in Amsterdam for two days now and I can safely say that it was not what I was expecting. Initially, I thought it would be quaint and picturesque, with winding canals and tulips everyday. Then after doing more research, I thought it would actually be the city of drugs, prostitution and the glaring red light district. However, I was neither wrong nor right. Amsterdam is romantically beautiful, but with a blatant undertone of the taboo.
It may have been the jetlag, or the general surprise of what I found, but my first day in Amsterdam was a little rough. The language barrier was much greater than I was expecting and when my dad and I arrived at the airport we could not figure out where to go, who to talk to or where we really were. After about half an hour of struggling and finally finding someone to help us, we took a very quick train trip into the city. After arriving, we then struggled again in trying to get figure out where our hotel actually was. We ended up taking a tram and then wandering around for another half an hour before finding our hotel, after asking a very nice sanitation worker to help us. If nothing else, the transportation system in Amsterdam is fast, efficient and easy (once you get the hang of it).
After dropping off our luggage we decided to get brunch at a nice pancake restaurant, if nothing else, eat a pancake they are really good and extremely filling. Then we continued to wander aimlessly around, finding the beautiful flower market (including cannabis starter kits), charming canals and the Van Gogh museum. While a must, I was actually a little disappointed in the museum, mostly because we had to wait in line for an hour even though we had bought ticket in advance. From there we finally got to check into the hotel, and the staff were friendly in a stand-offish sort of way. The room is large, modern and looks out onto a very traditional Dutch street. Taking a shower after traveling for thirty some hours was one of the best feelings ever, and it definitely turned our day around. We then went out and found an amazing Dutch restaurant, recommended to us by a little old Dutch woman, and then went back to the hotel for the night.
The second day in Amsterdam was much better. The jet lag had worn off (for the most part) and we started the day with high spirits. However, a piece of advice, breakfast in Amsterdam either starts after 9:30 in the morning, or it doesn’t exist, we haven’t decided yet. After finding a small, but good breakfast we went to the Rijksmuseum, and it may have been the best art museum that I have ever been to, which is saying something. Not only were the staff friendly, helpful and extremely organized, but they were amazingly efficient. The museum is four stories of some of the most famous and amazing art you could ever experience. Works ranged from the year 1600 to 2000 and artists included Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet and Gauguin. Every paint, sculpture, wood carving or silver piece we saw was amazing and I would highly recommend it, just know it takes about four hours to do it all. From there we got lunch at a sidewalk cafe and then took an hour long canal cruise.
Amsterdam from the canals is much different than Amsterdam on the streets. On the streets everything is hectic, reeks of weed and you always kind of fear being killed by a tram, car, scooter or even a bicycle. But on the canals everything is calm, stunning beautiful and you can actually take in the amazing amount of history within the city. We finished the day with a tour of the Anne Frank's house which was a sobering but amazing experience that everybody should get if they come to Amsterdam, and then italian ice cream. If Amsterdam does anything right it’s art, food and canals.