European Tour Grand Finale
We’ve reached the final destination in our grand tour of Europe: Amsterdam. This is the city I have been most excited to visit and I was not let down upon arrival. Everything here is so beautiful, from the canals to the streets to the houses, churches and museums. We got in early on the train, so we had almost an entire day to explore. After getting to our wonderfully luxurious hotel located in the heart of the Red Light District, a group of us went out to take a walk around and acquaint ourselves with a new city. We realized we were 5 minutes walk from a large market square, which is usually quite busy, and just 20 minutes walk from anything important. The first thing we did was some souvenir shopping, and then we walked through the famous Red Light District and saw for the first time what it’s really all about. That was certainly an experience I won’t soon forget. During those first steps in our new home, we learned an important lesson about Amsterdam: the streets are a free-for-all and bicycles will run you over if you are in the way. I am now officially more paranoid of being hit by a bike as I cross the street than I am of being hit by a car.
After grabbing a quick lunch, we walked across town to the Hortus Botanicus gardens. We spent an hour there touring the greenhouses and gardens. Even though its too late in the season for most things to be in bloom still, it was still very pretty and peaceful. The best part by far was the Butterfly House, which was home to a flock of butterflies just fluttering around freely. I love butterfly greenhouses; they’re so magical. After leaving the gardens, we found a giant flea market full of vendors selling all sorts of Dutch things. We spent a good amount of time wandering around there, browsing, shopping, and exploring. We all picked up a little gift for ourselves and some snacks, which was a nice way to spend the afternoon.
Our final and most exciting stop of the day was a visit to the Van Gogh Museum. I have wanted to go to Amsterdam and visit this museum since I was about 8 years old, so this was especially exciting for me. I was practically giddy with joy as we queued up outside the doors. Once inside, it surpassed all prior expectations. Every piece was stunning. There is no way to describe the intricacy and beauty of Van Gogh’s work; its something that can only be experienced in person. One thing I know for sure after my visit is that photos and prints will never do his paintings justice. It was a truly breathtaking experience to see the works I had been surrounded by my whole life in their full glory, and I have even more of an appreciation for them now.
We finished a truly wonderful day with some Irish food at a pub on the canal. It was one of my favorite days on this trip so far and a great start to an awesome week in the Netherlands. Even though I am sad that this is the last stop, I am so happy to finally make my dream of visiting Amsterdam come true that it’s overshadowing the sadness. I know we’ll have a happy ending to this amazing trip here and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
