Mi viaje a Amsterdam

     Hello all! This blog post is going to be about my recent trip to Amsterdam, but before I start with that, here is the much awaited picture with my host family. 

     That's my host mother Isabel Menchón and her 16 year old daughter Elsa. We also have a live in maid, Empeatriz, but she was not there when this picture was taken. Me, Alex, Isabel, Elsa and Empe are the semi-permanent residents of the Menchón residence, but the house is like a revolving door. When I first arrived, there was a student from Brazil and another from the Netherlands staying here. They left after my second week, but there have been many more. Isabel is good friends with a woman who runs a language exchange program for students from all across the globe, and she offers rooms to students who often need a place to stay. They usually stay for about a week. There have been four Italian girls, an English boy, and a Venezuelan girl. It's nice to have others come to stay, it makes dinner table conversation more interesting. And Isabel makes us all speak in Spanish, so it can get pretty entertaining as well. 

Now onto Amsterdam!

     Right when me and Alex learned we were going to be studying in Spain, we had a short list of places we really wanted to visit. Barcelona, Italy, and Amsterdam were at the top of the list. Amsterdam is famous for certain vices, but I won't delve too deeply into those in the post. Ask me in person and I'll tell you everything you want to know. But I will say that although many things are legal there that are illegal in the United States, it definitely does not take away from the city. 

     Of all the places I have visited thus far in my trip and in my life, Amsterdam is one of my favorite. It is clean, well organized, and extremely modern. For a city that has been a major European center since the 15th century, I was extremely surprised at its modernity. It is cleaner than Madrid, and has the best public transportation system of any European city I have visited, all of which have better systems than cities in the US. Although that may have to do with the prevalence of biking here. Once I entered Amsterdam, the huge amount of bikers was the first thing I noticed. But they're not like annoying bikers that get in the way of drivers in the US. The roads are organized in the following way - a walking path next to the buildings, then inside of that a designated bike path as wide as the sidewalk, then lanes for cars, and then tracks for trams. The bikers are very well educated in the rules of the road, and nobody wears a helmet. They also all ride dutch bikes, which are heavier than normal bikes and have pedal brakes instead of hand brakes. 

    I traveled to Amsterdam with Alex, Juha, and Tommy, all BU engineers. We arrived in Amsterdam Friday evening, and quickly checked into our hostel and put down our bags. This was the beautiful view from my hostel window. 

    We were starving, so we then went to an amazing restaurant call Cafe de Klos that I would highly recommend to anyone visiting. Tired of suffering from red meat deprivation in Spain, the four of us split three racks of BBQ ribs, two racks of smoked ribs, a 20 oz prime rib, and a BBQ lamb shoulder. It was one of the best meals that I have ever eaten. Then after we ate, we went to a bar where I had the best beer that I have ever drank. It is brewed by Dutch monks who train for years to work in the brewery, and must brew in complete silence. Here is a picture of it for those interested, but unfortunately it is only available in a few places in the Netherlands. 

    After hanging out at the bar for a while, we headed back to the hostel to sleep  before our only full day in Amsterdam. The next day we visited the Van Gogh museum and the Heineken Factory during the day. Both were fantastic, especially the factory because we got free beer. 

Distilling tank at the Heineken Factory

Horse chillin at the factory. 

   

     Since the Dutch don't stay out as late as the Spanish, we got off to an early start that night. We signed up for a Red Light district pub crawl, and it was a ton of fun. We only payed once at the start, and were guided around to some of the best bars, pubs, and clubs in Amsterdam. It was a fantastic night. 

     The next day, we awoke a little late, and decided we wanted to rent bikes and explore more of the city before we had to catch a flight back to Madrid. Riding bikes around the city was my favorite experience in Amsterdam. We were able to see a ton of the city and ride along the canals in the sun for just over three hours before we had to head to the airport. I immensely enjoyed visiting this awesome city with great friends, and I would recommend that everyone visits Amsterdam at one point in your life.

The famous I Amsterdam letters in front of Museumplein. 

Tommy, Juha and I on our bikes!