December puente once again came around and for some reason I decided I wanted to go to a place where I could be cold again, like last year's Superpuente in Germany and Prague. So, this year my friend Emma and I hopped on a flight to Amsterdam for a long weekend of superfresh goodness.
Amsterdam, as you can see to the left, is surrounded by multiple canals, each one as beautiful if not moreso than the last. The buildings lining each canal are all different colors and designs and it was really difficult for us not to immediately take out our cameras at every corner to snap more photos of boats, bikes, and canals. The first day, we arrived in the early afternoon, dropped off our bags at our hostel, and got to enjoy two whole hours of sunlight before dark settled in around 4pm. Yikes! 
We spent the day getting acquainted with the city and noting things we'd like to come back and see during the daytime. It was very cold and windy, so we decided we wanted to stop in at a super tacky Christmas market for a glühwein. It was way more expensive (5 euros!!) and not nearly as tasty as the ones I had last year in the German Christmas markets, but Amsterdam isn't exactly known for it like Germany is. After warming up with our wine, we continued on our walk until we accidentally ended up in the Red Light District. That was quite a shock! We had definitely planned to walk through there at some point, but it can certainly be surprising when you aren't expecting to suddenly see scantily-clad ladies (and, er, "gentlemen") in a window right around the corner. I didn't dare trying to take a picture of any of the people in the windows, but as we approached one of the canals that runs through the neighborhood, we noticed some pretty swans a-swimming. I took this opportunity to take one of my favorite photos of the trip (see right).
After a brief stroll through the Red Light District, we found a tiny neighborhood-y bar called Cafe De Gaeper. We took two seats at the bar and ordered superfresh pints of Heineken. The bartender was delightful and like pretty much everyone we encountered in Holland, his English was impeccable. I suppose as a teacher this was really encouraging to see. We finished our drinks at De Gaeper and moved on to have bratwurst at a Christmas market and another drink at a bar closer to our hostel before going dashing through pouring rain to get back and sleep.
Day two began our tourist-y exploits. We fought through the crowds at our hostel's free breakfast before going to stand in a quick but very chilly line to get into the Anne Frank house. That was a really incredible experience. Having read the book I sort of knew what to expect, but it did not prepare me for how it would feel to see those dark, tiny rooms and climb those "leg-breaking" steep stairs. It was especially interesting to see the magazine clippings that Anne Frank posted to the walls of her bedroom to make it more "livable" inside. It's just so cool to experience the things you've read in books come to life. I took some notes in my little pocket notebook for things I wanted to read more about, along with this quote blown up onto one of the bedroom walls:
"I long to ride a bike, dance, whistle, feel young and know that I'm free."
24 December 1943 - Anne Frank (from her diary)
When we left the house we walked back down the canal to find for a place for lunch. A slight detour into a boot shop ended with me buying some rainboots, but the distraction was worth it as we came out of the store to see a small deli across the street with a
newspaper clipping in the window with a picture of a very delicious-looking pastrami sandwich. We assumed the Dutch article only said good things about the deli, so we went in and observed the locals drinking small glasses of milk with their lunch. We copied them and ordered our sandwiches (mine, above, smoked bacon & brie) with a glass of freezing cold superfresh milk. I would definitely recommend 't Kuyltje for any trip to Amsterdam. Don't ask me how to pronounce that.
We went back to the hostel to shower and nap before heading back to De Gaeper for dinner because of the dishes we'd seen people eating the night before. Emma and I split a schnitzel plate and thai peanut chicken with some more superfresh Heinekens before strolling back through the Red Light District and returning to our hostel when we got too cold to be out.
On day three, Saturday, we decided to take a side trip to a town nearby called Utrecht, based on multiple suggestions. Utrecht is very small and looks very similar to Amsterdam - adorable buildings hanging over multiple canals - but I liked it just as much. We spent most of our time just walking up and down the streets because there really isn't much to do there, but we eventually stopped for lunch at a small cafe with a big fat cat sleeping on a chair outside. We again had sandwiches (a guy from Utrecht on our flight to Amsterdam told us that was "very Dutch") and after lunch we went to the cathedral to hear the local church choir sing a Christmas concert. I really loved that, but it was so cold in the cathedral that we couldn't stay the whole time. To warm up, we (naturally) went to a nearby cafe and had really delicious hot chocolate before catching our train back to Amsterdam and having a warm night in our hostel.
On Sunday, our last full day, we didn't have anything really planned (and we were running out of money) so we decided to devote the first part of our day to buying touristy things. I found a sticker for my notebook and then we stopped in a store called HEMA (click that link and let the page load--they have a really cool thing going on for Christmas right now) and I bought a tin of stroopwafels to bring to Chicago. You guys are gonna love them! We spent the rest of the morning walking along a massive shopping street in the center before we got hungry and decided to look for that deli again. 
Thus began a trek around town only to discover that it is closed on weekends. Instead we went to a tiny bar on the corner because we were just too cold and hungry to keep looking. We opened the door to an empty bar where one girl was working and playing Bon Iver from her ipod. Perfect! I had broccoli soup. Unfortunately, this was the coldest day yet and we couldn't stay out walking for very long, so we stopped in yet another cafe for coffee and the most delicious apple pie I think I've ever had. Wow.
When we finished our coffee and pie we decided to go to the old Heineken brewery and do the "Heineken Experience" tour. It was really interesting and informative, and in keeping with the theme of the trip, the drinks were superfresh! We toured the museum and got to see the old brewery with all the copper-plated machinery, tried wort (odd), had a weird motion video ride thing, did a tasting session, played weird DJ games, sat in space-chairs, and eventually got to have our two included drinks at the Heineken world bar.
For our last night in Amsterdam, we had more bratwurst for dinner and found a bar called Hans en Greitje (Hansel and Gretel) and managed to sit by a group of Spanish people. Eventually one of them approached us to get our opinion on an argument they were having (whether or not the name Séfora would be pretty for a baby, to which we replied, you mean like Sephora the store?), and when one of them asked his friend to translate what we'd said, imagine his shock when we translated it for him. We ended up chatting with the group for the rest of the night before going back to the hostel to sleep before our flight the next morning.
I had a really good time in Holland and I would definitely love to visit again when it's warm and sunny. Until then, click here to see my cloudy, cold-weather Amsterdam photos.
How exactly does a trip to Scotland end up as a surprise? Pull up a seat, I'll tell you. What happens is one night you go out to a bar where you used to go all the time with your Scottish friend. You send said friend a text saying, "Guess where I am?" which later turns into a phone call, which the next morning turns into a flight booked for the following weekend. Oh, nostalgia. You never treat me right.
