Hallo and welcome to my first Amsterdam blog! Today was an early morning start, with our 7-hour flight from Boston to Amsterdam arriving at 5:35AM. After making it through customs shockingly swiftly, we were introduced to our guide, Raha. She is very sweet and passionate about her job, and interestingly she knows five languages!
We started our adventure bright and early in Amsterdam by riding the train for the first time (You will soon learn I love trains!), which was very accessible to the suburbs and inter-city, exceptionally clean, and reasonably cheap (2-4 euros a ride). The scenery outside the train was very similar to Pittsburgh at first (probably due to their similar climates), but then the architecture of the apartment buildings in the suburbs was noticeably different, and almost dystopian. The most stark difference I noticed from the Netherlands to the States was the public transport system. There is an established tram line, subway rail, free ferry, train system, and busway in Amsterdam, with the addition of an astonishing amount of bikes. Right outside of our hotel was an entire parking lot of just bikes, which I have never seen in the States.
After stopping at the hotel located in the Sloterdijk neighborhood, we rode a double-decker train to Centraal Station, which reminded me very much of New York City’s Grand Central Station. Here, we did a scavenger hunt, set up by the study abroad company. We split into groups of four and explored central Amsterdam, with guidance of a map and clues. Amsterdam was expectedly very walkable, with plenty of bridges over the canals and small streets designated for only pedestrians. We saw landmarks such as St. Peter’s Basilica, the oldest house in Amsterdam (built in 1425), the National Remembrance of the Dead Monument in Dam Square (busy and decorated with flowers for Liberation Day today), the Royal Palace, and the Anne Frank Haus. Although we didn’t win the competition by any stretch, it was a great way to explore the city independently but still with some structure in order to see the highlights of a city filled with such rich history, architecture, and culture. My favorite part was stopping in the random cheese and stroopwafel stores along the way to eat free samples. The gouda cheese was exceptional.
We finished the day with dinner in the neighborhood of Waterlooplein, which was bustling with young people. One thing I was surprised about was how similar all of the different neighborhoods were. The popular images of a picturesque Dutch street with neighboring houses in front of the canal were not just one street of the city frequented by tourists, but the majority of every neighborhood. Every street and square was aesthetically pleasing, but also lively with people at all times of day (which could also be due to the holiday). Many people I observed today were dressed very stylish, spoke English, Dutch, or French, and were overall very friendly (except for an isolated experience on the subway). By the end of the day, we had utilized every public transportation available, except for the busway, ferries, and the bikes, which I hope to use another day.
Today was a great introduction day for my first experience abroad and has given me plenty of ideas of things I’d love to see (and buy!) over the next two weeks. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog: we are going on a canal cruise and to our first company tour! Doei! 🙂