As a first-time international traveler, I experienced the horrors of jet lag firsthand—and trust me, I am not having fun recovering. After initially waking up at 6 a.m. on Saturday and finally touching down in the Netherlands at 5:50 a.m., sleep had become a foreign concept to me. I will pass out immediately after I submit this blog post since I did not sleep much on the plane! However, this did not stop the Netherlands from impressing on our first day visiting.
Immediately upon leaving the airport, I was faced with an ocean of bikes. Dozens of bikes were parked on bike racks, and even more bikes were being ridden on the bike lanes (and trust me, the drivers have no mercy when it comes to the people trying to cross these lanes). This was a sight unknown to a typical American like me, who is quite used to a comparable amount of cars trying to cross the Fort Pitt tunnels without braking–seriously, is it really that hard to just maintain speed?
After quickly dropping off our luggage at our hotel in Amsterdam, our guide Brian sent us off on a scavenger hunt that sent the entire trip around the city looking for notable landmarks. I was able to witness the majesty of the Grand Centraal Station and the Magna Plaza, while also passing by more solemn and historically significant sites such as the Anne Frank House. My team–also known as “Group John”– was able to get second place in this scavenger hunt, and all it took was for me to hit 15,000 steps by noon.
After completing the scavenger hunt, I joined a group of fellow students to see the Keukenhof, which is a floral spectacle that showcases the beauty of Amsterdam’s tulip and flower industry. The flowers themselves, as well as the designs they created, were truly a breathtaking sight.
After finally taking a much-needed break for a little over an hour, Brian then took everyone to a restaurant that served a Dutch sausage on mashed potatoes, and that surely did not disappoint. Then Dr. Kerzmann was kind enough to buy everyone ice cream before heading back for the night. This small taste of what Amsterdam and Dutch culture has to offer has truly excited me for the rest of this global experience!