Welcome to Amsterdam!

I am a plane nerd; I love to plaster my face to the window to study the landscapes below. Flying into Amsterdam was such a treat for me. First, I’ve never seen a body of water quite like the North Sea; it is so incredibly rough, and I loved trying to see the waves moving. Second, the Netherlands is so incredibly rich, beautiful, green, and vibrant. It made me a little sad that I didn’t have more time to travel outside of Amsterdam (forever adding to that travel list!).

  

For all of you that had to listen to me worry about the train from the airport for the last five months… I survived. I can never sleep on planes, so by the time I got to Schiphol, I was exhausted. Exhausted automatically also assumes supremely emotional. It is a big, busy airport, and I won’t lie that I was a bit overwhelmed at first. I swallowed my pride and asked for some help, and all was good.  The last bit of the train ride into Amsterdam Centraal was lovely too.

 

Walking out of Amsterdam Centraal was crazy. The only thing I can equate it to is if, on your first visit to New York City, you traveled for 12 hours and were dropped, completely exhausted and dragging luggage, in the middle of Times Square and told to orient yourself to get out. And then, a few blocks away, you hit Dam Square and find out just how much fun it is to try to pull your luggage across rough cobblestones. There weren’t tears, but I was close and questioning my travel decisions. Don’t worry, this always happens when I’m tired.

Once I stepped on to Herengracht and got a glimpse of the canals, my fears dissolved. Luckily, my hotel (The Hoxton, Amsterdam) had my room ready. The hotel is beautiful and cool, and once in my room, I felt instantly at home. I splurged on a canal view (an amazing choice), and the room had enormous windows, which were cracked open. It was a perfect 60 degrees outside with blue skies and bright sunlight. With the windows open, I was able to drop my luggage and sit down for a few minutes and listen to the beautiful cacophony of sounds echoing off of the canals. Travel woes begone. I was smitten that all of that was my reality for even a few days. I wish that I could somehow manage to get a lively, beautiful, tree-lined canal outside of my bedroom window at home.

  

I showered, crammed down a protein bar, and took advantage of my complimentary milk to recharge, and then I headed out to wander in the streets. You’d think that you would get tired of beautiful bridges, sparkling canals, interesting storefronts, and beautiful weather, but nope. Amsterdam is so fun, charming, and unique. I was barely upright, but I still was trying to drink it all in. At one point, I even stumbled on a huge protest in the streets. I can’t read Dutch, so I wasn’t sure what it was about, but it was still interesting to watch.

 

There are a ton of interesting museums in Amsterdam, so I got the I Amsterdam City Card for the weekend. Because I was so tired on Friday night, I decided to make use of the free canal tour on the card. It was a different way to see the city, and I loved getting a few shots from such a different vantage point.

  

Afterward, I headed back to the hotel to try to catch up on my sleep. So many things planned for Amsterdam – Day 2.