This week, I took my last weekend trip of the semester - to Amsterdam! I've heard people compare it to Copenhagen a lot - mostly based on the canals and biking culture. Other than those two factors, however, Amsterdam and Copenhagen seemed like two very different cities...(but both have me considering what it would be like to move to Northern Europe full time). Our weekend was defined by copious amounts of stroopwafels, complete infatuation with the beautiful canals, and persistent repetition of the phrase "wow, I love this city." The list of places to explore is endless, but here are the top ten tips we collected during our two days of exploration: 1. Admire the paintings at the Van Gogh Museum. Despite his fame, my knowledge of Van Gogh and his artwork was actually pretty minimal. On Saturday morning, we visited the museum and were able to see his paintings and other artwork from throughout his life. I had no idea he had worked with so many styles, but I loved seeing how his artwork had evolved, and learning more about his life in the process. My favorite pieces were those with the pointillism technique, which Van Gogh is well known for. It was really cool to be able to actually see the brushstrokes and thicker areas of paint, and to imagine Van Gogh himself working on each canvas. As an added bonus, two of the paintings that were missing for the last 14 years were recently found and put back on display just one week before we got there!
6. Indulge in free samples at the Cheese Museum. If you're getting hungry, stop by the Amsterdam Cheese museum for all the free samples you can imagine. The walls are covered in different flavors, along with little dishes and toothpicks to try each one. They also have different flavored dips for the cheeses, like Cranberry and Fig. Pro tip: the mini jars are carry-on size. On the bottom floor, there is a small museum with a cow sculpture and some other fun things, but to be honest I spent most of the time eating my way through the shop... 7. Or stuff yourself with Stroopwafel.
Stroopwafel are thin, caramel syrup waffle wafers that are sold throughout the city. I may or may not have consumed a package or two while we were there. 10/10, would do again. 8. Visit the Anne Frank House. In the afternoon, we made our way to the Anne Frank house, where she and her family lived in hiding for two years before they were discovered. It was surreal and heartbreaking to step into the rooms where the family lived for so long, and to hear the story of their experiences. It really forced us to confront the fact that what we were hearing was more than just a story, and was something that happened to many more families across Europe. If you do plan to see this museum, it's a good idea to book tickets ahead of time to avoid the line - the museum opens to the public at 3:30 pm, and the wait can be up to three hours. 9. Get the 2 day travel pass. If you're staying for the weekend, the best option for transportation would be the two day travel pass. It includes all buses, trams, metros, and ferries, as well as trains to and from the airport (which becomes very convenient when you accidentally end up there when you're trying to go to brunch...oops). If you are relying on public transportation, make sure you know when public transportation stops running - we just barely made the last train back to our Air Bnb! 10. On that note, consider an Air Bnb! When we looked into hostels, they were a bit on the pricier side, so we decided to stay in an Air bnb, which was a cheaper option. Our apartment was actually in a separate city called Utrecht, and was about a 45 minute commute, but it wasn't too bad. The apartment was adorable, stocked with stroopwafel, and home to a mischievous cat named Lutske who kept us company and liked to steal my hair ties. I'll miss Lutske the cat as much as I'll miss the city of Amsterdam and all it's charm. I have a pretty strong feeling that the stroopwafels will lure me back pretty soon... My next stop is Bergen, Norway over our April break, where I'll be hiking through the fjords. It's bizarre to think that will be my last trip before the end of the program. The semester has flown by. Here's to five more weeks of adventures in Copenhagen! Happy reading, Lydia
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Hi Everyone!I'm Lydia, a 21 year old college student studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark for the spring 2017 semester. I'm excited to spend the next few months adventuring around Europe, and it'll all be documented here! Feel free to look around. Archives
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