A free tour is the best kind of tour

I went to Amsterdam this past weekend and had a blast. I don’t even know where to start because I did so much and saw so many sites there. The one thing I would recommend would be to get out your comfort zone and take a walk in the Red Light District and experience that style of night life. I was definitely surprised walking down the street with girls who could have been younger than me standing in a window. The red lights represented that territory of buildings and attractions.

One thing I came away with this weekend was that people in Amsterdam know how to have a good time. The hostel I stayed in was right in the middle of a main street in Amsterdam, close to the train station, and it was crazy how late people stayed up and how early they got up on Friday and Saturday mornings. We would wake up at like 8am to the sounds of people talking and walking by our window and the fresh smell of smoke. What was really funny was how quiet it was Sunday morning; no one was kidding when they said Sunday’s are a day of rest.

My group of friends and I did a free walking tour on Saturday morning that went into the early afternoon that I really liked. It was given by Sandeman New Amsterdam Tours (see link below). It was REALLY nice to not have to pay to do something; especially since it could have been 15 or 20 Euro. Our tour guides name was Mason and he was originally from New Zealand, but has lived in Amsterdam for about 5 years now. He gave us a brief history of how the crazy city of Amsterdam came to be and then we walked around the city seeing some pretty cool sites. There was beautiful weather as well, which really made it a perfect day for a walking tour. We walked along one of the many canals in Amsterdam and with the water and the sun out, I realized how much I enjoy this city. The bright and beautiful colors of the buildings and the houses were nothing like in the U.S. Since the sun was shining, the flowers, plants and trees along the streets and by the canals were blooming and catching my eye as we walked. We stopped at The Old Church, close to the Red Light District, where we learned sailors would go to reconcile for their sins from the past night and pray before they left to go out on their next trip at sea. Like we talked about in Geography, the church represents something more than just a big building to the Dutch, it has holy and sacrificial meaning. We took a break in the middle of Dam Square and I couldn’t even explain how many people and of different backgrounds there were in one area. It was interesting to be standing in such a big space with so much history behind it. The feeling was surreal.

Our group decided to break away from the tour to go see the big I AMSTERDAM sign. It took us about 15 minutes to walk to from Dam Square. The sun was beating on me and I could feel sunburn starting to make its way onto my shoulders. We stopped at a cute café right by the sign that was the best meal I’ve had since I’ve been to Europe. We sat outside and you could hear kids playing on the playground and tourists taking pictures in front of the sign, it was definitely a moment I couldn’t capture on camera.

Going back to geography, I noticed how many different territories in such a small amount of space Amsterdam had. The canals split up the different mini towns within the big city and down every other street was a different atmosphere. Amsterdam is a very touristy city and there were so many different people I met throughout the weekend from so many different areas that Amsterdam is almost like a bunch of territories thrown into one city. I only saw a small amount of the whole city, so I could definitely see myself making my way back there again in the near future!

http://www.newamsterdamtours.com/nat/