Travel Tuesday

Amsterdam was possibly one of the strangest places we went, now that I have to think about what to say about it. It was strange because of the massive contrast I felt between Amsterdam at night and Amsterdam in the day.

We arrived in Amsterdam in the evening (well it's winter in Europe so evening is from about 4pm!) and went straight to our hotel. After dinner we started the night with a canal cruise with free wine and Heineken. It was great to see Amsterdam from the canals but it was raining to you couldn't really see much. Since this was our very first night together as a group we got to know a few people and met most of the people who would later become great friends.

After the cruise we went to explore Amsterdam at night...which is a bizarre experience to say the least. Walking through the red light district is a bit like walking through a dream, everything feels kind of unbelievable and so real at the same time. A friend asked me after our trip if I noticed how pretty some of the girls were, to be honest I didn't really, because I felt like such a voyeur that I didn't want to look properly, it just felt weird.

The next morning we were dropped off at Anne Frank house, where everyone on Contiki went in except for my sister and I (we later learned that we didn't miss much). We took the famous picture in front of the green door and then made our way to the Van Gogh Museum, we were only in Amsterdam for a couple of hours so we decided to do the Museum and then go to the Heineken Brewery.

Walking through Amsterdam that morning had the strangest effect on me. It felt like home. I loved it so much. I can't explain or understand why, but for some reason it just felt like I could easily live there and feel completely at home, and the city is as different from South Africa as you can get, but there is something there that just feels right. This is one of the big reasons why I loved Amsterdam so much.

Another reason was the Van Gogh museum.

Seeing a Vincent Van Gogh painting in real life is truly unbelievable. I can't describe how amazingly beautiful they are. My favourite was this picture, which I have in a book at home, but I have never really noticed it or paid any particular attention to it. It was so fresh and light and beautiful. I stared at it for ages.

I kept having to resist the urge to take the paintings off the walls. I literally had to hold my hands behind my back so that I wouldn't touch them and then probably get arrested. They just pull you in and consume you completely. I want them all.

At the museum we bought playing cards for our Secret Santa party that evening (it was Christmas Eve). Looking back now I do wish I had bought myself something as well because it was definately one of my highlights of the trip.

After Van Gogh we walked across to the Heineken Brewery. They call the visit The Heineken Experience because you get to walk through the old brewery and see the history of the beer - I have never seen a beer with so many medals and awards - there was even a Cannes lion there! We also got to have a beer tasting and you get two free beers at the end, which we didn't have because we ran out of time, but I'm very glad we went, it was an awesome experience.

We also walked past an awesome little shop with lots of random design things in it. It was closed when we walked past so we just drooled at things through the window.

Loved these signs - This is how you push a button, in case you aren't 100% sure.

I loved Amsterdam and would definitely love to go back there someday.