Getting lost in AMSTERDAM!

With only a quick two hour "nap" between getting home from Istanbul and hearing my alarm, it was time to get to the airport to catch a 8am flight to Amsterdam with my friend Margaret, who had also been in Istanbul with me.

After a quick flight, which I desperately wanted to be longer so I could sleep, we arrived and made our way into the city.  Knowing that we didn't have much time in the city, we tried to push through our exhaustion and get started right away.  Plus, we had to wait until 3pm to check into our hostel.  In the meantime, we grabbed some sandwiches at Singel 404, the most delicious sandwich shop that had been recommended to us.  It was so great, and we got to enjoy our sandwiches and coffee canal-side!

Chicken/avocado sandwich

Coffee; duh.

We wandered the city for a bit afterwards, getting super lost despite the semi-logical canal system.  For whatever reason, we couldn't seem to hold the map the proper way and would end up walking in the completely wrong direction.  It was okay though, we got to see plenty of the city that way, which was pretty cool, especially since the design of Copenhagen is based off of Amsterdam's canals.  Speaking of Copenhagen, there are SO MANY bikes in Amsterdam- maybe not more than Copenhagen, but they're definitely more reckless.  Combined with more cars, as well as trams that run along the road too, being a pedestrian was more treacherous than I was used to.  

The next day, we went to see the Anne Frank house which was really moving because you were able to walk through the whole thing and see where the family had hid for such a long time.  On a lighter note that afternoon, we went to the Heineken brewery!!!  I love brewery tours, and this one was probably one of the best.  Very interactive, and we even got a canalboat ride included in the price of our tickets!

The next day, we made it a point to find the elusive "i amsterdam " sign, which no one in the city besides tourists cared about.  Conveniently, it was right next to the Van Gogh museum!

Van Gogh musuem

Sadly, our time in Amsterdam was coming to an end, so after a quick sandwich from Singel 404 and one last walk through the canals, it was time to catch the train back to the airport and back to lovely Copenhagen.

ps: Amsterdam has the greatest falafel place- Maoz.  Go there.  Yumm.