Since I’ve had so many near misses on this trip, I made sure to buy tickets to an afternoon train to Amsterdam. I woke up at 10 AM, checked out at 11, and i still had 4 hours to burn. i figured I’d have a relaxing lunch somewhere, and just hang out in a coffee shop near the station. It was such a change of pace that i wasn’t in any sort of rush. But then one of my friends told me she was in Paris and she would love to have lunch. We agreed to meet up somewhere, but i didn’t realize it took about an hour to get there. So yeah, once again I almost missed my ride. I got back to Gare du Nord with only 4 minutes to spare lol.

The Thalys train was quite fast. It only took 3 hours to get to Amsterdam. I got there at around 6 PM, just in time for the sunset. Amsterdam is indeed a very beautiful city. I rode the tram heading to my friend’s place, and he was there waiting for me right outside the stop. We crossed the street and went inside a student housing. Inside, there were a lot of college students, it was like passing through a time warp. I asked him why was he staying in a college dorm, I thought he had his own place. He told me why wouldn’t he, he was still in first year college. I suddenly froze. I thought he was about my age. Turns out he was way younger. I told him how old i was and he was shocked. He told me he thought we were of the same age too— but he’s only 19. Turns out he just took 2 years off after high school so that he could travel. All along i thought he started traveling after college and he just decided to go to Amsterdam for graduate studies. Looking around, I thought I was gonna feel out of place. He told me not to worry about it, and he’s gonna tell everyone that i was as old as he is so that his friends wouldn’t find it awkward. So yeah, i went along with it. I partied with college kids. Got drunk with college kids. Got high with college kids. And I found it really funny how none of them had a clue that i was way older than them… like 10 years older. There were perks though. i was able to get student’s discounts when we went inside bars. That’s probably one reason why I got so drunk on more than one occasion. On the first night I fell asleep inside the club, and when i woke up everyone was gone. The bartender had to wake me up because the club was already closed. I hailed a cab outside but i forgot my friend’s address lol. It was saved on my phone but my phone was predictably dead. Good thing the cab driver had an iPhone charger haha. So he just drove around until i was able to turn on my phone. Miraculously i was able to recognize my friend’s place so I got off. I tried calling him but he wasn’t answering. I was still really dizzy so I decided to sit down on one of the benches and fell asleep. Some girl woke me up at around 6 AM because she couldn’t get her bike since I was blocking the chain. LOL. Man, I’m way too old for this sh*t. I managed to get inside the dorm since there were a lot of people coming out, but when I knocked on the door to his room no one was answering. Either he’s dead drunk inside or he was someplace else. I was still dizzy so I was contemplating on sleeping on the floor outside. Then I remembered that there was a couch in the kitchen. Once I got there, I fell asleep in an instant. I woke up several hours later when my friend slapped me on the face. Turns out he fell asleep someplace else, he didn’t even realize i wasn’t with him when he left the club. He couldn’t even remember leaving the club. I could be mad, but I remembered I was the one ordering all those Jager shots for both of us— 9 shots for only 10 Euros, would you believe. That first night makes for a good travel story though. This trip is giving me a lot of funny stories to tell my friends back home. I continued partying on the succeeding night, but thankfully none of em turned out to be disasters.

I was in Amsterdam for a week, and i find it embarrassing that I didn’t get to see much of the city. I was perfectly fine where i was, just hanging out at the dorm, that I didn’t feel the need to venture into the city center during the daytime. The unpredictable weather definitely wasn’t helping. It was sunny for a few hours, then it would rain all afternoon. I guess the weed also had a lot to do with it. You know that argument in the US about how people won’t be smoking a lot of weed if it’s already legal? Just look at Amsterdam and you’ll realize that argument is hogwash. lol. It wasn’t until two days before my flight that i said to myself that i should go out and explore. What’s the use of visiting a city if i don’t get to explore it. I remembered how it was when I got off the train, how beautiful the city was outside the Centraal Station. I looked out the window and i saw that the sun was shining brightly. It was a good day to walk around the city.

One could take beautiful pictures anywhere in Amsterdam. I guess the canals had a lot to do with it. Those canals give an impression of serenity even in crowded areas, every corner looks picturesque. There are a lot of museums, the most famous one is the Rijksmuseum, and it’s a spectacle even from the outside. I didn’t go inside, but someone told me it would set you back 17.50 Euros to get in. Right outside, you’d see Amsterdam’s most crowded attractions: The I Amsterdam letters. i waited for about an hour just to get a decent picture, but more and more people kept coming. I guess you need to be at the site early in the morning to get a decent picture, and I would definitely not wake up early just for that lol. Another set of letters are by the airport, and I heard a third set moves around the city. When i was there it was by the lake near my friend’s place. I saw it on my way to the airport, i should’ve just gone there instead. It was practically within walking distance to me all week and i didn’t even bother to go lol.

For history buffs there’s the Anne Frank House. For art lovers, the Van Gogh Museum is a must visit. And hey, since a lot of tourists visit Amsterdam just for the weed (to the annoyance of a number of locals), of course there’s gonna be a Marijuana museum. The Oede Kerk is an old protestant church that has an interesting architecture. There’s also a bustling nightlife right outside, so visiting the church around sunset is a nice plan. Oddly enough, the church is right by the red light district.

The red light district is a notorious spot in Amsterdam, so i figured it’s worth a visit. It has a weird vibe during the day time, and looking at those ogling men in broad daylight made the site even more disturbing. I couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity when i glanced at the women on those windows. Clearly they didn’t like what they were doing. But they aren’t hurting anyone, and if they make a good deal of money from it, it’s really non of my business.

One could simply hang out anywhere in the city without walking around too much because there’s a sight to behold in practically any spot. But there’s something i wanted to see in the Netherlands that I haven’t seen anywhere in Amsterdam— windmills! After doing a little googling, I found out that there’s a place near Amsterdam where i could see a lot of them, and it’s only about 30 minutes away. The place is called Zaanse Schans, and I made a point to visit it the next day. From Centraal Station, you need to purchase a ticket to Koog-Zaandijk. A round trip ticket only costs 7 Euros. Trains run frequently, and it only takes about 30 minutes to get there. From the train station, you can easily walk to the site. It took me about 15 minutes. It’s not just a windmill place actually. It’s basically a park that gives you a little taste of Dutch culture as a whole. Besides the windmills, there are chocolate stores, a place where they show you how to make those wooden klomps, there are bakeries, barns, various handicraft shops, and old dutch houses. The place has such a relaxing vibe, one can easily spend the whole day here. The smell of freshly baked bread certainly helps. Entrance to the park is free, but you have to pay a small fee to enter some of buildings like the windmills. This place is really a must visit for anyone in Northern Holland, especially for those people who are only staying in the country for a very limited time.

I had so much fun in the Netherlands, and I guess it’s the perfect place to end this year’s trip to Europe. Admittedly I regret not getting to see much of the country, and that’s one of the many reasons why I intend to go back.