Amsterdam

So the last few weeks have been pretty hectic and I've fallen a bit behind on updating this blog...I currently have around four entries worth of pictures, so here I am starting back a few weeks ago with spring break. One step at a time, and starting with Amsterdam!

Here is one of the many canals we walked over while traversing the city, close to the red light district (and for some reason this canal in particular was always filled with large groups of swans). I never realized quite how many waterways there were in the city until I got there; there are four main canals that circle the center of the city, and therefore any sort of walk through Amsterdam involves multiple canal crossings (each bordered by unique buildings).

This is Amsterdam Central Station, the main train station designed by the same man who created the winning design for the Rijksmuseum (the national museum which we also visited) in the late 19th century. I think it's one of the most beautiful stations I've ever seen, and the color of the brick looked incredible in the light of the setting sun.

The table in the room of our hostel. A random picture but for some reason I liked how it looked like graffiti and seemed to act in lieu of a formal guest-book. It was covered with names and all sorts of quotes and words of advice--i.e. one of our French roommates who left the day we arrived contributed "Free your mind from mental prostitution." Deep, man.

Amsterdam is really a city of bikers. My roommates and I rented bikes for three days, and while some were happier with the experience than others, I absolutely loved being back on two wheels. I had forgotten how much I missed riding around the city and how much more efficient it is than walking. We got caught in one of many rainstorms when we were on our bikes and I actually found it thrilling to ride back to our hostel with the rain in our faces and rushing over various bridges.

On our walk back from breakfast one morning we spotted a group of people staring toward the canal, and upon closer inspection realized that there was a heron on the roof of a parked car (or maybe it's a crane? not sure). I was surprised how calm it was, and I was able to get up fairly close to take its photo, almost as if it was enjoying all the attention.

On the weekend Maddie, David, and I went to one of the main markets near the canal named Prisengracht (which also happens to have an amazing vintage market on Monday mornings...could have spent all day there on my own!). They sold specialty foods, plants, and all sorts of random objects to a lively crowd of both locals and tourists alike.

I've noticed that whenever I go to Europe for some reason I see marzipan everywhere, and the Netherlands were no different. There were lots of nut stands, and Maddie and I splurged on this amazing creation of sliced walnuts filled with rounds of marzipan and rolled in sugar. And yes, it was as good as it looks and sounds.

On the way back from the market we came upon a group of street performers, playing what sounded like a kind of folk music (maybe even a bit like klezmer music?). Whatever the genre, it was nice hearing live music that seemed in some way connected to the surrounding city that we had been exploring.