No sooner had I become acquainted with London than I decided to take a trip to another metropolitan European city, Amsterdam. When I was in high school in the Bahamas, I had a friend named Johanna. We were in the same class from freshman year to graduation and she was one of the people I managed to stay in contact with since. Johanna was born in the Netherlands but moved all over Europe throughout her childhood until she somehow ended up in the Bahamas for six years.
Luckily for me, Johanna ended up going to university in Amsterdam, so when I reached out to her, at the beginning of the semester, she eagerly and graciously offered me a place to stay for my weekend in A’dam.
I was able to find a coach bus trip for only £51 return and my roommate and I quickly purchased it and packed our bags. Since neither of us have classes on Friday, we left on Thursday night. Now Amsterdam is not right next door to London and it took 11 hours, by bus, to get there. While it is a tight spot for a journey that long, I highly recommend it. It’s a cheap way to travel, and you get to take a ferry across the English Channel.
Amsterdam was one of the quaintest, yet vibrant cities I have ever seen. It’s built upon rings of canals; the architecture struck me as gothic, with the buildings leaning into the road. Johanna and her sister were the perfect hosts and tour guides. They showed us all the sights of Amsterdam, including the Rijks museum, Amsterdam Centraal, the Anne Frank House, and the Red Light District. It was an incredible weekend and I was very sad to leave.