Amsterdam Vibes!

Man, my trips just keep getting better and better. Amsterdam was such a fabulous city. I had a blast, with tons of laughter and so many memories made. It was my two closest Oxford friends and me who went.

We slept in a sailboat… yeah, that was an experience. I couldn’t have done it with anyone else but these girls. I flew in on Thursday late at night with one of my friends, and the other met us the following morning. When we took a taxi from the airport to our boat, I was so confused. First of all… highly don’t recommend taking a taxi here. An 18-minute drive, and we paid around 80 euros—big mistake. Secondly, where the taxi dropped us off, it was at the bottom of a hill. It was a little sketchy. The driver asked, "Are you sure this is where you’re supposed to be going?"

Our boat was named Stella. She was quite the cozy sailboat. By the end of the trip, I mastered the whole getting on and off without dropping a single belonging into the water. It was a tiny boat, and honestly, a bit crowded with three of us. There was one bed, and the third person slept on what would be a boat couch. The kitchen was mini—very mini—and the toilet had some funny smells. Outside on the dock, there was an outhouse with more bathrooms and showers.

I’m currently writing this on the plane, and to say the least, I cannot wait to take a nice shower tonight and be in my own bed.

Friday morning, we slept in! We went to breakfast at Bluey’s Coffee and Kitchen, where I ordered an açaí bowl and coffee. The place was adorable. Then we went back to Stella to get ready for the day. We made our way into the main city square and did lots of exploring. I’m obsessed with the architecture and love that bikes are the main mode of transportation. But you better watch out for them!

Friday night, we had a rooftop dinner at MA’dam. The elevator ride had a light show, which was fun. The view of Amsterdam was breathtaking.

Later, one of my friends and I had a late night out. The memories from that night will last forever—it ended around 2:30 a.m. with 3 slices of pizza.

Saturday was another sleep-in day. It felt amazing not setting alarms. We went to the local supermarket for coffee and croissants. It was so cool seeing everyone going about their everyday lives. Around 2 p.m., we went to the Van Gogh and Rembrandt museum. Funny thing—it wasn’t the Van Gogh museum we thought it was going to be, but it was relaxing. The museum was in a church, and we lay on giant pillows, looking up at a light show about the lives of Van Gogh and Rembrandt. The only thing was that it was all in Dutch. Oops. But the light show was pretty; we just didn’t understand a thing.

Next, we went to the Heineken Experience, and it was so cool! I didn’t expect it to be so interactive, but I loved it! They told us the history of Heineken, how it’s made, and how the US helped make it go global. At the end, we got fresh beer and had a "proost" (cheers). Then we went to the Heineken bar and got two more free beers. There were competitions to see who could pour the best glass with the least foam.

Afterward, we went to a local Italian restaurant nearby because we were cold. One of my favorite parts of the day was going to an ice bar. First, we entered a regular bar and got a free cocktail. Then a pirate came in and told a story about how we were on a boat to Norway and Denmark. They gave us thick winter jackets and heated gloves before entering the ice chamber. The whole room was covered in ice! It wasn’t cold at first, but by the end, I couldn’t feel my fingers. They handed us shot glasses made out of ice! We took photos, danced a little, and had some giggles.

We weren’t planning on going out after that, but we were in the mood. Clearly, something was telling us not to because it started pouring rain—like torrential downpour. So, we called it a night and went back to Stella.

Sunday, we woke up and checked out of our cozy Stella sailboat. We had Dutch pancakes. I split one with caramel, crumbled stroopwafel, and other yumminess I can’t remember, but I was full!

Then we took a boat tour through the canal, which was so joyful. They gave us a charcuterie board with Dutch cheese and drinks.

Afterward, we rented bikes to explore the city. It was a bit of a jumpscare at first, but I got the hang of it by the end of the day.

We visited the Van Gogh Museum and saw not only his art but other Dutch artists' work. This museum was one of my favorites ever. Maybe because I knew some of the paintings, but I was so interested in the movement and stories behind them. Then we returned the bikes, had dinner at a famous Mediterranean restaurant, and headed to the airport.

Amsterdam treated me so well. I can’t even

explain how much fun I had, and I’ve got so many stories to tell.

This week in Oxford should be pretty chill. Next week is fall break! Wow, already halfway through the term. I’m spending the break in London with family, so I’ll return to blogging in about two weeks.

Any fun questions?? I have two more trips outside the UK coming up and will spend some weekends relaxing and enjoying time in Oxford with all my Oxford friends!

Proost!

Isa