London: Cheese, art and bikes

My program doesn’t give us a spring break, but we had a long weekend off. So, five girls and I went to Amsterdam for four days. We had an incredible time and really got to explore the city.

The first morning we went on a free three hour walking tour and got great insight into the city and the openness of the locals. Amsterdam is an incredibly tolerant city and live by a “do whatever you want as long as you don’t harm yourself or anyone else” motto. On the tour we saw the city’s thinnest house which is only one meter wide. In the old days, there was a tax on the width of our house, so this one’s front was only a meter, as to avoid paying lots of money. Apparently the back opens up, but our tour guide said she never had success actually going inside since someone actually lives there.

The thinnest house is the red one.

I was surprised by the mass amount of creative influence to be found throughout the city. There was incredible graffiti that covered entire buildings. The street in the image below was lined with graffiti. It is also one of the top streets for squatting. Squatting is legal in Amsterdam, and is popular for artists since all they have to cover is utilities.

That afternoon, we went to the Van Gogh museum, which I loved. It is so different seeing the artwork in person than in a book. I was surprised by the immense layering of paint Van Gogh used to create his masterpieces. While other people were disappointed that there weren’t more “famous” works on display, I actually really enjoyed seeing the lesser known works, since I could get up close to the paintings.

The second day we went on a half-day tour to a cheese making factory, a clog making factory and a quaint seaside town.

The cheese factory and Whitney and I wearing clogs!

That afternoon we went to the Anne Frank House. I was struck by the size of the living space. It was much larger than I expected, but at the same time I was shocked that eight people lived there with no fresh air or sunlight for two years.

The third, and final day, we rented bikes and visited multiple street markets. Amsterdam is so biker-friendly; almost every road has separate bike and car lanes. I struggled since my bike was one-size-fits-all does not fit small people. Once I was on the bike, I couldn’t get off till our destination. Despite that difficulty, it was a gorgeous sunny day, which was perfect for exploring the city.

Amsterdam was a great city to spend almost four full days in. It was the longest trip I’ve taken thus far and it was one of my favorites. Our hostel was on a boat and had delicious breakfasts (which was a first of the trips here). Below are a few more of my favorite pictures from the trip.