My flight was scheduled for December 2 at 8PM. After I had packed in my usual way, ten minutes before leaving, I headed to the metro to go to the airport. Before making my first transfer, Natalie called, presumably to remind me to bring my passport or boarding pass (because she is the mother in the travel relationship and I the trouble-making son who is good with directions and bad at remembering to bring… anything tangible).
“OUR FLIGHT IS CANCELLED,” she said flatly.
It took a second to process before I started cursing. This would not have been SUCH a problem if we had not already gotten all our non-refundable museum tickets online and paid for hostels.
When I called the travel agency, a very sympathetic and USELESS man told me the next flight available was Sunday (it was Thursday at this point) , due to the bad weather in Amsterdam. This was not a very viable option since my return flight was Monday. I had him cancel my flights altogether.
Natalie’s guy was a little more helpful and offered a flight departing on Sunday morning and arriving very early Thursday, just in time to get to class. Perfect. We were so excited to be able to go.
Then the strikes started. On Friday at 5PM, after a group walkout by the Spanish air traffic controllers, Barajas airport was basically on lockdown. Keep in mind this was during a 4-day long weekend in Spain, one especially popular for traveling. It was no problem though; I was flying on KLM (A REAL AIRLINE!). Surely the strikes would not matter to me. I obviously did not know the severity of the situation. An estimated 330,000 passengers were affected. Planes were turned around on the runway and flights could not arrive. If you want to be a masochist and feel the pain I felt, click HERE
Flights were to resume at 6 AM on Sunday. Our flight was at 6:20AM. Things did not look good. On Saturday morning, I woke up to a call from Natalie telling me our flight was cancelled. It was time to make calls again. While the person Natalie talked to said we will get our money back Sunday, the woman I talked to said we had to go to the airport to make sure the flight was really and truly cancelled because if it left, we wouldn’t get our money back. Keep in mind it had been OFFICIALLY cancelled already.
A 6:20AM flight means there is no Metro-to-the-aiport-option. Natalie and I decided to meet at 2:30AM to take a quick cab to Cibeles Circle and get the night bus to the airport. We waited at the KLM desk for two hours, unsure whether anyone would come. The flight was still officially cancelled. FORTUNATELY, the airport personnel arrived and we got through the line and picked up our boarding tickets. We literally danced and jumped off to security, corroborating those silly American girl stereotypes. Even when we got through security, boarded the plane, and waited in our seats, I still didn’t know whether we would go or not. Not until we LEFT the ground (I still had doubts when we were accelerating on the runway) did I believe it. WE WERE FINALLY, REALLY AND TRULY, ON OUR WAY TO THE NETHERLANDS.
Our hostel was perfect. We were greeted with a cat and an adorable Dutch guy to check us in to our 32 person room. Yes. 32. Did I mention that Natalie and I were sharing one queen size bed in the room? At least we got a bottom bunk. It was actually incredibly quaint and not at all what I expected.
We immediately headed to the Anne Frank house to get our daily dose of culture and history and to make our reservation on time. We arrived and saw a line of about 150 people. We went to the side door, rang the buzzer and entered immediately. Moral of the story? Get a ticket online and receive celebrity status.
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Anne Frank House Hell yeah we put our moms' maiden names in the guest book |
We walked around a bit and headed back to our hostel to hang out for the rest of the day. We hung out in the smoking room, above the influence, and met some hysterical guys from Brighton, England. I knew bringing cookies would help us make friends. They were silly and called them biscuits. Average age? 28, of course. They were all very good-looking though, so Natalie and I did not mind. We are starting to be ok with not meeting people our own age. We sat in the smoke room for about 5 hours, then headed to our queen size-bed.
Early the next day, we went to the Rijksmuseum, which has some famous Vermeers and Rembrandt paintings. Naturally, Natalie enjoyed it more than I did.
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Such a happy Natalie |
Next was the Heinneken Experience, a completely commercial tourist trap. I was NOT happy to hand over 15 Euros for the ticket but it was TOTALLY worth it (I can be a little fickle). This place was a playground for adults (did I just call myself an adult?) complete with interactive beer brewing activities, Clydsdale horses, simulation 4-D presentations, 1 small sample and two large glasses of Heinneken beer. At the end of the tour, there is a bar where you get your two included beers and mingle with other tourists. I saw a couple standing at a high-top table that looked our age so I headed over. I was shocked when the guy looked familiar. The couple were my friends Joe (who is studying in Madrid) and Lara (who goes to BU and is studying in Paris)! Complete instantly.
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| Epic 6 foot long foosball table |
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| Where brainwashing occurs, clearly. |
We all went to a coffeeshop together, then they had to leave to catch their flights back home. Natalie enjoyed a waffle and a KINDER CHOCOLATE BAR crepe for lunch and they were both insanely good.
Natalie and our waffle
We ended our touristy day at the Van Gogh museum. Van Gogh has been by far my favorite artist since I knew what art was. I have dressed liked Van Gosh for presentations, made Van Gogh models out of paper mache, and written about 3 papers about him. Needless to say, I was very excited to go to the museum. It did not disappoint. The famous “Sunflowers” was there (you know the one), “The Potato Eaters” and “Wheatfield with Crows” just to name a few.
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| Childhood dreams coming true picture |
Natalie and I made sandwiches for dinner with boursin and smoked salmon (in honor of it being the 7th night of Chanukah) and a lot of stroopwafel and then made our way to the famous Red Light District.
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| Insane amounts of stroopwafel. |
If you’ve been living under a stupid rock, you may not know that prostitution is legal in Amsterdam. The government regulates and enforces rules at the ‘sites of business,’ making sure there are no minors working and that conditions are sanitary. The ‘working girls’ get tested every other month as well. Because it is legal. the Red Light District includes a bunch of windows along the street with prostitutes in lingerie, trying to get the attention of any passerby who is willing to pay for sex. Walking by felt unnerving, awkward, and perverse. It definitely gave Natalie and I a lot to think about.
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| The start of the Redlight district |
We spent the next morning in Utrecht, a really cute smaller town outside of Amsterdam. It was a nice change to be able to explore another town in the Netherlands.
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| The Dom Tower of Utrecht, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands |
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| Absolutely freezing |
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| Adorable cheese shop |
We were told that we HAVE to go to a Sex Museum and since it was only 4Euros, we decided to head to one near Central Station. Even with my best friend, it was a very uncomfortable experience that included life-size moving flasher-dolls, graphic photos, and ancient sex toys. Oh, and a gigantic 6 foot tall black penis.
We visited the IAMSTERDAM sign after that for a photo-op, then to a restaurant on the main strip to get a Dutch Pancake. We got a ham and cheese one. We were extremely happy with our choice. The pancake is a mixture between a crepe and a typical American pancake. We ended the day at BABA coffee shop- definitely my favorite one that we visited.
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| Ham and Cheese Dutch Pancake |
We had decided that three days was enough in Amsterdam so the next day we went to Brussels, Belgium. We went to Galeries Royales St. Hubert to get Chocolates to bring home, walked around Grand Place to see the town hall and some cool churches then got (what else?) a Belgian waffle with Belgian chocolate on top. Heaven.
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Pretty chocolates |
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Natalie and her waffle
Then we headed to Atomium, a structure built for the 1935 world’s fair in Brussels and is the most recognizable piece of architecture in Brussels. It was WAY cooler than I thought it was going to be, I have to admit.  Try to top this jumping picture  |
We went to the European Parliament and the European Commission next. We were a little confused when we got off the train and went into a building that looked important. So, I walked up to the desk to ask a worker if it was, in fact, important and/or a place that people visit. He replied that no, it was a place where people work. Fail. Infant/Brussels-Noob status. The European parliament was a much more successful visit and even better, free.
EU flags
Our one picture without coats
We went to Maison Antoine for “frites” next, and got directions from a French woman along the way who assured us they were terrible and disgusting (typical French buzzkillers). WRONG. We shared a big cone with curry ketchup to dip and they were the most delicious French fries I have ever had.
So. Good.
We made our way to a desserted Cinquatenaire next, basically a poor man’s Arc de Tiomf, but it was still pretty beautiful.
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| Why yes, we DID mount the camera on a car and use the self timer because there was absolutely NO ONE at this place |
Next we had to see Manneken Pis, a tiny (and I mean tiny) statue of a boy peeing. I am not really sure why it is famous. At any rate, it was underwhelming, even though we were told not to expect a lot.
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| That little thing behind us, yeah. |
We reflected on the day and the trip over drinks before we boarded our train to the Amsterdam airport.
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| Grand Place in Brussels by night |
We arrived there at midnight and our flight was at 6:30 AM. Yeah. It did not help matters that I had to turn in a 10-page Spanish paper on Don Quijote upon my return (AND that Natalie and I had to literally run for the airport to catch our 10:30), so I frantically tried to finish all night and morning, successfully turning it in at 1:30PM.
In summary, Brussels can be done in one day and Amsterdam is amazing and everyone MUST go, whether it be for the history, the art, the food, the architecture or just to get high. Put it on your list. Now.
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