I AMsterdam.

         It has been a very busy week! After an exciting/exhausting weekend in Spain, we had about a day and a half to rest up until our trip to Amsterdam: Part een. (a.k.a. one... #sonederlands!)

        Shayne, Cait, Tissy & I hopped on a bus for three hours to hit up the concert of our beloved Wiz Khalifa. Wiz (we are now on a first name basis, you know how it is), a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, inspired us to be reppin' black and yellow across country lines. 

The Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam

Members of nine west: reunited once again at the concert.

        We headed to the concert at the Heineken Music Hall in the heart of Amsterdam, and we were spending the night with some Loyola students studying there for the semester. It was a lot of fun to experience a concert in a different country with an entire different population. It was a surreal experience...is this really my life?!?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lVZQ0FekuU

  Here is a sneak peak of the concert, its not the best footage, but its the thought that counts, right?




         We got up pretty early the next morning to get on the bus back to Brussels. Yes, many may think we were crazy to travel back to Belgium, just to head back to the Netherlands the following day, but when Dutch class calls, you must listen. After an extremely exciting Dutch class (NOT), we packed our bags for Amsterdam: part twee (a.k.a. two, I suppose you got the drift by now).

We couldn't bring cameras inside, so I took this from the bus. Its just here to give you an idea about the type of security around the area.
#LEGIT

         A few of the Loyola students woke up extra early Friday morning to head into Brussels and visit NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). It was a great opportunity because it is such a classified place that we needed to have our passports checked as well as thoroughly checked by security before entering. We had a women speak to us about the organization for a while before we headed back to Leuven to ride back to Amsterdam.

      It was about a 3 1/2 hour ride to Amsterdam, but I was an old pro by that bus ride. We arrived at Hotel Nadia and left our luggage in our rooms so we could get a quick walking tour in before dark. I'm really starting to feel the lack of sunlight...short days are rough!

Our hotel in the heart of Amsterdam

This is the staircase in the Nadia Hotel.
These are what I like to call "the stairs of doom." I was lucky enough not to fall victim to them, but they were SO steep, I probably am one of the few. Since the property taxes in Amsterdam used to be solely based on the width of the front property, everyone just built up!

          After the tour we had a free night to explore, but we had to be aware of our early start on Saturday! We met for breakfast at 8:30 am Saturday morning in the "Breakfast Room," in the hotel (duh!), before walking to the Rijksmuseum. There was a lot of amazing art there and we spent a few hours taking it all in. After that we went to a hidden church, walked through the Red Light District (not with Dr. Hughes of course...), ate some fro-yo (obvi), went on a boat tour, and just took in the sights. We were free for dinner and the night so a few of us met up with the Loyola students studying abroad in Amsterdam (again) for them to show us around.

The boat we took out for a spin!

         Sunday was our last day in Amsterdam and we were ready to see as much as we could. We had a pretty busy day heading to the Anne Frank House first. It was definitely my favorite place in Amsterdam because I had read her diary and it was amazing to stand in the very place she stood. It also gave me a little motivation to study Dutch, because I learned that was the language her diary was written in! Hearing all the details about the "Secret Annex," and everything that went on was mind-blowing. I can't believe that something like that happened not too long ago. It was such a privilege to have the opportunity to go to the house.

This is me in front of the Anne Frank House. 

          After visiting the Anne Frank House we headed to the Van Gogh Museum (nbd). It was a really cool place, the building is set up in such a modern and artsy way (appropriately enough). It was four floors of countless paintings created by famous artists like Van Gogh and Monet. DH gave us an assignment about the paintings we saw in the museums, so I had to take a lot of notes! I believe it is important to mention that there was free wifi at the museum! Its the simple things in life that make it so sweet.... After the museum we hit up the big I AMsterdam sign, it must a must see of course. We had a few extra hours before loading up the bus again and heading home. 

This is the whole group of us with the mini I AMsterdam sign outside the Amsterdam museum.
(Did I mention we went to a few museums?)

Amsterdam is such a beautiful place, I was surprised how much I liked it! I'm going to take a leap and say it was my favorite city so far!

Well I guess its back to Leuven to prepare for our international Thanksgiving dinner! Yum!
                                               
                                                                   Tot ziens!