…in AmsterDAM that is…
One of my favorite things about studying abroad so far has been having the opportunity to travel around Europe. So far, I have been to the Netherlands and Poland, and I’ll be going to Germany this upcoming weekend for Oktoberfest! Going to each country has been a completely different experience, and I have loved exploring the different cultures (as well as food!) of each new city!
The first country that I visited was the Netherlands, specifically Amsterdam. Amsterdam was such a cool city to visit! One of the coolest parts I think were the canals and the bikes. The canals were spread out through most of the city, with bridges over them and it really made it look so picturesque. A very popular tourist attraction are the canal cruises where you are able to see the city and learn about the history from a boat on the canal! It also was crazy to me how many people biked to work. The city of Amsterdam had a large bike path in the road because most of the city biked to work or school but you had to watch out as a pedestrian: I almost got run over a few times!
Of course while I was there I also had to try some Dutch food! Something that was very surprising to me was that a typical food that is eaten in the Netherlands is pancakes! Pancakes are a staple breakfast food for me back home, so of course I had to get some! My friend and I ordered pancakes with cinnamon ice cream, chocolate shavings, and whipped cream! It sounds good, doesn’t it? Trust me it was ten times better than it sounded! When the meal came, the pancake did not look like a typical pancake that you would get back in the United States; it was very large and thin, almost like a crepe!
Another cool part of Amsterdam that we were able to experience was appreciating the beer made in the Netherlands. I have had Heineken beer before, but I had no clue that it was from Amsterdam which was really cool! Everywhere we turned, there seemed to be a sign advertising that they sell Heineken. A bunch of us decided to go on “The Heineken Experience” which was a tour of the Heineken brewery. The tour was so interesting as it showed us the steps of how to make the beer, as well as everything that it takes to run the company and sell the beer. After that tour, I definitely took a new appreciation for Heineken beer and it will be cool when I go back to the US to know where exactly the beer comes from and how it is made!
“Czech” in with us next week to see more of the coffee we’ve been drinking on #KavaMondays, the runs we’ve been taking via #PragueJogs with Shaadi on Tuesday, and life in general here abroad through the experiences Emma, Jeremiah, and I share! Next week is the midway point in our semester abroad — we can’t believe it’s going by so quickly!
