Thank God this week the plane ride is a bit shorter! We are taking a 3 hour and 10-minute flight to Amsterdam this week. Cue Boom Clap from Charli XCX hehe.
This week’s passion blog had me a little stumped…I want to travel to so many places but having such a quick turnaround with the blogs made me wonder what to pick. Maybe another week I will pick a place I have already gone to, like a while ago, and revisit that place, but for this week I chose Amsterdam. The main reason is that there is a study abroad program I want to do next summer there, and I figured might as well explore what else I can do while there. (Also, another movie influence was the Fault in Our Stars…literally not Hazel and Augustus making me want to cry when I was younger but it looked so romantic and cute.)
So for this study abroad program, I would be exploring one of the most well-known attractions in Amsterdam, the Anne Frank House, as well as the International Criminal Court and the Kamp Vught National Holocaust Museum. As I am interested in law, I thought that the International Criminal Court would be interesting to see. These locations deal with a bit heavier topics though, so I was looking at what else to do there that may be lighter.
Doing some more research, it looks like there are a lot of cute coffee houses and stores. I am an avid shopper (my bank account can vouch for me), so I honestly would probably do what I have been bringing up in the other blogs and leave a day to just explore.
One place that was recommended visiting on travel.usnews.com was Jordaan. It is written that there are “ample photo opportunities”, and I absolutely love taking cute pictures, plus there some food tours, restaurants, and stores. The pictures look stunning, so I would definitely have to check that out. Similarly, De Negen Straatjes, or Nine Little Streets as it is known in English, holds similar attractions with a lot of shops. I definitely would be buying a lot this trip.
Next there is Leidseplein, which is known for its fun entertainment. I think I could easily spend a day or two here…it would be really cool to see a concert internationally, and there are a few venues here that would be exciting to check out.
Lastly, there is Keukenhof (I am STRUGGLING with these names), which is home to 7 million tulips, which sounds interesting to check out, but I would definitely be sneezing a bit along the way. This seems to be the farthest place out of the ones listed so far from the city center, so it wouldn’t be a die-hard destination. I love flower fields though, so I think that I could maybe manage a short stop along the way.
I think for this trip, regardless of whether it is during a study abroad trip or for a personal vacation, I would be sticking close to Amsterdam itself and the city center. Most of the places listed here say they are 0.5 miles to the city center, and honestly, I would love to just walk or bike everywhere and take transportation as little as possible. On the website, it says it is #3 in Best Winter Vacations in Europe, so maybe that would also filter in my decision of when to go. However, if I do go studying abroad here in the summer, I am sure it is still a beautiful location to visit, regardless of the season.
Images: https://travel.usnews.com/Amsterdam_Netherlands/Things_To_Do/Jordaan_64570/
https://www.hotels.com/go/netherlands/de-negen-straatjes-amsterdam
https://www.flyingpig.nl/travel-blog/things-to-do-in-and-around-leidseplein-square/