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Trip Report: 4.5 Days in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Zaanse Schans, and Haarlem

Hey everyone! I, the (20M) study abroad student, am here with a trip report for Amsterdam. Before doing research into Europe, I’ll admit that everything that I knew about Amsterdam came from the YA book “Fault in Our Stars,” but since it seemed like an iconic European capital city and was an easy Eurostar ride away from London, I thought it’d be a worthwhile trip. Like Lisbon, I encountered transportation troubles (hence 4.5 days instead of 3 days), but I’ll detail them below. And as always, mile counts are listed below, with a notable milestone broken for me.

Day 1: Amsterdam

In the morning, I went to the Anne Frank Museum. I’ll say that I was a bit surprised by the exterior, which was more modern that I had expected, and the interiors, which were very, very sparse. Most of them were quite empty outside of words written on walls, the occasional display, and a handful of captioned photos of the Frank family and other WW2 events. I do have mixed emotions about this. In some ways, it removes the frills and other distractions that could detract from the tragedy of the Holocaust, allowing for the raw emotions to speak for themselves (there were some people who were crying in the museum). On the other hand, the museum can feel a bit sterile, impersonal, and frankly, not memorable. It’s pretty apparent that I fall into the latter camp. Even though the minimal decor was Otto Frank’s wish, which I understand, it strips a lot of warmth and intimacy that is signature to diary-esque writing, leaving a bit of a disconnect between the book and museum in my opinion. From there, I headed to the Van Gogh Museum, which is this modern installation close by to the Rijkmuseum. I’ll admit that I had one of the worst museum fatigue episodes ever there due to poor sleep from the first night in the hostel, and I’m pretty sure that I accidentally took a short nap while sitting on a bench and leaning on the wall. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have made it through the museum without the Pokémon-Van Gogh crossword that kept my mind a bit alert and allowed me to better focus on, at least, the highlights of the museum, like the dark and almost grotesque Potatoeaters or the sunnier Sunflowers and wheat fields of rural Europe or the weirdly colored Bedroom and beautiful blue-tuned self-portraits. There was also a lovely temporary exhibit focused on paintings of the Seine, which were picturesque and really nice. Visiting all these galleries allowed me to finish the crossword, which gave me a cool postcard, a nice bonus since I’ve been collecting them on my travels.

From there, I just wandered the canals of Amsterdam aimlessly, admiring the rows and rows of Dutch homes, with their signature white trim and boxy / pi-shaped rooftops, as golden hour began to set in. It left the sky a lovely soft orange-yellow that highlighted the gorgeous fiery colors of the autumn foliage that I was so fortunate to catch since every gust of wind sent tons of leaves scattering down. Every so often, a canal boat would glide through or I’d randomly catch a glimpse of a unique building breaking up the beautiful monotony of homes, like the spires of a church. After a while of doing this, I made my way to the park near the Rijksmuseum since I was too far from the NEMO science museum to get a great sunset view from there and caught a pretty but muted sunset as a result of the clouds rolling in. Once the sun set, though, Amsterdam began to light up and became arguably even more beautiful, certainly stealing the moniker of the City of Lights from Paris. All of the street lamps lining the canals had this lovely warm glow, unlike the sterile white or the intimidating orange lighting, that created this cozy feeling. Around some canals, string-up lights were wrapped around trees and sparkled in the night while others had them attached to boats and bridge outlines that broke up the darkness of the night.

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Day 1 (Continued)

Even areas relatively away from the canals, like the Royal Palace, were beautiful, and I’d say that Amsterdam became even more picturesque at night. Walking a bit aimlessly meant that I did stumble into some cool places, like Amsterdam’s lively gay street and the food-filled plaza it's connected to, to some more surprising areas, like the red-windowed church surrounded by the window girls, which marked the beginning of the Red Light District. Because I was in Amsterdam, I did have to check out the RLD, and it was a bit different than what I had expected (a lot less seedier and red-colored, smaller, and more crowded). It’s sort-of, like, a Disneyfied version of sex trade, if that makes sense. Being gay, it obviously wasn’t catered to me, but still, it was a worthwhile and interesting look and I was surprised by the number of people attending the shows or engaging with the services of the sex workers in the windows. Because it began to drizzle, I headed back to the hostel, ending a long but amazing day in Amsterdam.

Mile Count: 18.2 miles

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Day 2: Utrecht

After a quick train ride and short walk, I made it to the Old City of Utrecht, and I have to say that people were right in saying that it’s like a cozy mini-Amsterdam, with a bit of rustic edge. The giant church in the center of the Old Town was imposing and majestic, with especially large stained-glass windows and a sort of gothic feel, and the small but lush courtyard attached to it was quite pretty, especially since it was surrounded by intricate arches and hallways. From there, I decided to explore the inner canals of Utrecht, which were much narrower compared to Amsterdam’s, making the walk alongside them feel much more intimate and photogenic since the buildings were so much closer together. One nice thing about these canals were that were two-layered, meaning that you could walk down some steps and walk on a path right next to the water. Granted, these footpaths stopped at every bridge so I had to climb back up, cross the bridge, and climb back down, but it was so worth it to walk alongside the mossy, pebbled canals, showered by golden and orange colored leaves every so often. After a while, these canals opened up to a small river and lively park alongside the creek, and I walked the footpath up north, gazing at the drooping willows and other trees lining the water. Once I reached the end of the dirt footpath, I cut inwards once again and walked the northbound canal, which ran through a quiet but dense, brick dominated residential neighborhood, until I accidentally stumbled onto a lively plaza that connected to the busy Main Street where all the tourists were that I somehow must’ve missed when I had entered the Old City. Still, just because there were crowds of people doesn’t mean that it wasn’t pretty, especially since some of the buildings directly bordered the water, reminding me a bit of Venice, which I had visited over 5 years ago.

I continued down this main path before coming upon an especially beautiful section of the canal that I spent an extended time exploring. It was located on a bit of a curve, creating great photo opportunities, and the lower levels of the canals were lined with beautiful but muted multicolored buildings and overgrown floral foliage alongside some of the best autumn foliage I have seen in the Netherlands. It really was a magical little section. From there, I quickly checked out the pretty but modest church with impressive stained glass and then looped around to the top-half of Utrecht that I had neglected a bit as the sun began to set, allowing me to great some great shots of a fortress / prison-like structure and the rook-shaped red water tower along with the canals of course. I headed back to my favorite section of Utrecht for sunset but because the rain clouds were rolling in, there was no spectacular burst of color, but still, it was quite nice. As night set in, like Amsterdam, Utrecht was beautiful, maybe even more beautiful than Amsterdam in some places. Restaurants with seats on the lower canal footpaths glowed red and purple while the houses directly lining the canals, whose windows glowed a lovely yellow, sent shimmering reflections on the water. A brief but intense downpour send many people scuttling indoors, allowing me to get some great shots of the plaza while the full-moon occasionally appeared out of the swirling clouds. It is the moon that actually inspired me to walk around Amsterdam tonight so that I could caught some cool pictures of the city with the moon in the background in honor of the upcoming Halloween. Originally supposed to be a brief walk, I ended up wandering around the streets of Amsterdam for close to two hours, heading up all the way to beautifully lit up Rijksmuseum before taking the long way back through the various neighborhoods of Amsterdam. It was this long walk that allowed me to finally crack walking over 20 miles in a day.

Mile Count: 21.2 miles

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Day 3: Amsterdam

Because I had heard that the Rijksmuseum was massive, I had reserved an entire day for it, and that was the correct choice in the end. The main collection was three floors of amazing paintings and displays from the 1100s to the 1900s, ranging from the various religious panels and panels in the lower floors to the elaborate ceramic work (like a ceramic violin or pagoda-esque tower) and famous paintings of the upper floors, such as “The Night Watch,” I believe. There is a fourth floor that I had nearly missed but it’s quite small and has more modern art. Other than that, there was a nice temporary exhibit with some of the more contemporary pieces, like a mushroom-esque mirror room or a phallic soda photograph gallery, a collection of Indonesian and other Asian artifacts, a small photo gallery, and the surprisingly massive collection of various model ships, clothes, plates and cutlery, and elaborate ceramic figurines. I did this latter collection last and felt bad that I had to rush through it, but I wanted to give myself some time to pick up my bags and get to the train station area. After briefly strolling through the lovely gardens on the property, I grabbed my bags and wandered the large canals around the beautiful central station, taking photos of the cathedral and NEMO science museum along with some of the more neon-lit buildings that began to glow as the sky darkened and the light drizzle intensified.

But once again, disaster struck: my train was canceled. But it was a more chaotic situation than Lisbon because lots of people only found out about the cancellation when we had reached the train station, the Eurostar website was glitching and giving me tons of errors, and the Eurostar workers, who were literally impossible to find. at the train station were not being helpful (saying they couldn’t help us or provide us information about compensation). I ended up having to shell out some money to do a call with Eurostar, where I was given two options: take the train back to London via Amsterdam on Wednesday or go to Brussels and attempt to get back to London via Brussels. Because my class was Tuesday morning, I knew that there was zero chance that I’d be able to make it on time and could always watch the recorded lecture for absences, so I ended up just taking the deal for two extra days. This has cut into my buffer but I still have 11 spare Schengen days left after counting up all my current and planned trips according to my calculations, which is still a solid amount in case of emergencies like this. I shouldn’t be in any danger of overstaying the 90 day limit.

Mile Count: 11.6 miles

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Day 4: Zaanse Schans and Haarlem

Because I had a whole extra day and a half in the Netherlands (unlike the extra half-day that I had received in Lisbon), I had a lot of options of where to go for a day-trip. It was a very difficult decision between heading down to Southern Netherlands (The Hague, Leiden, or Rotterdam) vs. sticking to Northern Netherlands (Haarlem, Zaanse Schans). Ultimately, I decided to choose the latter option because of daylight savings, which shaved off an hour of light from the evenings, and because I (and I know this is very touristy) really wanted to see a windmill. Zaanse Schans is a very pretty but weird place. It’s not a particularly historical town but rather a recreation of what a traditional Dutch riverside town would look like, making it a cross between an open-air museum, where traditional crafts, like cheese and clog making, are seemingly being kept alive and shown to visitors, and a sort of rural-life amusement park. Still, despite this lack of historical weight, it really is a nice place, with especially stunning views of the bright green and beige windmills that peppered one side of the river with cute, densely packed olive and orange colored Dutch homes lined the other side. The scattered showers in the distance produced some really striking cloud formations that captured and scattered the sunlight while ephemeral rainbows would burn bright and fade quickly. I had to be quick with my phone camera to capture some of them. I’ll say though, that you never really feel like you’re in a proper old-fashioned rural town, with smoke stacks and other industrial buildings occasionally popping up in the background reminding you that you’re in a recreation of a rural area. Still, the place was very lush and beautiful (minus the noticeable industry), especially with the pastures still bright green.

From there, I went back to Amsterdam before swapping to a train to Haarlem. I’ll admit that I was slightly let down in the beginning because I landed in another “Cordoba situation” (when I don’t check if attractions are open and everything ends up being closed). But I made the best of my situation. The Grokt plaza is really pretty, and I could imagine just how vibrant and bustling it would be during the weekend markets, though without the crowds, I was able to catch some stunning pictures of the St. Bravo’s church. From there, I traveled westward alongside the canals to see the famous black windmill in Haarlem, perched on an outcrop in the river bend and surrounded by really charming buildings, which provided a great contrast to the more rural windmills I had seen in the morning. Then, it began to pour as I trudged through town, looking for open hofjes, which I heard that Haarlem had an abundance of, but unfortunately, unlike what the online guides imply, most of them are closed or inaccessible to the public. Still, I found and checked out a couple of them, all of which were quite pretty, with lovely statues and benches in the small central plaza, surrounded by simple but pretty brick buildings and an abundance of flower pots. I’m going to say that if you were to walk through Haarlem, wandering through the inner residential neighborhoods is the way to go instead of canals, which is the case of Utrecht or Amsterdam, since the canals of Haarlem are just less impressive than those of other two aforementioned cities. The inner neighborhoods, on the other hand, are just so overgrown and gorgeous, with vibes creeping on arched trellises and up the walls. From there, I checked out the exterior of the St. Bravo cathedral, which is this giant, majestic building just outside of the city central (not to be confused with the similarly named church) that looked like an upgraded version of the Lisbon cathedral. As night fell onto Haarlem, the bright, orange street lamps lit up, contrasting well with the deep blues of dusk, as the glittering “Haarlem” string lights lit up the streets.

Mile Count: 16 miles

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Day 5: Amsterdam

Nothing much happened today. I’ll say that I did fall victim to a minor scam / tourist trap today while attempting to find breakfast. Basically, on google maps, the place that I wanted to eat at for breakfast was linked to the wrong place on google maps that has an identical name to it. I was really suspicious when I had arrived at the wrong location because the food looked pretty terrible but was pressured by the owner into buying something. After some digging, I managed to find the real place (on TripAdvisor), which was located a couple minutes from the fake place, and had a great breakfast. From there, I just wandered the canals around West Amsterdam, which I hadn’t really checked out that much but were absolutely gorgeous as a result of the autumn foliage (whenever the wind gusted through the tree branches, the canals and boats would be showered in golden leaves), and then got some lunch before heading to the train station. Not sure what’s up with the Netherlands or Amsterdam, but border control was weirdly intense. Lots of plainclothes officers, a drug-sniffing dog, and got grilled by a border officer about my study abroad program in the UK.

Mile Count: 5.1 miles

Final Ratings:

Amsterdam: 9.25/10
Utrecht: 8.5/10
Haarlem: 8.25/10
Zaanse Schans: 8/10

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Overall Thoughts:

Even with another stressful transportation cancellation that created unexpected delays, I really had a wonderful time in Amsterdam and the Netherlands, as a whole. I think I picked the perfect time to visit because the autumn foliage was in full motion and there were just gorgeous views of leaves falling from the trees. It did get quite cold at times, though, but that’s more of an issue on me since in my rush, I had underpacked a bit. I will say that out of all the places that I had visited, outside of the Greek Islands, I felt the most safe in Amsterdam and the other cities that I had visited during my day-trips. The well-lit canals make it extremely easy to navigate the city during the night, and the city is always bustling and lively, even during quieter days like Sundays when much of the tourists have left, so I never felt as if I were in danger or about to enter a suspicious situation. Honestly, I felt like the only danger I was in was being squashed by the bikes because people were not kidding that the Netherlands has an insane amount of bikes. I think I saw more bikes there than I had in my life, but do have mixed emotions about this. On the one hand, the cities are super bike friendly so it’s so easy to get around via bike, which is objectively great compared the car-centric cities of the US, but on the other hand, for non-bikers like me (last time I biked was over a decade ago and got into an accident when my bike chain broke that has left me with a nasty scar), it feels like pedestrian infrastructure got a bit shortchanged in some Dutch cities. Still, because the Netherlands is so flat, it was just extraordinarily easy to put up tons and tons of miles without feeling particularly winded. I even managed to break 20 miles a day during this trip!

As for my hostel, well, it was a bit too “party” for me. I think because it was just so out of the wheel for me that I felt less overwhelmed and more, just, bored. The two common rooms to meet people either revolve around smoking or drinking, neither of which I partake in, and frankly, I don’t understand how party hostels work in cities with lively nightlife. It does feel like a waste to stay in your hostel during the evenings when there’s a whole city out there to explore. That being said, it’s not like I was totally alone here. My bunk bed mate had arrived at a very similar time as me so we exchanged pleasantries on the first day and shared our trips on our last nights in Amsterdam. It’s always exciting to learn about what other people’s future travel plans and styles look like—he and I were actually quite similar in being slightly excessive planners, though I’ve weaned myself off that since I’ve gotten a bit lazy.

Because of how extended my Amsterdam trip became by accident, I really only had a day of recovery time before heading out to Lyon (finished up this trip report during my Lyon trip). That’s not really ideal, but it is what it is. However, given that I don’t particularly anticipate myself walking around at night in Lyon since my hostel, like virtually every single hostel in the city, is located in a bit of a suspicious location in the city, so I’ll be able to get a bit more rest. See you all then!

Pics: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFzCpEotoc/_qHgoG7gGNF7ZFxh-ZlhHQ/edit?utm_content=DAFzCpEotoc&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

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You obviously have a talent for writing; thanks for a very descriptive trip summary. We will be in the country in April, and you're increasing my excitement exponentially!
Safe travels!

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Fantastic!! I am supposed to be there now but had to cx..so you provided me with a lovely visit!!

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And your pictures, especially the evening shots- simply fantastic!

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Thanks for a great trip report! I was in the Netherlands five years ago and have been wanting to go back. You just bumped it up on my list. You write very well and I really enjoyed reading it.

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Your writing is superb and your pics are fantastic! Are you using a phone camera or another means?

We were in Amsterdam and Harlem in August and it was quite lovely with all the summer flowers in bloom but the Fall pics leave me wanting to return during that season. I was a bit surprised at how captivating Amsterdam was. I’d had several folks give me a “meh” impression from their travels but we loved the city.

Thanks so much for sharing your adventures with us.

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Yes, your writing is very descriptive and enjoyable. Can’t wait to read your Lyon report as we haven’t made it there yet. We’ve been to The Netherlands 2x and are returning in May. But this trip we are staying in Rotterdam and will day trip to The Hague, Leiden, Gouda, Utrecht, and Kinderdijk. I’m going to bookmark this report to reread before our trip.

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I also look forward to your reports! You are a wonderful (and honest!) writer! I particularly appreciate your frank descriptions and impressions about the "highs and lows" of travel, especially your transportation adventures :) You take it all in literal stride and always continue on your adventure- that's inspiring!
I'm a solo traveler, too. It can sometimes feel lonely but like you, I appreciate being able to take as long (or not) somewhere. In Amsterdam your pleasure at just wandering was really special.
Safe travels and looking forward to your next update!

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Thanks for the report. I really enjoy your clearly written perspective on the places you visit. Keep them coming!

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Hello and thank you for another wonderful trip report. You are such a great writer and I really enjoy your reports. And you make me wish I had gone to Amsterdam in the fall. I’m glad you were able to take advantage of the extra time in the Netherlands.

Looking forward to your next report! Off to check out your photos now.

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Thanks for another great trip report and for continuing to share your travel breaks.

This was one of my favorites so far, probably because I was just in the Netherlands myself a few weeks ago. You did luck out with the fall colors. What fabulous pictures!!! When I was there, the leaves were just starting to turn and I was thinking, I bet this would look even better in a few weeks. And I can see from your pictures that it sure does look better.

I also felt that Amsterdam was such a great city to just wander. The canals made it seem less city-like to me. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. And your detailed description has me wanting to return. Maybe if I ask nicely, Pat will let me come along on her upcoming trip. 😊

And wasn’t Utrecht just fabulous?? It was a big surprise for me. You really got some great photos there. I’m thinking about using Utrecht as a base for a return trip.

Sorry about the transportation trouble. And that’s too bad because the Netherlands is so easy to travel around in. But those darn international trains can screw you up.

I’m looking forward to hearing about your future travel adventures.

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Thanks again for another smoothly written travel journal report! Loved the photos of well-lit night time Amsterdam. Especially the ones with the Moon glowing in the clouds. I too, am interested in what you use to shoot: Phone? Camera? Best Wishes

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@Pat - Thank you, and I’m glad that you loved my pictures! Evening shots tend to be a bit of a pain because my phone’s camera tends to go out of focus, but because the Netherlands is so well lit, it made it nice and easy. Also, good luck on your trip! I heard that April is when all the tulips will be in full bloom, so the Netherlands will be even more beautiful then.

@Linda - Sorry about your trip cancellation, but I’m glad that you were able to experience a bit of the Netherlands vicariously.

@Mardee - Thank you so much! Happy that this report makes you want to head back because it’s such a beautiful place.

@goanywhere - Thanks, you flatter me! I’m just using my phone to take these pictures. Yes, Amsterdam is beautiful in the fall, though I’d imagine it’d have a different beauty in the summer, and I, too, am surprised by how Amsterdam can be considered overrated when it’s so easy to explore and wander about.

@Barbara - Thank you! Happy that you and everyone else are enjoying my writing (I’ve been stuck with writers block for the fictional series that I write for fun, so these trip reports act as a good outlet for my writing). Lyon trip report should be out in a couple of days (about to start working on it on the plane back). As for your upcoming trip, hope it goes well and glad that my report would be useful! Kinderdijk is the place with the tulips, right? If so, then I’m so jealous!

@Bon voyage! - Thanks for the well-wishes and am glad that you’re enjoying my writing style! I feel like a lot of travel vlogs and blogs and social media, in general, tend to create this, sort of, unrealistic travel fantasy, which is why I tend to steer towards more honesty in hopes that it’ll a bit more well-rounded look at travel. I’ll admit that because these trip reports are written in hindsight that some of the moments of anger and frustration that I had felt, like when my Amsterdam train was cancelled, is not present since everything turned out great in the end. As for solo travel, like you said, being able to go at your own pace is so nice. I’ll admit that the loneliness doesn’t really bother me that much since that’s how I’ve lived much of my life, except for when it comes to those ultra-social hostels. Then, it can feel a bit alienating sitting by yourself when everyone is chatting with each other.

@Texastravelmom - Thank you! And yes, Lyon one should be out in a couple of days.

@Kim - Thanks a lot and hope you enjoy the photos! I’m sure whenever you visited Amsterdam, presumably in the spring or summer, must’ve been beautiful in its own way (and significantly less chilly and rainy). And yes, the extra time in the Netherlands was wonderful in helping me visit some places that I thought were going to be stuck on the bucket list.

@Ginger - Glad you loved the photos, thanks!

@Carrie - Oh, yes, I remember reading your trip report! (Have it in the back of my mind since I’ll be heading to Belgium in a couple of weeks). Sounds like you had a wonderful time and enjoyed some much more pleasant weather than me. But enduring the rain was so worth it with this gorgeous autumn foliage that I don’t get in California. Yep, agreed on how the canals make Amsterdam more small and homely (and super easy to navigate). And yes, Utrecht was wonderful, though less of a surprise for me since I’ve heard people raving about it, so I had to give it a go. Transpiration troubles were a bit unfortunate (interestingly enough, it was actually an issue in Rotterdam that caused the train cancellation), but those extra days were wonderful!

@Kathleen - Thanks! Happy that you enjoyed. As for the moonlit shots, I used my phone for that. As I mentioned to Pat, my phone is usually so fickle when it comes to these nighttime shots, but because Amsterdam is so well lit and the moon was hidden behind the clouds, it was actually able to focus. Super lucky that the conditions were perfect for nighttime photography with my phone.

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I’m sure whenever you visited Amsterdam, presumably in the spring or summer, must’ve been beautiful in its own way (and significantly less chilly and rainy).

Well here's the funny bit -- it was actually significantly colder and windier and rainier the last time I went -- the first weekend in January !!!!!! So your fall weekend looks absolutely delightful.

Looking forward to reading your Lyon report. And indeed your photos are absolutely gorgeous.

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@Kim - Oh my, I can't even imagine how cold it must've been in January. I was already shivering in October, and January must be a solid dozen or more degrees (in F) colder. Once again, thanks for the complements, and I'm hoping to have Lyon out sometime in the middle of the week after I have finished writing essays for my classes.

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Hi! I'm just jumping in to second the masses in telling you how much I enjoy your trip reports and how much I admire your easy-going, roll-with-the-punches nature of the various mishaps that inevitably come up. And, if I'm not mistaken, I believe Belgium is the next one up and I'm super looking forward to it!

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@Hannah - Thank you! Glad that you're liking these reports. While I'll be going to Belgium, I'll be heading there in 2 weeks (hopefully to catch the first days of the Christmas markets!)

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Hi there Solo! Yes another great very detailed and personal report with insightful impressions. I will try not to write as long a response as I did last time. I only had a brief intro to Amsterdam one time when my husband and I had about four hours in the city to walk around during a layover on the way to Barcelona. Your description gave me a very good sense of what I would have seen or could have seen with more time. Also--what there is beyond Amsterdam to visit. I heard the Anne Frank house used to be more full? untouched? in keeping with the period? but was then remodeled to be more streamlined/focused/spare. Too bad about the hostel--your experiences in those places just seem to always be challenging! Keep those adventures going!

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Thank you for this great report and photos. I’m looking forward to your report on Lyon.

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My daughter and I are headed to Amsterdam in early February, so your report is extremely helpful. Thank you! We have both been before, but my trip was just a one night layover. I am taking notes from your report now:)

When our son was on his study abroad, he traveled all over and had no issues until his flight home. He was grilled about what he was doing there etc, so he pulled out his textbooks etc and finally the agent just threw up his hands and said "go". I think the guy was thinking he had something, but was wrong.

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@Pete - Thank you! I'm sure that even four hours would've netted a wonderful look at Amsterdam. If the Anne Frank Museum used to be much untouched and less modern, I wish I could've visited then. As for hostels, to be honest, it wasn't as bad as I had implied and still got some interesting conversations out of it but I suppose I haven't had one perfectly click with me yet, even if some, like Bath and Lisbon got pretty close to the vibe that I'm aiming for.

@Barbara - Thanks! And yeah, Lyon should be out in a bit (Just sorting through pics as of the moment)

@mikliz - Glad this could be of help! Wow, what happened to your son was crazy. I suppose I'm mildly paranoid that this will happen to me, which is why I always carry all my study abroad info around with me, just in case.

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solo--Yes, thankfully he had all of his documents for the study abroad on him, plus all of his books. I hate to say it, but he looked so shaggy when he got home, so that probably didn't help things. He is picky with haircuts and said they were so expensive in Denmark and he didn't have any recommendations on who to go to, so for the entire time he never had his hair cut. It was a mop! Our daughter was with him during this and she just stayed quiet and waited. She told us that it was very inappropriate, but what can you do?

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Ohhh, this makes me want to go back to The Netherlands sooner rather than later.