Amsterdam, Bruges, and More!

Last weekend I went on my first weekend trip to Amsterdam and Bruges with my new friend Sam. Those weren't places I necessarily had given much thought to visiting, but when the offer came up it couldn't have been better timing. Last weekend was also the 100th Celebration of Homecoming at Mizzou and I couldn't help but be a little sad that I was going to be missing it. Plus, I'd been here for a month and hadn't gone on any exciting trips yet. So I thought, why not? When we planned to go Sam and I had only spoken a handful of times, but now I consider her to be one of my really good friends in London. I think traveling has the potential to do that to even complete strangers.

On the Canal Cruise 

We woke up at 4 a.m. last Friday to start our journey. After about 12 hours of traveling by coach and ferry we arrived in Amsterdam. We got directly off the coach and onto a canal cruise. The city of Amsterdam is built around a series of canals which were historically built for trade, giving it the nickname "Venice of the North." It was a great way to see a lot of the city and a great way to start the trip. After a quick stop at the hostel our tour guide took us on a tour of the Red Light District. It was so...strange. I mean, we were standing three or four feet way from legal prostitution with a pane of glass separating us from the women. Another very unusual thing to me was the coffee shops we passed. You just walk into these places and order cannabis like you would a double shot expresso. I guess it's all just part of the Amsterdam culture.


Saturday we got up bright and early and headed to Zaanse Schans, a touristy area outside of Amsterdam. We got to experience how Dutch cheese and wooden shoes are made, as well as lots and lots of windmills.When we got back into Amsterdam we went to the Anne Frank House. I can't say it was fun, but it was definitely something I'm glad I did. It was a solemn experience to stand where she and her family lived for all that time. There was a place on the wall that had marks of how much Anne and her sister Margot had grown during their time in hiding. All of Anne's little pictures were still glued on the walls in her room. It was surreal. After a quick lunch we decided to check out something else very much a part of the city...The Heineken Experience. Amsterdam is home to the Heineken company so they have a museum where you can learn about the history and see how the beer is made. I've been to a winery, but not a brewery so it was neat to see how it's done.

Sam and I at Zaanse Schans

Anne Frank House

Heineken Brewery

The next morning we got up early and left for Bruges. It was a completely different feel than Amsterdam: quaint, more of a quite city, with an older tourist crowd. Our tour guide walked us through the city, pointing out the sites. When we had free time our first stop was to get Belgian waffles. They were delicious! Topped with chocolate and whipped cream, they were more like a dessert than the Americanized breakfast version. After we were full with our sweet treat we went to Musea Brugge or the Bruges Museum inside one of the oldest churches I've ever seen. Our original reason for going was to see the Madonna and the Child, a sculpture by Michelangelo of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. It was beautiful. The whole museum was beautiful and very humbling. We spent the rest of the time just meandering around the charming little city. On our way back to London we ended our tour with a trip to a Belgian chocolate factory. Yum!

My delicious waffle!

Michelangelo's Sculpture

When I got back to London I had a lovely little surprise on Facebook from my wonderful Mizzou family. My friend Kassie knew how much I wanted to be at Homecoming so she made a cutout of me in my Mizzou gear and took it to some of the Homecoming events. She even gave it to the Summer Welcome Leaders so I could be at the Summer Welcome Reunion reception. It was a sweet and thoughtful gesture that meant so much to me. Who would've thought I could be two fabulous places at once? I guess I can say I got the best of both worlds that weekend. :)

Homecoming with some of my favorite people! 

Celebrating 100 years with my SWamily!
(You can see teeny tiny me in the middle.)

And More! 

So this last week I didn't do anything really interesting, just tried to catch up on my schoolwork. (Ok, it's hard to focus when you have all of London and half of Europe to explore. Give me a break! tehe) But I did plan for several upcoming trips. Paris has been planned for a few weeks now, but I recently decided to take advantage of several days off of school in and go to several cities in Italy at the beginning of November! Also, on the fly, Sam convinced me to go on a trip to Scotland this week with her and another friend. Oh, and I have much much more of London to explore. Basically, look for a lot more fun blog posts to come!