At 3AM my alarm went off. I groggily woke up, rolled out of bed, and walked to the taxi. A couples hours later I was on a plane headed towards the Netherlands. The weekend was packed with different museums, day trips, and food. In particular, Amsterdam is a beautiful city (if you can ignore the large piles of trash), and the canals surrounding it make for a surreal experience.
(Landscape Painting from the Rijksmuseum)
When booking tours and and activities in Amsterdam, we looked at two art museums: Van Gough and the Rijksmuseum. We went with the Rijksmuseum for two reasons: it was free and Van Gough was sold out. The museum was enormous with three floors of art and over twenty galleries. Each individual gallery had a theme, like the Dutch and Japan, that would give the art-enthusiast context to the paintings. I would normally say I have zero appreciation for art, but this trip changed my mind. I actually looked at the paintings, read the descriptions, and compared different art pieces. I surprised myself that day. In particular, I discovered I really admire landscape paintings. In this particular paining above, I appreciate the artists way of portraying the grandeur of nature as the sun cast its glow on the rocky cliffs.
(The Belgian Parliament Building in Brussels)
One of the days, we took a train to Brussels. We were warned many times to keep our bags close because there were train thieves. We arrived in the city at 9am on a Sunday which meant nothing was open, and we wandered around for an hour. We finally found some Belgium waffles which were tasty but overrated (a bit pricey). My friend Bennet and I walked around and discovered the parliament building was having an open house. Like the tourists we were, we then waited thirty minutes in the queue (very European of me to use such vocabulary). We walked in, and the building is quite ornate. There is gold lining many rooms, red carpet, marble, and many many statues of prominent people. We were able to take multiple pictures, and we even took a picture at the prime minister’s pulpit.
(All you can eat Pancakes on the Pancake Boat)
This was the highlight of my trip, the pancake boat. We cruised around in this boat admiring the Amsterdam sunset while stuffing our faces full of pancakes. Every have a bacon pancake with Bree and caramelized onions? No? Eat it. I should mention the pancakes were more similar to a thick crepe. I ate apple pancakes, and normal pancakes as well. My second favourite combination was the apple pancake with Nutella, banana, and Stroop waffle crumbs. In total my friends and I downed 33 pancakes. I ate eight. We shocked the attendant who said most people only eat three, but we are American. Obesity runs in our veins. Now you may be confused by the photo. What is on it? My friend Jenna made a pizza pancake. Normal pancake with tomato sauce and mozzarella. It was actually really good. I would have eaten two of those to add to my pancake eating tally, but they ran out of tomato sauce. It sounds heinous and vile, but it is worth a try.
(Szechuan Chicken, Wonton Noodle Soup, and Glutinous Rice Balls)
My final meal in Amsterdam was a place my friend Cassidy recommended: a Szechuan place. It has been while since I have eaten Szechuan, but it is quite good. I am not the largest fan of all the peppers, but it was delicious regardless. I have been hungering for Asian food since coming here, and this was perfect. Perfect. I was incredibly full, and my stomach was fighting for its life in the security line at the airport. My favourite was this cold Szechuan beef. It was spicy, juicy, beefy, and numby. On top a bed of rice, and a miracle occurs. I also tried these glutinous rice balls with a sesame past in the middle. They were warm, sweet, and gooey. We would have ordered a second batch of them, but we had to make it to our flight. I would highly recommend Szechuan food to nay person who has not tried it. It is not for everyone, but it is delicious.