My European Adventure part 1-Holland

Hello friends, I've returned safely back to London after a very long and memorable trip through Europe. I'm having difficulty in deciding where to start as there is just so much to say, so I suppose I should just start from the beginning.

My journey began very early on April 8th. I woke up before the sun and made my way with Rachel to the train station where we caught a train from London to Brussels (Belgium).

Here's my first photo of the trip:

I grew very attached to my backpack, physically as it was strapped to me, but also emotionally.

The reality of the trip had not yet set in at this point as I literally had no idea where I was going, and only a vague idea of how to get there. When we arrived in Brussels Rachel and I decided to do some sight seeing, however this did not last very long as we only had a 2 hour stop over, we were very far away from the actual sights, and we had no idea what language the Belgians spoke (it's French). I did manage however to buy some delicious Belgian chocolate in the train station.

It was filled with strawberry cream and was the best chocolate bar I've ever eaten, I look forward to going back and having another.

When we arrived in Amsterdam we found out very quickly that the Dutch are incredibly friendly people. As Dutch is a very difficult language that is very hard to read let alone speak, Rachel and I found ourselves a bit lost while trying to figure out how to find the train that would take us to our friend Melanie's village outside of Amsterdam. However, our fear was quickly quelled by a very nice bystander who approached us and asked us if we needed help, and sent us on our merry way. Another nice thing about the Dutch is that many, maybe most, people speak English. Anyway, so Rachel and I found our train at platform 7, hopped on and made our way to the town of Zandvoort. I had no idea what to expect but upon arrival I was pleasantly surprised to find that the town looked like this:

Now my friends, I hope I am not alone when I say that I had little to no idea that such a beautiful place existed in the Netherlands, let alone only 20 minutes outside of Amsterdam. I am not exaggerating when I say that the beauty of this beach rivaled those of the tropics. It was perfect.

That night Melanie brought us to a gigantic beach party. It was absolutely the craziest party I have ever attended, overwhelming at times but none the less awesome. When I stressed how crazy this party actually was to some Dutch people they told me "Oh we do this every Sunday" I think this may say a little bit about the Dutch. Here's a picture of the party:

One cultural tidbit that I found interesting is that despite the legality of marijuana in the Netherlands it is not widely used by Dutch citizens themselves. I think this says a lot about the power of legalization.

The next day Melanie was kind enough to show Rachel and I around Amsterdam, a city that completely contradicted my expectations. I don't think it is incorrect to say that many Americans imagine Amsterdam as a city filled with sex, drugs, and maybe some rock and roll. I had this image that every shop keeper, child, and dog was high, and that the Red Light District took up more than half the city, and there was a party going on constantly. However, I discovered how wrong I actually was. This city itself is beautiful, quirky, welcoming and warm. Mostly it is just tourists that are high, and the red light district is surprisingly small. The canals are charming and every house is slightly askew with its own unique roof. The city is very green both in color and environmentally. You will find a bike in every square inch of the city as people opt to ride these more often than cars. I heard someone say that there are more bikes than people in Amsterdam, a statement I originally did not believe until I saw just how many bikes there actually are. I really loved this aspect of Amsterdam, I felt it amplified the character of an already very unique city.

I really enjoyed Amsterdam but a reoccurring feeling I felt throughout my trip is that the true beauty of a country lies outside of the major city. For example despite the beauty and reputation of Amsterdam, I really truly loved where I stayed in Zandvoort. The small village was reminiscent of a classic fifties beach town on the west coast with arcades, boutiques, ice cream stands, and cute super markets. If you should ever make your way to Amsterdam make sure to check out Zandvoort or any small town on the outskirts of the city, in doing this you can get a real feel for life in Holland.

My time in Holland was really a lot of fun, especially the time spent with the family of my friend Melanie. The Dutch people are some of the nicest people I encountered on my trip, I could not believe how warm and friendly and polite they are. I look forward to going back in a few weeks with my family, I think we will all really enjoy it.

After Amsterdam Rachel and I took off for Barcelona, Spain. But that my friends is a story for another day. Keep enjoying!