Amsterdam, Netherlands

Things didn’t go according to plan in Amsterdam. For starters, the main reasons I wanted to go to this city was for the Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh Museum, both of which sold out months in advance. Then when I arrived in the city, I took the wrong train, didn’t make my bus and when I arrived at my Airbnb, the hosts weren’t there and I had to wait hours to get in. To make matters worse, it was significantly colder than I expected or had packed for.

But none of those things stopped my from being bright eyed and excited! Amsterdam was a city I had wanted to explore for a long time. I got up on my first morning ready to hit the city but when I was greeted outside by nothing but orange and celebration, I soon realised it was a national holiday. That resulted in everything being closed. So on the spur of the moment, I decided to change my plans, get a bus about an hour away and go see the tulips. Man, am I glad I did! Because it was cold and raining on and off, there weren’t very many people there. I enjoyed every second of it.

The next day was forecasted to be raining again but I woke up to a beautiful morning. Amsterdam was all bikes - everywhere you look there’s bikes! Despite being absolutely terrified of being able to navigate the streets and the bike laws, I faced my fears and rented a bike to explore. Honestly, there shouldn’t be another way to see the city! It wasn’t nearly as scary as I expected and it’s a must do if you’re ever there.

I love Amsterdam.