Iamsterdam

It's Sunday morning and I could've slept until midday but for some ungodly reason I woke up at 7.40am. So ripped off. I figure if I can't be dreaming then I may as well be day dreaming about my trip so lets go to the Netherlands.

Getting from London to Amsterdam was quite the trek and amongst several train rides, we spent a night on a ferry which proved a memorable experience. We had no expectations of the boat...actually that's not accurate, we had low expectations of the boat.

On arrival at the terminal we decided to get some food from the dodgy little cafe in there incase there weren't any options on board. I had the tomato soup which was literally the sauce that comes with baked beans, minus the baked beans. After lugging our backpacks around to kill time for an hour or so we decided to get on board and were greeted with a selection of bars, restaurants, shops and even a casino. Epic fail. Lucky we still had room for a G&T which was potentially the strongest drink I've ever been poured from behind a bar. Two lessons learnt from that experience; don't make assumptions and don't ask for a double in Europe.

Expectations are a funny thing when you're travelling. You always have them but they're almost never proved right. I didn't expect a lot from Amsterdam other than the obvious but I can now say that my mind was blown by the place (and not in the way you're thinking). Amsterdam is a city with so much personality that you can't help but fall in love with it. Wandering the streets you experience a range of different emotions - with or without the help of a coffee shop. 

One minute you're being charmed by the canal lined streets littered with house boats sporting gaudy lawn ornaments, the next you're shocked by the barely clothed women posing in windows, then suddenly you're fearing for your life as a mad cyclist hurtles toward you shouting something rude in Dutch.

There is one place that I would totally recommend you go to even though you will most likely come out feeling utterly disillusioned with mankind- Anne Frank's house. The loft where her family hid while the Nazis invaded the city is so well preserved that it's eerie. What got me was how real the family becomes once you're there. You see the marks on the wall measuring Anne and her sister's height, the pictures Anne stuck on the walls to make up for the lack of windows and the handwritten pages of her diary, the second most translated book in the world after the bible.

The people of Amsterdam put up one of the biggest fights against the Nazi regime and tried desperately to save their Jewish friends. Unfortunately their efforts were largely in vain but this kind of fighting spirit is still evident in the city today.

In Amsterdam you can grow drugs freely, be one of the most popular prostitutes in town at age 85 (seriously her waiting list is three months apparently) and basically be whoever you want to be without needing to worry about what anyone else thinks. It is this tolerance that makes Amsterdam such a vibrant and exciting place. Also, you can buy burgers and other deep fried goodies from vending machines there (google FEBO).

I recommend going to Amsterdam with no expectations other than that you will be surprised. You won't be disappointed.

Yet another example of how cool Amdam is- street art designed as a celebration of the city's prostitution industry.