The Netherlands & Belgium

As you may or may not know, I am currently in Europe on a study abroad with BYU. I arrived about two weeks ago and I am finally getting around to updating and writing about it. I write a little here and there in my journal, but Im trying to make it a point to write a lot on this trip so that I can remember as much as I can.

On my flight to Amsterdam I had a layover in Detroit which was way more chaotic than it should have been. I kinda forgot to tell the bank that I was leaving the country so my card would be used abroad. I had to call them on my 30 minute layover while running through this huge airport to get to my new gate and not miss my flight. The guy I was talking to literally had no idea what he was doing. It was stressing me out. And he didn't know Austria existed. I had to tell him which countries I was going to and he would repeat it back to me and he kept saying Australia. I was so frustrated. I literally feel like Im taking my frustration out on my keyboard right now because I remember those moments so well. Im over it.

My flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was actually really nice. I sat next to a nice Dutch man who talked to me about all the places I was going. The plane and like 100 movies to choose from so I ended up watching Gravity and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Boy has technology improved. You used to have to just be stuck with whatever movie then ended up playing, but now you can watch whatever you want!

The flight went super fast and I landed in Amsterdam in no time! Birdy picked me up and we immediately ventured out into the city. We dropped her car off at her Aunts for free parking and then took the metro to the main square where we walked around, accidently walked through the red light district, went to the Anne Frank house (amazing) and ate a hot panini in the Anne Frank cafe. I say hot because we had to stand in line to get into the Anne Frank house for 2 hours in the cold windy rain (keep in mind its like midnight to me, 9am in real life). All we wanted was some hot food at that point because we hadn't warmed up even after touring the house for an hour or so. After eating, we drove back to her place which took about an hour. I passed out so hard on that drive home. I was exhausted. When we get to her house I slept some more and then we went over to her friends to watch a movie and then went to bed.

If there is anything I can say about Amsterdam, it is that I was obsessed  with the canals! I love how people live on boats in the canals and now the they are surrounded by skinny streets and multicolored buildings! The next day we went to Efteling in Holland near Breda. Efteling is kind of Hollands version of Disneyland but much smaller and targeted towards little kids. We spent most of the day riding rides and walking around. It was raining that day too so it didn't bother us too much to go on all of the water rides since we were already wet. The park closed at 6 so we left around then. We went to the main square in Breda where Birdy's school (or should I say castle) is. She gave me a little tour, and then we went to a little Italian restaurant for dinner. That night we went over to her friends again and watched another movie.

The next day was my favorite of the days that I was there with Birdy. We drove to Brugge, Belgium and walked around all day. Honestly, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. I am still obsessed. I thought Amsterdam's canals were cool, but they didn't even compare to what we saw in Brugge. I mean look at it! I probably have 100 photos of the same thing because I couldn't get enough of it. We bought some Belgian chocolate and proceeded to take a boat tour throughout the city. Best idea ever! Not to sound cheesy or anything but it was seriously magical. After the boat tour we walked around and explored different shops. We got Belgian waffles with ice cream, and we climbed to the top of the bell tower to get the best view of the city! At the end of the day we sat down at a restaurant, basked in the first sunny day we had, and people watched in the main square. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy the moment without feeling like we had to do anything.

On the drive home I completely passed out...again. Literally every long drive we had consisted of me sleeping and Birdy driving. Ok I didn't sleep the entire time. I was awake long enough to see the gorgeous  scenery that Belgium has to offer. Im honestly obsessed. Rolling green grass with flowers and the occasional brick house for miles and miles. Just like I imagined! I asked if we could stop by the store on the way home and I surprised Birdy with some flowers to thank her for letting me stay with her! The trip was short, but I loved being able to visit Birdy and catch up. It was so fun to stay up late talking about the different memories we shared in Peru and reminiscing on funny moments with the group or things that happened while we were in Peru. Im so glad I was able to explore her hometown with her and spend 3 days visiting.