Amsterdam memories

Hi again,

Just made it back to Marburg only about a couple hours ago after a more than perfect weekend in Amsterdam.  I've been trying to think of a way to describe or sum up the weekend I just had, but I come up blank every time.  There isn't a way I could put into words how truly unbelievable the trip was.  I'll at least write about what we did in order to show why I'm still in awe.

We left Marburg on Friday the 20th and took the train into Frankfurt.  From there we booked a ride share to Amsterdam.  On the way there we had nine people in the van and blasted music the whole time.  It took around six or seven hours to get there and when we arrived it had just gotten dark and the nightlife was in full swing.  We dumped our things at our hotel and headed out to explore.  We wandered through the red light district, checked out some bars, coffee shops, had thai food, and ended the night with fresh waffles and crepes with nutella and strawberries on top.

The next day we woke up early and tried to go to the Anne Frank house, but it started sleeting/ raining and the line to get inside was way too long.  Instead, we got some coffee and did some shopping.  Afterwards, we headed towards the Van Gogh museum.  Before we went in we found the "I Amsterdam" sign and had to take tons of touristy pictures. Then to the museum, which was incredible.  Seeing all of his drawings and painting up close was inspirational and something I'll truly never forget.  Afterwards we headed back to the hotel to rest for a little while and get ready for the night.  We went to an Irish pub and met a lot of cool people along the way.  We went to a couple different bars and just wandered around Amsterdam at night.  The whole day was so amazingly overwhelming that it was hard to really take it all in.

One of the many hundreds of canals throughout the city

On Sunday, we spent the morning shopping and stopping for food and coffee along the way.  Later, we bought tickets for a canal tour.  It was about an hour long and we had perfect sunny day for it.  Afterwards, we just strolled around the city.  Went in and out of shops then eventually headed to the hotel for a bit to drop things off and then went out to dinner.  We had delicious food at a place right down the street from out hotel and ended the night with a coffee shop and fresh waffles again.

Best veggie burger everrrrrrrrrr

There were so many other little things we did and conversations we had throughout the weekend that just made everything so memorable.  We were also pretty lucky that everything throughout the weekend went flawlessly and it was so stress free.  I had the perfect group of people to enjoy the weekend with and it will go down as one of the best times of my life (so far).  I'm already making plans on going back.  But, for now it's back to school and Marburg.  I'm all refreshed and so stress free that I'm ready to get back into my school routine.

Until next time,

Laura

HI GUYS

Finally decided to blog and I have no idea why.  Oh well.  Honestly, I'm not really expecting anyone to read this except for my parents... Maybe.

So, now that I've been in Germany for just over a month I can officially say I F*CKING LOVE IT HERE.  The food, beer, people, language, sights... I love everything.  Marburg, especially.  Marburg is a beautiful place and there so much more of it that I need to see.  I think my favorite part of it so far is Landgrafenschloss.

I've only been to it three times, but it's breathtaking every time I go.  The view of Marburg from the castle is something I'll never get over.

There's also a large park right next to the church with an outdoor concert venue and plenty of paths to wander down.  I'm so excited for it to warm up here just so I can discover more of Marburg.  And I have plenty of time for it to warm up.  I still have four months here, which I can't believe.  I know the time is going to go by in the blink of an eye so I'm really trying to make the most of everyday.  Being on a different continent where I know almost no one has truly been an amazing eye-opening experience.  I've been looking forward to study abroad since high school, so it's still in awe that I'm here.  It's one of the best choices I've made in my life so far.

As for my future plans here I only have a few set plans, but a ton of ideas of what I want to do.  For my first break, which is just over a week away, I'm headed to Amsterdam with a couple of friends.  I love Germany, but it's going to be fun to get out to some where absolutely brand new and explore the area.  I still need to plan my second break which will be early April.  I already know that I'll be traveling to Munich mid-April only because Emily is going to be there on her German trip.  I think that's what I'm looking forward to most, finally seeing my sister after a few months.  Much more traveling to come, I just need to plan it all.

I think this is pretty good for a first post.  Hopefully I'll remember to write some more.

Until then,

Laura