Exploring Amsterdam

Amsterdam, our last stop on our epic journey, so of course we had to go out with a bang!

On our way into Amsterdam we stopped at a small farm where we would have a demonstration as to how you make clogs and cheese which we were told was lead by a completely crazy man. They did not lie. I think he had most definitely made the most of the legal drugs and it made him the craziest man I have ever met! But however insane he was, he knew how to make clogs and cheese! We were shown the workshop and the place where they made their cheese (which they made from scratch – they used the milk from their own cows and everything!) we all tried on some clogs and I found them quite comfy even though most of the others didn't, and we also got to try some of their cheese which was sooooo good!

We all got back onto the coach once we had got a tun of souvenirs, and then we drove to a little windmill house which was so cute!

La Familia photo!!

We then drove into the city and went to our campsite to set up and get ready for that night as we'd all be going into the city together. We drove in, had a mini walking tour and then got some food before the night's entertainment (which I didn't go to...) So instead of going to the evenings entertainment with the rest of the group, me and Claudia went to see the “I Amsterdam” sign which we found all by ourselves (which we were really proud of!). We then met up with the rest of the group for a walking tour of the red light district which was, lets just say something completely different that I really don't want to do again..

After the walking tour I headed back to the camp site because we had to be up early the next morning for something quite exciting!

Nat, Aussie Tom, Maia and me :)

I was up super early with a couple of the girls because we had decided to go to the Anne Frank house! We got the tram in to the city and found the house quite quickly, but even an hour before it opened there was a huge queue! So we took it in turns to go for a wonder and find some breakfast and something to keep us warm because (compared to all the other places) it was freezing! We waited in the queue for about 30 minutes once the museum had opened, which was way shorter than what we though we'd have to wait! We weren't allowed to take photos in it, but again I didn't really want to take photos. Something I've learnt this year is that yes, taking photos does mean you'll remember it all years down the line, but if you're not careful all you'll remember is the photos, not the things you did or the people you met.

The annex was such a tiny space, I couldn't believe it. We've all heard the story and know the diary, but standing in the actual space that they hid, with the pictures still stuck on Anne's bedroom wall really reminds you that it's not just a story, its an actual part of history that the eight people who were in that tiny space lived for two years, and for seven of them, it was the last two years of their life..

The museum was a serious eye-opener, and it reminded all of us that it was a museum that told the stories of just eight of the 6 million Jews that died..

After the Anne Frank house the others went back to the campsite but I stayed in the city and did something that I've always wanted to do. I found a place that you hire bikes from, and I hired one for a couple of hours.

It was the most incredible two hours, I got wonderfully lost almost instantly and somehow ended up at the Anne Frank House again. Then off I went along the canals and found the “I Amsterdam” sign, along with a couple of hundred people, so I soon left that behind. It was so peaceful biking the streets in the sunshine, following the canals and stopping on the bridges to take photos.

This was about 20 seconds before like 100 singing christians swarmed on it singing about Jesus. That was when I left

Once I returned the bike I headed back to the camp for a nap and a shower before we headed out that night for our dinner on a canal boat. It was dead classy and the food was so good, but the company was what made it (as always). We had so many good laughs and many good drinks (because they were free) so everyone was in a stella mood for the rest of the night. 

We all went to the “I Amsterdam” for a La Familia photo, and then we went to a bar/club that was empty except for us, so we got to choose the music and we danced for hours! Me and Dom had a rap battle to the wake-up song which I 100% won! It was so much fun being with the family that I didn't want it to end! We eventually headed back to the campsite, and as we were walking back we could see a massive thunderstorm rolling in, literally from all directions...

That night was probably the worst night's sleep i've ever had in my life. My tent had 5 pegs in it, and so the rain came right into the tent, my mattress was deflated, the thunder was right above us all night and it was basically impossible to sleep. By the next morning everyone was in a bad mood. Everything was soaked, our tent was half filled with water (I woke up with a puddle next to my head) and everyone was exhausted after getting no sleep. I had to wear my pyjamas all day because they were the only things that were dry...

we were all tempted to just leave the tents there for other people to worry about, but apparently we weren't allowed to do that...

Thankfully that day was a bus day, all the way back to London, so there'd be no more camping (ever, if I can help it).....

I absolutely loved Amsterdam, and I feel like it's a completely mis-judged city because of it's red light district and drugs thing, but there's so much more to it, and it's so beautiful!!

I really want to go back (as usual) for longer!!

Next (and final stop): Brugge

Discovering the beauty of Berlin

As always the morning was spent asleep on the bus after packing up the campsite and saying a teary goodbye to Kiki.. On our way to Berlin we stopped in a city called Dresden that was seriously bombed during the war and had stunning buildings and a really rich history (like literally rich – some of the people who lived there throughout history were seriously loaded). We had a walking tour of the city and we all had lunch there, which was more eventful for some... Amanda took us to a place that was famous for its Currywurst sausages and sauce because they served it at different levels of heat. Level one was really mild, and level 7 which had the same heat as pepper-spray... Quite a few people ordered the level 7 (I wan't one of them) and there were different levels of tears and swearing and red-faces, however Paul didn't seem to mind the fact that he was essentially eating pepper-spray. I tried a tiny bit of the sauce and even the smallest bit on the end of my finger set my mouth on fire, so how Paul ate it all I have no idea..

A bridge that the rich folk made so they wouldn't have to walk on the street with the commoners..

Family tree in the form of a massive mosaic

After Dresden we hopped back on the coach and made our way into Berlin. Now I wasn't sure what to expect from Berlin, having just visited the concentration camp and also knowing that there had been the Berlin wall, but I was surprised! We had the driving tour as usual, and we walked along part of the Wall which was so beautiful with all its different works of art on it. After the driving tour we checked into our HOSTEL!!! It was amazing! We had dinner at the restaurant at the hostel that night and then made the most of our proper beds and good wifi so we all went to bed early.

A memorial of some form...

This was a statue of a guy from world war 2 (?) who saved a little boy (or something like that) but he has a sword and a cape because it makes him look a lot cooler than if he had authentic clothes... 

I think this was my favourite part of the wall

The next day was a fantastic one! We all woke up so refreshed and then got ready and went into the city for our guided walking tour. It was one of the added optionals that you could choose to do, and it was about the Third Reich, so I was super interested to see more of the city and also learn more of it's history. Our guide was incredible as she had grown up in Berlin so she knew all about it and was able to answer all of our questions. I was amazed to see just how open Berlin was about the War, there were memorials everywhere and even things like their government building's architecture was all open and glass to represent the openness of the government. We walked through the Brandenburg gate which I was super excited about because I'd wanted to see it for ages, and we also saw the carpark where Hitlers bunker had been. It made me feel quite good because there was no sign to tell you that where you were standing had once been his bunker, it was just a carpark with weeds growing in it, as it should be. We finished the tour at Checkpoint Charlie, and we were told all about the wall's history, which I had no idea that it was so gruesome and horrible, and how recently the wall had fallen (or the fact that it's falling was due to a bit of miscommunication..).

Government building 

A memorial to the politicians that died. It had their names, date of birth and death, their political parties and the concentration camp that they were in)

A memorial to the Jews

I think this is the silhouette of a guy who tried to bomb the building Hitler would be in. Hitler left like 7 minutes before the bomb detonated...

A museum for the Berlin wall

Tom having a nap because it was just all too much

We went for lunch in a beer hall, and I had a pork knuckle, and god it was incredible! It was covered in crackling and it was just beautiful!

LUNCH 

We then got the train back to the hostel after a mission finding the right platform and then nearly getting separated from the group because when we finally found the right train the doors were nearly shutting, but by some miracle we all made it on!

We then all went to buy I heart Berlin shirts for that night's bar crawl, and on the way we walked along the Wall admiring the beauty of it after so many years of horror.

After a freshen up we all went to the bar at the hostel to start our bar crawl, and as we walked in we were each given a permanent marker. The whole point of the white shirts was that people could write over them, and it was hilarious! By the end of the night our tops were covered in quotes and sayings from the tour, or nicknames or memories. It's such an awesome souvineer and i'm going to keep it forever!!

The bar crawl was so funny! I didn't drink but I didn't have to because I was just buzzing from the atmosphere of it all (and the fact that I didn't drink made everyone else happy because it meant that they could take it in turns having my free drinks that we got at each bar. We ended up at a club just across the road from the hostel which was great because we didn't have to walk far to go to bed. In the club our wake up song played, so up went the duck hands and we all sung along at the top of our voices, as always.

Berlin was such a beautiful city and I fell completely in love with it, and I want to go back and see more of it one day!!

Next stop: Amsterdam!