Netherlands: Amsterdam

This summer my brother and his two college roommates got to come travel around Europe together. Talk about a perfect graduation celebration, right? So I got to join them for a few legs of the journey. They started and ended in Paris, all four of us cozied right up in my little mini apartment. Their trip went something like - Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Munich, Prague, and back to Paris. Not bad.

I got to meet up with them in Amsterdam and it was such a great time. When Brandon and I were backpacking in the summer of 2008 we tried so hard to make our way to this city but we simply didn't have time for it. Not that I'm complaining, that trip was incredible. So I was very excited to finally explore.

Amsterdam is one beautiful place. It is so clean! Its wide main streets, extremely friendly people and beautiful canals were enough for me to want to stay forever. We explored the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum - which was my favorite. We had some delicious Dutch pancakes at a place simply named: Pancakes! and of course we had our fair share of french fries. Healthy, I know.

We visited the famous Red Light District which is not nearly as crazy as I was expecting but still, seeing the girls working in the windows and doors was shocking and for me, sad. 

I could spend some more time hanging out along those canals.