Weekend in Amsterdam

The last weekend in October, I went to Amsterdam for a long weekend. It just so happened that my friend Betsy and her fiancé Tobias were having their going away party the same weekend. I'm so glad I got to see them once more before they moved to Ethiopia for the year. Betsy and I have only met a few times through mutual friends (Rachel Stuckey Slaton and Jordan Fisher Strayhorn) but talking with her is like catching up with a dear friend. We both grew up in Arkansas. I seem to find Arkansans where ever I go. 

Compared to Madrid, the weather in Amsterdam was very cold. It rained and hailed! There were a lot of uprooted trees from a storm the weekend before. But the weather never deters the good people of Amsterdam from riding their bikes. EVERYONE rides a bike ALL the time. However, when my umbrella broke from being pelted by hail, I opted to take cover at the Amsterdam EYE and saw a movie because all the exhibits were already closed. 

There are also a lot of bridges, canals, and boats. Most of the pictures I took are of bridges and canals. I only included my favorites. 

I took a ferry boat around the city with my friend Anton. We thought about waiting in line for the Anne Frank House (several times because I read that it's a MUST SEE!), but the wait was about two hours. If you go to Amsterdam, try to buy your tickets online before you go to avoid the line!

We spent a lot of time walking around Jordaan and De 9 Straatjes. Everyone in Amsterdam speaks English and people are insulted if you ask them if they speak English. I only made that mistake once. 

Per recommendation of Michelle Reynolds, I went to Cafe Proust in Jordaan. Since it was a Sunday night, I was one of three customers there. I chatted with the bartender, read a magazine in Dutch, and enjoyed a hot bowl of tomato soup (which was much needed after the hail).

This is Dam Square. It's near the center of the city. 

This is En Waag (The Weigh House), one of the oldest buildings in Amsterdam.

Although I planned to go to so many museums, we ended up only hitting Stedelijk at Trouw, a modern art exhibit, and Amsterdam Museum which covered the history and evolution of the city.

 I think one of my favorite things about Amsterdam, which I didn't expect, was finding so many crooked, old houses. It might be hard to tell from the photo, but the house on the left side of the street is  definitely leaning. 

Lastly, I went to a thrift store that had new and old clothing. I pretty much wanted to buy everything in this store, especially because I left most of my favorite oversized sweaters in New York. But I kept picking out dresses to try on that had the same label: KLING. When I checked out, I asked about the label and she told me it's a Spanish store! So of course once I returned to Madrid, I found the store and bought this and this (the skirt). I'm slightly obsessed.

Exhibits, Bar, Park, & Halloween

So finally, here is photographic evidence of what I've been up to over the last few weeks in Madrid!

First, I went to an exhibit called data.path by Ryoji Ikeda. 

If you find yourself in Madrid before January, you should definitely go!

Then I went to a bar called El Tigre. Buy a beer and get tapas. Lots of restaurants are like that, especially in Andalusia. But they are harder to come by in Madrid. And take note that this is a picture when I was finished eating!! Needless to say, there are always a lot of international students at El Tigre.

 Every Wednesday I go to an Intercambio (language exchange) at Cafe Galdos off of Gran Via. It's a beautiful street, and sometimes reminds me of New York.

I also went to Matadero, another museum close to where I live to see the exhibit Cenotes by Magdalena  Atria. 

And I go to Retiro Park as often as possible. It's about a ten minute walk from where I live!

This is the Crystal Palace. Here I am with my friend Michelle, and two of her roommates.

 This is the church I've been going to in Malasana called San Anton. 

And lastly, for Halloween we put on a haunted house for the students! It was a lot of fun and something we wouldn't be able to do at a public school in the United States. 

This is me and Lia, the bilingual coordinator at my school.

And here I am with Justin, one of the other language assistants.

We made a few kids cry and one third grade class was too scared to even come in!

I will be adding another post soon with pictures from my trip last weekend to Amsterdam!