Jun 19. | Amsterdam

My A Levels finished, I drew a sigh of relief. With school finally over, all I wanted to do was kick back and relax after months of stress and hard work had drawn to a close. From a family of 4 siblings all younger than myself, a holiday abroad full of sunshine and sunbeds is pretty much the norm for any time spent away with the family, as the chaos that comes with any sightseeing of a beautiful country that consists of much walking is not worth the endless complaints of feet hurting and “are we there yet?”‘s.

However, with the boys still attending school, the opportunity to get away and experience a bustling city environment rather than our go-to seaside destination arrived when my dad booked a trip to Amsterdam for us as a post-exam getaway for a couple of days. How could I say no?

Arriving mid-afternoon at our hotel after walking from the station for thirty minutes through the beautiful city, we quickly changed out of our cosy plane clothes into something nicer, eager to get out and explore the area. The view outside from the window was beautiful, next to a canal and within walking distance of famous museums as well as local cafes and shops.

Finding our feet, strolling down the beautiful canals was a highlight of the trip, solidifying the reality of being in the beautiful city of Amsterdam for me by taking in the cobbled streets and narrow, leaning houses that I had only ever seen pictures of before this moment.

It genuinely felt like a home away from home.

The Anne Frank house was what was in store for us that evening, so after grabbing a quick dinner at Wagamama’s – not a cultural dish unfortunately, but delicious nonetheless – we spent the next hour wandering the corridors of the historical building.

The first evening ended with a quiet evening walk home down the canals, now lit up in the darkness with fairy lights that highlighted the arch of the canal bridges up the street.

Day 2 of Amsterdam began with a trip to the Moco museum, presenting beautiful artwork from the artist Banksy and other growing artists from around the world, as well as an interactive 3D room for visitors at the end of the exhibition.

Our wander through the city’s vast museum options including the Van Gogh museum and many others led to the finding of the iconic I Amsterdam letters that stood large on the Museumplein. Clearly being a well-known attraction, I stood from afar and admired the slogan rather than attempting to fight my way through the sea of tourists to get a picture next to even just one of the letters.

Behind stood the beautiful Rijksmuseum, which a couple of hours of our day was spent walking around and sitting outside of to pass the time whilst waiting for afternoon slots of other tourist attractions that we had booked in advance. Gardens outside were picturesque, so we had no trouble drinking homemade lemonade and snacking on stroopwafels whilst people-watching and basking in the Holland sun.

The time hit 2:00 pm and so we set off for our third museum of the day, the Heineken museum, passing more beautiful canals on the way.

Learning about the history of beer was pleasantly surprising through the interactive activities that the museum had to offer. The brewing factory gave off Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vibes, the copper breweries reminding me of one of Willy Wonka’s rooms.

Evening dawned, and with the majority of tourist attractions visited, we left the rest of the day spare for shopping and exploring the main square in Amsterdam rather than remaining in our comfort place surrounding the hotel and the suburban canals.

Dam Square was similar to that of Covent Garden, consisting of smaller streets with high-end stores and restaurants that met up to the main square, thriving with street performers and cobbled pavements.

All in all, visiting Amsterdam was a lifetime memory that I will hold forever. Everything about the holiday was a new and fun experience and a learning curve for me to really explore a place abroad. My time there was definitely not wasted and I would be absolutely thrilled to go there again in the future to invest into the nightlife more, as well as venture out to get a taste of the rest of Holland too. My summer has felt like it has truly started on the best foot forward.

Emily