A human’s mind
has the ability to invoke fear
but also to be afraid;
to be sane
but also to go mad;
to have dreams
but also to take dreams away;
to be a masterpiece
but also to be a disaster.
– A Reflection on Amsterdam
A common fear among students studying abroad is being seen as obvious ‘tourists’—by being loud, getting lost, and visiting the most popular places in the city with their cameras. I’m the exact same way as everyone else when it comes to things like that. For my weekend in Amsterdam, though, I was happy to be a tourist.
If you’re thinking about visiting Amsterdam, there are a few things you should know. Number one: it is beautiful. Even with cloudy, rainy skies, it is absolutely breathtaking. There is apparently a tulip festival in the spring, and I can only imagine that would make it even more beautiful. Number two: there are incredible attractions to see, like the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum. Number three: marijuana and prostitution are legal. Minor details, right?
I encountered a few interesting things while I was in Amsterdam, like random, unexpected whiffs of marijuana (it was kind of like turning a corner in New York City, but instead of sewage it’s weed), scantily-dressed women sitting on display in windows in the Red Light District, and a man in front of me actually opening a door that led to one of the scantily-dressed women and casually saying, “Hello.”
When I got to Amsterdam, I found out I didn’t have data. It was then that I realized I had forgotten to download the offline map of Amsterdam, and the map I’d printed out was definitely in Dutch. Luckily, while I couldn’t load a path to the hostel, I was able to follow the streets manually using Google Maps. I, of course, took an obscure route and stumbled directly onto the Red Light District (aT nIgHt). It was during those first 20 minutes as I wandered the red-lit streets, somewhat lost in a foreign country in the dark, that I realized being here alone wasn’t going to be so bad.
Oh yeah, did I mention that I did all of this by myself? I like to call this one ‘Flyin’ Solo’. Fear not for my safety, however, because this was two weeks ago and I am clearly still alive.
Friday, 2 February
If you visit Amsterdam, you need to walk through the Anne Frank House. You currently have to buy a ticket in advance, so I recommend buying it (for about $12 USD) the same day you book your flight to secure your spot. When you go, make sure you grab one of the free audio guides as you walk in. I’m usually not big on audio guides, but you miss so much without this one. The guide takes you through all of the offices on the first few floors, giving you background information and playing the audio to some videos that are shown, but it turns off as you walk through the bookcase door to the annex.
From there you are able to see the rooms Anne’s family, the van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer were unable to leave for two years during the Holocaust. The rooms of the annex are dimly lit and bare, and the walls are plain aside from the pictures Anne glued up in one room and markings her parents made as she grew taller over the years.
I struggled in the house. The feelings that came with being in the same rooms Anne had to hide in years ago can’t easily be described, and I have been trying to describe them since I left. It made me wonder how people are capable of being so evil. It made me think about how much time and life I waste when so many have had it all taken from them. It made me reflect on the power of words, either for good or for bad. It made me cry a lot, and it made me really want to hug someone.
I bought a small book of short stories Anne had written in hopes of becoming an author one day. I left pondering a quote said by Emma Thompson at the house in 2006: “All her would-haves are our opportunities.”
I had a plan for the day, but instead I wandered around aimlessly exploring Amsterdam. It is full of thin, connected houses. A canal runs through the middle and countless bridges pass over it all throughout the city. I happened upon a vintage clothing store that made me smile, so I walked in. There were two fellow Americans inside trying on clothes. I complimented one in a cute dress and continued to wander. About an hour later on my way to find a place to eat lunch, I ran into my fellow Americans from the vintage clothing store again. They recognized me, asked me where I was from (Indiana), asked me if I was alone (I was), and asked if I wanted friends (heck yeah!). That was how I made new friends in Amsterdam. Hi, Janie and Isabella! We walked around together for a few hours before I had to leave to finish my British Studies research paper proposal in my hostel.
Saturday, 3 Febraury
Another must-see is the Van Gogh Museum. I’ve never been very interested in art (mostly because I’m bitter about my inability to art), and I would have completely passed up the opportunity had I not been listening to Don McLean’s ‘Vincent’ daily while I’ve been in Europe. I’m glad I didn’t pass it up, and my only regret was actually not giving myself more time to spend there. I’ve listened to Vincent many times every day since then, and each time I am able to connect lines from the song to something in the museum.
The museum is set up in a timeline, starting with an overview of Van Gogh’s life and many self-portraits on the first floor, then moving through the years of his career on the floors above it.
Vincent Van Gogh was clearly an incredible painter, but he was perhaps even more incredible as a man. He had such a passion and drive for his work, along with a compassion and love for the people and things he painted. He studied what he was painting and sketched some seemingly small details, such as a hand holding a knife, many times before putting them on canvas. Each part of every painting was significant to him, and I think that says a lot about who he was as a person as well as an artist.
As you may know, Van Gogh suffered from mental illness that led to him cutting off his own ear, admitting himself to an asylum in France, and ultimately shooting himself after leaving the asylum. There is a clear change in the paintings from the beginning of his career to the end, aside from increasing in skill. Van Gogh painted to keep himself from going even more insane in the asylum, sometimes through bars on his window when he couldn’t leave his room. The colors in his paintings got warmer and redder in many paintings during this time of his life, which depicted the anxiety he and the fellow patients felt, called ‘seeing red’. It was during this time that he painted The Starry Night (located in the MoMA, not the Van Gogh Museum), which is arguably his most famous painting.
It’s incredible how much I discovered during my weekend in Amsterdam. First of all, I discovered that I can, in fact, plan an entire trip by myself. I also learned that I am the worst at following an itinerary, and I may actually only go to one or two places on my list for a given day. I discovered that Shelter City Hostel is the best in the world, but Amsterdam’s airport may be the worst thing ever. And I decided it is good to be a typical tourist sometimes, and you shouldn’t miss incredible things out of fear of being seen as one.
It’s time for Humans of Marlaxton, round two!
Introducing Sarah, my wonderful new friend from WKU. Sarah is a sophomore on the Hill, and mutual friends were actually trying to get us to be BFFs leading up to Harlaxton. Neither of us really reached out to each other before arriving in England, but in the first few days I finally walked up to her and said, “Are you Sarah? Sarah Woodward wanted us to be friends!” And then we were. Sarah is very easy-going and chill, but when everyone is exhausted at the end of a long day I know I can always count on her to flash me a smile. She loves hugs, which was an exciting discovery for me (because I can hug her pretty much anytime I want). I love the way she loves Jesus and the middle schoolers she mentors, and the way she is not afraid to tell people the things she likes about them. She can also be blunt (which is spectacular) and is a great voice of reason. Although she’s chill, she can be spontaneous and slightly wild sometimes–she once said, “Let’s ride [the tube] with no hands!” So we did. Hi, Sarah!