Brussels and Amsterdam

Brussels and Amsterdam…my first real trip, by myself, with no counselors guiding me, no parents holding my hand, and certainly no grandparents paying expenses. This was also my first trip in which I was only allotted one piece of baggage for the entire duration, of which I chose my backpack. First mistake of the trip was forgetting two of the most essential things to my happiness and hygiene: my eye glasses and my hairbrush because I am blind and I am notorious for the nappiest hair known to female kind.

Second mistake was the sandwich I got at the airport…just plain old gross. Okay, back to the trip. So we were able to make it to the airport in no time because of the blessed European public transportation services. We flew about 2 hours to Brussels Charleroi in a pink and purple plane under the airline known as Wizz Air. The plane had free seating which was rather chaotic amidst a million angry Czech travelers.

BRUSSELS

In one sentence I would describe Brussels as an adorable city with an unbeatable gastronomical experience. If you are headed to Brussels, Belgium you must certainly leave your diet behind for the weekend and put on your stretchy pants because boy, oh boy, it is delicious!! Highlights for me were: Mussels in Brussels and a Belgium waffle with the most delectable Belgium chocolate these lips have ever tasted!

YUMMY! Look at that face wafting in the scent of that tasty tasty goodness!

Liza and I rented bikes on Thursday and rode around Belgium exploring. It was a nice day out and about a gazillion degrees warmer than Prague so for that we were thrilled. We had ourselves a blast riding around the cobblestone streets, totally something I would recommend to anyone traveling in Europe. We took a nice stop into the Museum of Musical Instruments, it has the largest collection of musical instruments in the world. Pretty cool.

Liza and I riding our bikes in Grand Place

The Peeing Boy Statue

For some inexplicable reason Europe has an obsession with young boys peeing, this little guy is one of Brussels biggest sites to see!

Not everything about Brussels was all fun and games though. Let me tell you! Our hostel was comparable to Alcatraz, yes the prison, I am still in shock I actually PAYED to stay in this facility. First of all it smelled like somebody had a beer pong tournament three weeks ago and turned the heat on high, forgetting to clean up. Secondly, the sheets were stiffer than a scrub brush, and I do not even want to mention what the remainder of the rooms looked like. Basically we were running on zero sleep for two days.

The people in Brussels were so kind, especially compared to the grumpy Czechs. When I was lost with a map in hand a little old lady came up to us and whispered, “Vous cherchez quelque choses?” translating in English to, “are you looking for somethings”. It was the sweetest thing ever, and I was happy to learn that I still was able to recognize some francais from the good old high school days.

I also was happy to have had dinner with my friend from high school Nils Peterson. Literally couldn’t remember the last time I saw him but it was really nice! He took us to a great place where we got gyro sandwiches and sipped on some amazing Belgium beer.

AMSTERDAM

We woke up early and hoped on the train to Amsterdam. In one sentence to summarize Amsterdam is probably Vegas but weirder. If you do not know marijuana is legalized and women stand in glass windows in the Red Light District selling their bodies. For men I can compare this to window shopping, and the hustling and deal making that goes on late night in these streets is hilarious. It took me the entire weekend to actually believe these women were real, I kept thinking they were mannequins.

Such a pretty open market with amazing flowers.

My favorite part of Amsterdam was the Van Gogh museum that was great, very crowded though. And ran into a good friend of mine there. My second favorite part would probably be the Sex Museum, where they displayed people’s personal photographs from the 1930’s to now that had my jaw dropped in awe the entire exhibit.

RED LIGHT DISTRICT

BULLDOG HOSTEL since 1975
HAHA! Oh giftshops in Amsterdam....

Our hostel in Amsterdam was an UPGRADE from our shit hole in Brussels, and thank god for that! We got a great deal for the bunk bed, Liza and I shared a MONSTER bed that was so big we didn’t even know if each other were there. We were the only girls in the room of about twelve boys from everywhere from Salt Lake City to Brazil. It was a great time. By day two my hair was so dreaded out I looked like I really belonged in Amsterdam. I forced Liza to join me on a brush hunt, of which ended well, but took literally two hours. Do people not brush their hair in Europe?!??

To be completely honest I did not love Amsterdam, there was no real culture other than a bunch of tourists coming to get high of their rockers. It was obviously very cool that Holland's laid back attitude allows for the decriminalization of marijuana but I like a country with a little more original flavor.

The travels home were LOOOOONG totaling about 12 hours. We got on a three hour train ride from Amsterdam to Brussels, then a one hour bus from Brussels to the airport, then a plane to Prague, another bus and FINALLY the metro to our lovely stop off the green line-Jinho Z Podebrad. :)

Needless to say, hopping in my own shower without flip-flops, brushing my hair, doing laundry, getting into bed, and taking out my contacts was simply priceless. AHHH it is good to be back.

Also.....R.I.P. Abby Schmabby