Travel day. We got to Nate’s parents hotel, got everyone to the train station in a timely fashion and waited to figure out what terminal we’d be on. Our last train ride of the trip was supposed to be a 3.5 hour ride to Amsterdam from Paris. Instead, our train got delayed about 45 minutes after everyone boarded because there was an accident at a station close by. Not too sure what that meant, but just glad to be on a train that’s definitely going straight to Amsterdam with just a stop in Brussels and somewhere else in Holland.

It was 100 Euro a night each for Nate and I to stay at a hostel and we both thought that was ridiculous but everywhere was like that. So Nate’s parents snuck us into their hotel for the night and we booked a hostel for the next two nights. Once we made it to the train station we decided to walk to the hotel because it was only a mile. It was cold! Probably a little colder than Paris. We checked into the hotel and then we went and walked around a bit and ended up deciding on this Irish pub to eat at and have some Heinekens because they’re supposed to be amazing, they were. So was the food!

We hung out there about 2/3 hours and then Nate’s parents were a bit exhausted so Nate and I explored some more and ended up in the red light district. It’s a place you should experience for yourselves. All walks of life are in there: couples, groups of young men, groups of old men, groups of young women, groups of old women, families, the lone soldiers, pretty much anyone you can think of. I had zero interest in purchasing a prostitute but I did witness multiple people enter and exit the prostitutes rooms. Just a really bizarre place because there’s nothing else like it in the world. Not even just the red light district, there’s no place like Amsterdam. Coffee shops that sell cappuccinos and marijuana, legal prostitutes, and magic mushrooms, it’s like nothing is illegal.

Then we decided it was time to walk home. Another thing about Amsterdam is its very confusing. If you’re not on a Main Street everything looks the same, quite a drag. After aimlessly wandering for an hour in below 40 degree weather we found an atm and I took out 20 euro since all my cash was in the room and we got a taxi. Best 16 euro I’ve ever paid. We were on the complete opposite side of town. We got back to the room and Nate’s parents were curved but got an extra blanket from reception for us and another pillow so we were set to sleep on the floor.