If a city has anything to teach, it is that people need people to love and care for one another. We are all connected and we rely upon one another is the truth. If money disappeared tomorrow, that would be the only reality, and that is what we evolved with and for. I grew up perceiving Amsterdam as having a heart, a rhythm, and a beat. The city is built tall and pretty as if they took their inspiration from the greatest of trees. For their souls were rooted in nature and this way there were more wild places for the wild species.

TRIP TO AMSTERDAM

Morning 8:30 AM

My inner storm was calmed by these wonderful sensations, which felt like a gentle onshore wind. I couldn't wait to take the train and explore Amsterdam! It was also my host mom's birthday! We had previously ordered a gift for her online, but it had not yet arrived! We had our dining table set with flower bouquets and breakfast ready. Juliette created a personalized note for her, saying that her gift will be delivered shortly! We called her down and when she watched us sing the birthday song in both English and Dutch, she was overjoyed. And after several days, we finally had breakfast together. 

It was a wonderful cold morning, and happiness grew in emotional warmth!

I went to school, and we all decided to wear blue dresses today. Marian was the only host-sibling to accompany us because Juliette and Tim had to attend their exams. But today, instead of going to our room, we went to see our accompanying adult, Mr. Clemense. We had a brief conversation after meeting him. Mr. Clemense is a nice person who cares about us and our Indian school. He comes to our school once a year, and we also had lunch with him and a few other Dutch teachers when we were in India.

We always chose to communicate in our language, but he said we needed to speak English, and even if we did, he claimed he could comprehend a little. He had Tamil(Our native language) books on his desk, which was uncommon compared to the other Dutch people we'd met. We grew extremely cautious then. Finally, he informed us that we would be driving to Amsterdam rather than taking the train, which shattered my heart.

We went to the parking lot and got in our car. It was our first time on our trip with Mr. Clemense. He drove faster than the wind, which made Zerina feel uncomfortable inside the car. She felt carsick and just closed her eyes and napped on my lap and I began listening to BTS songs on our way to Amsterdam. It took an hour and a half to get to Amsterdam. We arrived at the central station and parked our car.

We strolled for around 10 minutes till we arrived at the Cuyperspassage (An underground tunnel of 80,000 Delft Blue tiles). It is more than a hundred meters long, adorned with Delft Blue tiles symbolizing elements of Dutch maritime history. It connects bikes and pedestrians to the ancient city center.

As the tunnel reaches the river, the pictures' classical lines disintegrate into pixels, resulting in an abstract pattern in colors ranging from sky blue to navy blue. As a result, the painting symbolizes a transition from the ancient city to the modern developments of Amsterdam North. The attention paid to lighting, acoustics, and decorating resulted in a clean, safe, and friendly environment.

We walked straight away from the station onto the west side of Damrak Street. It's one of the busiest north-south roads connecting Central Station and Dam Square. Many of the buildings along Damrak were built from the 18th to the 20th century. The enormous brick structure, Beurs van Berlage, was originally the stock exchange building and is now a music hall, is one of the street's landmarks.

We took a tram to travel to Dam Square. We waited for our time and managed to snap photographs there despite the fact that it was quite busy. The streets of Amsterdam were wide and elegant, busy with the traffic of feet, bicycles, and vehicles. There was an ambiance to it, a very Dutch ambiance, so similar to places I've visited yet with its unique social flavor.

People walking, talking, holding hands, and in linked arms - the street became the visual embrace in my imagination. The street absorbed the fragrance of the foods and the emotions in the air. It was the perfect place to feel the pulse of the city, different cuisines, shops, enjoy music, or sit by the fountain. 

We spent 20 minutes in the Dam square than we had scheduled. We walked quickly to the IJ waterfront. Mr. Clemense informed us that we would immediately board a ferry and cross the river. We became thrilled and walked as fast as we could. We noticed passengers preparing to board the boat with their motorcycles, micro-cars, and bicycles. The GVB IJveer 60-series ferries can carry up to 400-foot people and bikes or 310-foot passengers and bikes, which I thought to be massive and amazing. 

There were digital countdown boards that indicated when the next ferry would arrive. To reach the flight experience located at the A'DAM Lookout tower, we boarded the Buiksloterweg ferry. It took 5 minutes to get there, and the ferries are free of charge. We never passed up the opportunity to snap photographs of ourselves during those 5 minutes.

We felt hungry after we arrived at Buiksloterweg. So we decided to eat something before embarking on our flight experience. Rooftop restaurants are very popular in Amsterdam. Zerina and I typically had hot chocolate whenever we went to a cafe or restaurant, but we chose Brownie with ice cream this time.

They took their time serving us meals, and we were running late. While we waited for our meal, we noticed A'DAM LOOKOUT TOWER. We wanted to go on that swing since it appeared to us to be rather adventurous. We received our menu after half of the group had eaten. So we tried the brownie, and it tasted more like a plum hard cake than a brownie. 

Mr. Clemense hurried us out because we were late for our flight experience. We were disappointed since Marianne, Zerina, and I had not done ours yet. I dashed out with my ice cream, stole their spoon, and ate it on my way to a place named 'This is Holland.'

This is Holland is located between the A'DAM TOWER and the EYE FILM MUSEUM in Amsterdam.

We checked in and spotted an open photo booth within the venue. We shot a lot of photographs and later waited in line for our flight experience. There was a modern kiosk with an automated camera that could snap photographs of us before we walked inside and if we log in to the website using our 'This is Holland' code, it will be visually updated and delivered. We did all these strange postures, and I think the photographs looked more like we were traveling on the flight.

We were led to a waiting room where a documentary on the venue's history was screened. THIS IS HOLLAND allows visitors to feel, see, and experience the Netherlands in less than an hour. Visitors witness an inspirational tale about the history of the Netherlands during a 60-minute tour. The 'Flying Theater,' in which the visitor will soar over 22 magnificent places in the Netherlands during a nine-minute video that we found exhilarating, was the highlight.

It was our turn now. We hopped on our seats suspended in the air to sightsee the country's popular attractions on the huge domed screen. We were not permitted to take photographs and use mobile phones inside. B-O-O-M. We got enthusiastic and sat back in our seats when we heard a voice saying "Are you ready?".

Before we began to travel, Actor Peter Lusse explained the history of the Netherlands in a nutshell on the screen: The flood disaster and even the Romans who called the Netherlands the worst place on earth. 

We fastened our belts as the light went out and the sofa and chairs slipped into the emptiness. We were suddenly able to envision ourselves with forty in the cosmos. The speakers were blasting a classical orchestra. We flew to earth from the starry sky, and a few seconds later we were floating above the enormous tulip fields of South Holland and the windmills of the Zaanse Schans. Our noses were startled by a flowery scent, and the windswept over our hair. When we flew near to the Erasmus Bridge mast in Rotterdam, we had butterflies in our stomachs. While the rest of us yelled in delight, Zerina wailed in terror.

The droplets blew in our faces as we passed across the Wadden and the Afsluitdijk on our way to the untamed North Sea. We arrived in Amsterdam via kilometers of skating rink in Friesland, the woodlands of the Veluwe, and the gardens of Paleis Het Loo. You're back in a chair in a dark room in Amsterdam-Noord nine minutes later. We traveled to the most beautiful sites in the summer, as well as in a fierce fall storm or with a lot of snow, with composed music played by a forty-person orchestra. 

We came out of the room and relaxed while taking quizzes on Dutch history on the screens left in the corridors. It was an amazing experience with such special effects - as wind, mist, and scent that stimulated all our senses and that made us feel like we were really flying through the clouds. We were surprised by the beauty of the Netherlands and fell in love with the feeling of flying.

How nice was your Holland flight experience? Do you also think the Netherlands is the worst place on earth?

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Stay tuned for further strolls around Amsterdam's streets, canals, and visits to the world-famous 'Rijkmuseum.'

Amsterdam is just too huge to include all of my experiences in a single chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed the first half of my Amsterdam experience, and if you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments section or message them to me directly. If you ever get the chance to visit Amsterdam, never try to eat brownies with ice cream. ;)

Livsnjutare has now crossed 1K votes, and I want to thank each and every one of you who never gave up on my story and decided to go with us even farther.

Much love❤

Just Dutch things:

Amsterdam derives from the Dutch word Amstelredamme meaning 'Canal in the Amstel river.'