10 hr layover: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sadly, our trip to Africa had to come to an end. Although I did enjoy myself, there's nothing like laying in your own bed! I was ready to put my bare feet on the floor in my shower, walk around naked, eat whatever I wanted, and wake up whenever I felt like it (that time difference really messed me up)!
While heading back to America, we had a 10 hour layover in Amsterdam, although it was originally suppose to be in London.
Let me keep it real with y'all. . . AMERICA IS THE GHETTO, ok! GHETTO! The moment we stepped foot into Amsterdam, my heart melted. The air quality was so clean! This is because their main source of transportation is bikes, instead of cars. They do have cars, but majority of them are electric. We didn't get to spend too much time there so it is definitely on my "Places to Visit" list. The little that I did get to see, I truly enjoyed. . .
AMSTERDAM AIRPORT SCHIPHOL
We got to Amsterdam around 7am (1am in America). Their mall was clean as hell and full of stores we (Americans) would typically only see inside of the mall. For example, they had a Forever21, Bvloari, Rolex, Gucci, Burberry, Bottega Veneta, and Hermes. I felt poor as hell walking through that mall cause all I could do was look.
after we dropped off our carryons, we went to exchange our money. Apparently they don't exchange Cedi's for Euro's, so we were stuck with the money we had left over from Africa. Instead, we exchanged American dollars for Euro's ($1=0.90). After we got all of our money, we went to grab some food. . .
BRUNCH
We had brunch at Café De Bazel (about 15-20 mins from the airport). The waitress was extremely nice and calm. Keep in mind, we were still use to the lifestyle of Africa so being in Amsterdam took some adjusting.
For example, the waitress told us that our food would be out in no more than 15 minutes. Y'all should have seen how we looked at her. We just knew she was lying, because in Africa, it took us over an hour to get our food, often times, two hours. But just like she said, the food was out in less than 15 minutes, HOT and FRESH!
We didn't have to drink water out a bottle anymore. She brought our water in a nice, cute glass bottle (I wish I had a pic. It was so cute). We were genuinely surprised because we, yet again, experienced another culture shock.
After brunch, we walked around the city and took in our surroundings. The streets are quiet, for there are barely any cars. There were a lot of people walking the streets and it wasn't even past 11:00 am. I've never seen so many people out during the weekday, early in the day. The people were very calm and reserved. It was so quiet, that you would not have known anybody was on the streets if you weren't looking. The scenery was beautiful! The buildings were tall and all seemed to complement one another.
We went to the Red Light District were most of their prostitution occurs. Yes, prostitution is LEGAL! They have everything from brothels to sex shops, live sex shows, museums, sex rooms, etc. We went when it was still day light so it wasn't as explicit as it is at night. No cap, I wish we could've seen it all, lol.
TOUR: SMOKE BOAT RIDE
If you don’t know, marijuana is legal in Amsterdam, therefore, our tour boat was also a ‘smoke boat’ where you can enjoy the highs of marijuana, whilst enjoying your tour on the river.
Being around water is a safe space for me. I was so relaxed during the tour, I didn’t want it to end.
The sight was beautiful. The pictures above do no justice to the actual sight.
After the tour, it was time to head back to the airport to catch our flight. I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked in Amsterdam, but I'll return soon enough with a better update!