Amsterdam, Netherlands

I absolutely loved Amsterdam. It’s such an infamous place that before I arrived I had heard all sorts of different things about it – both good and bad. But for me, apart from a very cold, wet first night and a mediocre hostel, it was all good.

Amsterdam is such a beautiful city. It’s so wonderful – just all green and lush, canals everywhere, old buildings, adorable little cafés (the regular kind and the smoking kind) and restaurants and boutiques everywhere. I got the feeling that I could have stayed for months (or years!) and still not have explored all of the lovely spots the city had to offer. I could have spent days wandering around the Vondepark and many nights exploring the Red Light District. Amsterdam is a city with a lot of history and politics and I found it all incredibly fascinating. Plus, it’s beautiful: it was amazing to just sit on a bench under some trees and watch the world go by.

I was only there for a few days before heading off to London to finish up my adventure, but I loved the time I had. I was staying right near the Museumplein (where the I Amsterdam sign lives!) which was perfect to access the tram transportation to downtown and right next to the Vondepark (a big beautiful park in the middle of Amsterdam). Like I said, my first night was cold and rainy, but I still ventured out to near the Flower Market (bought some beautiful tulip bulbs for the gardening ladies in my family) and ate a huge falafel from Maoz (a chain I discovered I loved in Barcelona) before coming back to my hostel for a cherry beer (sounds disgusting, ISN’T.) and heading to bed to dry out my wet clothes and shoes – yuck. The next day I did a walking tour (awesome, as always) and learned more about the city. I spent the day with two girls I met on the tour, eating french fries (Amsterdam has some of the best fries I’ve ever had!), walking around, and visiting the Anne Frank House. It’s quite an incredible experience, seeing the rooms Anne Frank and her family lived in, and imagining their situation. I found it very powerful.

That evening, we took a guided tour of the Red Light District. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgable: his first job in Amsterdam was as an errand boy for the sex workers and has since befriended and interviewed many of them – his name is Mark and he’s amazing. He took us through the area (surprisingly family-friendly, not seedy or dirty in the slightest) and explained the laws, the policies, the breakdown of how the industry works, and told personal stories as well. I couldn’t recommend the tour more highly. Additionally, Mark is a great resource for all things Amsterdam and recommended an outdoor street market the next day where I spent a few hours wandering around and had the most delicious apple cake I’ve ever had. That evening, I met up with a lovely couple I’d met on the night train from San Sebastian to Lisbon (crazy!! but amazing) and it was like meeting up with old friends. We wandered the Vondepark, had drinks, had dinner, strolled along the canals and had a wonderful time. It was the perfect way to end my time in Amsterdam. The next morning I was off to meet family in London!

Favourites:

  • Winkel 43: the best apple cake, possibly in the world. It’s right next to the big Saturday market so it’s the perfect place to start or end your market day. It’s packed full of families and couples and friends, and it has a wonderful atmosphere.
  • Sandemann’s Red Light District Tour: totally respectful, informative and interesting. Ask for Mark! (His website also has a ton of great suggestions for things to do in Amsterdam).
  • Vleminckx: delicious fries with about a hundred options for sauce/toppings. Amazing.
  • Noordemarkt: the wonderful Saturday market!

Plum Cake

We interrupt this travel journal for a brief update.

I’m home! I’m back. I’ve been busying myself making podcasts, making myself healthier, making lists, making plum cake. I’m trying to be productive. I’m trying to make plans. I’m trying to get a job. I’m trying to breathe when I feel like I’m under an immense amount of pressure to “be successful” and decide “what to do with my life”. I’m missing my friends like crazy (we scattered across this fine country and beyond after graduation) and I’m trying to keep in touch with them.

I’m appreciating the beautiful fall weather. I’m loving all the delicious smells that come out of my family kitchen. I am grateful I don’t have to pack up my things every few days or have cold showers or share a room with seven other people. I am enjoying getting back into a bit of a rhythm in my days. I’m working on keeping my thoughts balanced and positive. I’m loving being around people who love me unconditionally, I’m happy to be having meaningful conversations. I’m happy.

I made this cake because my mom bought a bunch of beautiful plums at the farmer’s market and they weren’t getting eaten. The same day she bought them, Deb from Smitten Kitchen posted a recipe for a Purple Plum Torte. Synchronicity! I’m aiming for more of that in my life.

The recipe couldn’t be simpler, or more satisfying. I followed her instructions exactly and it came out absolutely perfectly. She recommends not trying it until the second day, because apparently that way the flavours have a chance to mingle. I didn’t try it the first day, so I can’t really confirm. But the second day? Wow. It’s delicious. It’s such a simple recipe but couldn’t be tastier. There’s lots of yummy caramelized bits, the cake is moist, and the plums have so much flavour. Plus, it’s gorgeous, isn’t it? It’s so beautifully rustic.

I love almost every recipe Deb posts (um, this margherita pizza??), and would love to get my paws on a copy of her beautiful cookbook. Someday. For now, I’ll keep making the wonderful recipes from her blog.

Happy eating, everyone!

Munich, Germany

You’d never guess from these photos, but for the majority of my time in Munich, the weather was miserable. And after a solid two and a half months of absolutely perfect weather (I can count on three fingers the number of times it rained or wasn’t a sunny blue skies day) it was a bit of a rude awakening to find myself in a much colder, much rainier climate. I didn’t have many cold-weather clothes with me, and my little canvas shoes got soaked through in no time at all. I also felt myself getting sick, so I did a lot of sleeping, and one of my two days in Munich was spent indoors at my hostel (the first and only time I did this on my *entire* trip!) with a quick trip to the train station for food and to ask about train reservations.

But it wasn’t all bad, by any means! The train ride from Venice to Munich alone was reason enough to visit Munich – I was lucky enough to see some of the most beautiful landscapes and scenery I’ve ever seen. It’s all lush and green, with enormous mountains towering on both sides of little villages (and even littler trains) and mist everywhere. It’s inexplicable, but it’s gorgeous. I spent the majority of the ride nursing a tea in the dining car, gazing out at the countryside. It was lovely.

In Munich itself, my experience varied. My first day, I marched out into the city, only to be met with rain seemingly every time I stepped outside (which, obviously, subsided as soon as I ran for cover – at one point it was actually laughable, the consistency with which this phenomenon happened). There was thankfully a stretch of sunny skies weather in the afternoon and I got to explore the English Gardens, Munich’s largest and most beautiful park. It’s a great park: people everywhere jogging, eating, climbing up to the gazebo on the hill, and even surfing!

After being in Italy for almost a month, I was craving something other than Italian food (Italy doesn’t have much good food of cultures besides its own!) – specifically, Asian. My first night, I was too tired to venture very far in the pouring rain, so I went across the street from my hostel to a very German place: think pretzels, schnitzel, waitresses in dirndls, big family-style tables and lots and lots of beer. It was extremely busy, so I got the single vegetarian dish on the otherwise totally-carnivorous menu – mushroom gravy with a dumpling. I took it back to my hostel bed and it turned out to be a lovely, hearty meal. The other nights, I ventured out to Asian restaurants and was psyched to be eating fried rice, spring rolls and curry. Amazing.

When I initially planned to stop in Munich, it was because I’d had it recommended as a nice city en route from Italy to Amsterdam. At the time, since I’d be stopping there in September, it didn’t even occur to me that Octoberfest might have been on. Turns out, it wasn’t – it started two days after I left. It was a shame! But I was excited to keep moving and keep my rendez-vous with my cousins in London and relatives in Wales. It was cool to see them setting up the fairgrounds (right near my hostel) for the festival, but after meeting some of the people who came to Munich for Octoberfest (including one guy who threw up all over himself and his bed next to me in the dorm room) I decided it was probably for the best I didn’t go this time around – I’ll just have to come back with a few friends another time. :)

Favourites:

  • Jasmin Asia Cuisine: delicious food, amazing service, peaceful restaurant.
  • MiMi Asia Restaurant: a quiet neighbourhood place, full of locals, where I had a really amazing curry
  • English Gardens: this park is so wonderful to explore! Don’t miss the surfers near the entrance to the park.

Venice, Italy

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Venice is a really special place. I had heard mixed reviews from other travellers before I arrived, but I totally fell in love with the city. I was there towards the tail end of tourist season (mid-September), but I can’t imagine what the place is like in peak season, since it still seemed fairly busy to me. But it’s easy to escape the tourists a little bit and get lost in Venice – in fact, I tried to get lost intentionally because I heard that’s how you get to discover some of the real character of the place. The fact is that Venice is a pretty touristy place, especially in terms of restaurants, but it also has lots of beautiful churches and cute shops and tons of gorgeous canals and crumbly buildings, you just have to get off the beaten path a bit to find them.

I was only in Venice for two days, but I really enjoyed my time there. I spent it wandering the streets, taking the vaporetto (water bus) up and down the Grand Canal, touring the beautiful St. Mark’s Cathedral, listening to the music of the string quartets playing at the cafés in the square, eating a picnic dinner on the banks of the canal, enjoying delicious gelato, and taking pictures of all the beautiful buildings, boats and waterways. It was lovely.

Favourites:

  • Vaporetto no.1: this water bus line is slow, but it takes you all the way down the beautiful Grand Canal and the ride costs about a sixth of the price of a gondola ride so it’s a great alternative on a budget :)
  • Acqua Alta: this is the most beautiful, charming, magical bookstore I’ve ever visited. Books are everywhere – stacked to the ceiling, filling entire boats, forming steps up to look out over the canal. The store is right on the water, and it’s amazing.
  • Drink an Aperol Spritz: it seems to be the drink of choice in Venice! It’s bright orange and super tasty.
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