Amsterdam

So I know it's been about two weeks since I last posted here. That's pretty hard for me to believe. The time is flying by here. Next week I will be halfway done with my stay already, which is even crazier to think about.
This part weekend myself and three of my friends from here went to Amsterdam for the weekend, and had an amazing time. We took a plane on Thursday night at 10:20p.m. local time, meaning we didn't even get to Amsterdam until after midnight. Once we got there, we took a shuttle train from the airport into Amsterdam Central station, and explored the city for a little bit since we were so excited to be there. We ended up going back and finding our hotel, and sleeping for the rest of the night. On Friday, we got up early for breakfast and decided to explore. The city is absolutely beautiful, with canals as frequent as avenues in New York City. We walked to Dam Square, which is the main centre of Amsterdam, and walked around for a bit. One of my brothers from Theta Chi had spent the semester in Amsterdam last year, and told us where we should go, and what to avoid, which helped us find our way much quicker than any book could have. He had us visit one of his friends, Jon, and we couldn't believe how nice everyone is. When you walk into a store or restaurant, everyone greets you as if they know you, something that we're beginning to see a lot throughout Europe. It was also a great feeling being in a place that spoke English again, although we had to train ourselves not to speak Italian. Everyone speaks Dutch and English fluently in Amsterdam, which is great because they welcome you in both, and speak in whatever you respond in. Dutch is almost like a secret language for them that only the locals use. Right down the street from where we stayed was the original Heineken Brewery, which we were looking forward to visiting, but because of renovations, it was closed until the summer. The weather was nice, but colder than Italy by far. Amsterdam made for the first time I had to break out my winter jacket since the plane ride to Rome from the states back in January. We were also very excited when we found a Subway Restaurant (shameful, I know), and ended up having our first taste of American sandwiches in almost 2 months. The city is known to be a party city, which it is, but interestingly enough, the party shuts down around 1am. People live a much more relaxed lifestyle there, and we noticed that stores, bars, and restaurants shut down then they feel like it, not when the sign on their door says they will. Another thing that's interesting is that everyone in Amsterdam also has a very different way of getting around than in most cities I have been to: biking. Everyone rides their bikes so much, that there are actually parking garages for bikes, not for cars. It's really crazy to see.
This Friday, my parents are coming out to visit. I can't wait to see them, and show them around Rome. We're going to be traveling a lot while they're here, and I'm excited for that too. I'll post a new blog right after this about the soccer game I went to yesterday too. Hope all is well back in the states, and keep in touch!

Mike