Dear Avery,
Amsterdam is everything I dreamed of, and more. I’m here now on my last day, in the backyard of my adorable hostel (Coco Mama), writing this to you. The sunshine is out. The breeze is lovely. The leaves are rustling. I can hear the roar of the scooters from the street as the house warming cat, Joop, is roaming around my feet.
I set out for this solo traveling experience to be more of a soul searching adventure than just a vacation, and I got my wish.
I’ve gotten lost many times, but found my way back (thank you Google Maps). Didn’t freak out. Just kept going.
I met two locals at a Japanese restaurant. One was the owner of the place, the other a street vendor who sells amazing Spring Rolls. We drank cold sake — and talked about our traveling adventures from all over the world.
I rode the canals on two separate occasions, and enjoyed very minute. One of the most breathing-taking things you can do in the city.
I took a 3 hour bike tour with other Americans (the day before it was all Aussie’s – go figure!). And met some incredible people — more on that later.
*Side note: Biking in this city is insane. It’s fast. It’s dangerous at times. And has it’s own signal system that is very confusing to even people that live here. Luckily, I didn’t fall or get run over.
I walked around Anne Frank’s Annex and was humbled by the fear and the hope that lived in those walls. (A deeper blog for another time).
I walked through the Red Light district as a local told me that it will probably be a thing of the past in the next 10 years. A district of legal prostitution — real women in lingerie standing in windows. It was a tragic thing to see, but also, I see the liberating side of it too if they each chose that profession. Some do.
I ate the most delicious waffles with Nutella I’ve ever had. And drank strong coffee with them.
And yes, I saw Flamingos in Amsterdam — even on the canals.
All memories that I will keep with me for a lifetime. But even more so… I found myself throughout the trip telling myself:
“You were meant to be here”
“I can’t believe this really happened”
“I’m really proud of myself”.
The last one is a funny one:
“I’m really proud of myself”.
It’s not something we say often to ourselves. We don’t validate ourselves enough when we make big life decisions — that it’s actually really brave.
Stepping out of your comfort zone and going into a “fight or flight” mode is something to be proud of. I could feel the racing of my heart beat at the airport as I waited to board that plane — thinking: you could turn back right now. You don’t have to do this. But I did. Once that plane took off, my anxiety subsided because I was already doing it. I went into a “OK — here’s goes nothing” mode. And I’m so proud of myself for making that happen (especially given my history of anxiety that can be crippling at times).
So here’s to pushing yourself.
Here’s to being uncomfortable, and feeling your way through it.
Here’s to seeing the world. And experiencing new people and cultures.
Here’s to new adventures that await you when you give them a chance.
More to come (and see! I took a million photos) about the magic of Amsterdam.
With Love,
Aunt Megs
With Love, Aunt Megs 