Looking back at 2015

My 2015 wasn’t filled with too much travelling, in fact the travelling I done was very few and far between but I made of it what I could. 

I visited 2 places within Europe I had always wanted to: Berlin, Germany and Amsterdam, Netherlands; along with camping in Scotland and a booze filled weekend in Newcastle I did have a great 2015.
 

Brandenburg gate, Berlin and scenic canal views just outside the red light district in Amsterdam

 

I visited Berlin in March (we went to see Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds) but I also got to spend my 22nd there, which turned out to be not too great of an experience so we’ll forget about that for now.. I feel like I didn’t properly get to enjoy Berlin and would love to go back (although the fine I got on the train might stop that). 
 

Amsterdam was great. It was one of the most relaxing times away I’ve ever had (and I don’t think that was just because of the weed)! Amsterdam wasn’t what I had expected of it, in a good way. I think we all assumed it would be a rather seedy place especially along the red light district but even that wasn’t what we expected. 

 

The Angel Of The North

 
Ah Newcastle! Venturing across the border into England we found ourselves in Newcastle for a weekend. Apart from the Angel of the North I don’t think we seen much more than the inside of a club, a booze filled glass and much more of each other than we originally wanted to (that’s a story for another time). Newcastle definitely became a favourite of mine very quickly.

   
   
Truthfully though, no matter how much I love getting on a plane and seeing the world. Sometimes it’s the places closest to home that are the best.

For me this includes a weekend camping with my best friends up Inverbeg. What more could we want than to pitch our tents beside the shores of Loch Lomand, make a fire pit and have a weekend full of laughter and fun (plus more alcohol than you should consume in your life).
Sometimes it’s the simple trips not far from home that can be the best.

I’m hoping my 2016 is filled with so many more adventures (I already know it will be), both with friends and by myself. I can’t wait to see what this year holds for me!

Yasmin x

Girls weekend in Amsterdam – Day 2

 

How beautiful and picturesque is this city?

I’m definitely glad we decided to visit Amsterdam at this time of year. The weathers actually been really great, not to mention Amsterdam just looks beautiful in the Autumn.
Day 2 (Saturday):  

Our second day started off rather early, we were up at about 7am and quickly headed down to have our breakfast in our hostel. It was lovely, consisted of things such as: breads, rice cakes, cheese, meats, fruit, cereal etc. we filled ourselves up on that before starting our day!

 

Anne Frank Huis, such an emotional place.

Our first stop for the day was the Anne Frank Huis. We arrived there about twenty to 9 (it opens at 9am) and the queue was twisted around the side of the building. After it opened at 9, we found it actually moved rather quickly and at 10am we found ourselves entering. 

What a place. I don’t quite know what I was expecting it to be like but it definitely wasn’t what I imagined it to be. The annex was a lot bigger than I imagined it to be for a start (the whole place was), but then I guess if there was 8 people living there 24 hours a day it wouldn’t feel so big! I guess I just imagined something completely different. Although I’ve read about Anne’s journey before going here definitely opened my eyes more to it, learning more about Anne and her family and everyone else that spent time in the Annex hiding. It is a must see when visiting Amsterdam, I would definitely recommend getting up that bit earlier to head along. 

Our next stop was the Amsterdam Dungeons. I have to admit I wasn’t too fussed about going here, having been to both Edinburgh and Berlin dungeons I wasn’t that mad about going. But, I ended up going with my friends. If I could have navigated the trams myself I would have went to the Van Gogh Museum instead as that’s where I really wanted to go, I have to admit though the Amsterdam Dungeons were pretty good. I got picked to go up on the court and try to convince them I wasn’t a ‘witch’ it was a laugh to say the least. 
Two of my friends then went to Madame Tussaud’s, and the rest of us went shopping for both souvineers and clothes. After which we met up and it was back to the hostel for a much needed nap!
We decided to find a nice place to have dinner as it was our last night, and we found ourselves in a nice little place where most of us ended up with lovely pasta dishes. If I could remember the name of the place I would say where but I can’t. 

 

Girls on tour, just before we hit the red light district!

We decided we could not leave Amsterdam without having been to the red light district.  So of course that’s where we found ourselves next. I have to admit, once again.. It wasn’t anything like I expected.
 

Red Light District – full of absolute beauties!

For a start, every single girl was drop dead gorgeous we were walking past just thinking “Why do I not look like that?!” It wasn’t as sleazy as I imagined it to be either, yes you have windows full of practically naked girls trying to entice people in but it wasn’t as crude as we all thought. We’re definitely glad we went a walk along, just to see what it was all about.
Well that was our weekend in Amsterdam. Have you been before? Is there anything we didn’t do that you think we should have? Tell me all. We’ll definitely find ourselves back there one day.
Bedankt en tot ziens! 

Girls weekend in Amsterdam – Day 1

Views as the sun rises on the way to Amsterdam – mooi!

6 best friends + a weekend in Amsterdam = Most chilled out weekend ever.  
Considering we were only there for a short amount of time (Friday to Sunday) I wasn’t really expecting to do that much if I’m honest. But the days seemed super long and we seemed to cram loads into them!

Day 1 (Friday): We had a 6am flight from Glasgow so we arrived in Amsterdam about half past 8. We headed straight to the train and towards where we were staying Stayokay Amsterdam Zeeburg. As our room wasn’t ready we left our bags and headed straight back out to explore some of this beautiful city. Dam, being our first stop. Food was on the agenda which was quickly followed by dropping into our first Coffee Shop, we decided to take it away and took in some sights while having a puff or a brownie.

Having decided all the things we planned to do over the weekend our first tourist spot was to the Heineken Experience. We got our tickets there for €18 each, which I would say was definitely worth it. You learn about the history, how the beer is made etc not to mention a few glasses of beer to enjoy! You get one small glass about half way through and about 3 questions are asked which whoever the first are to answer correct get another glass of beer (I answered correct).

 

Toasting to ourselves

There’s things to do along the way too, game type things, it was definitely enjoyable and at the end a few of us poured our own glass of beer to enjoy, which we got a certificate for. It was a great experience and I would definitly suggest for people to go experience it! 

We headed back to our hostel to get sorted into our room and have a much needed power nap. 

We got ready and headed back out again, we grabbed a quick slice of pizza on our way to the Sex Museum I don’t know what we were expecting but it was an experience to say the least!  

Giant penis’ in the sex museum, this was pretty tame compared to some of the sights we seen!

We got on a tram towards Rembrantplien, and found ourselves in another Coffee Shop. Unfortunately for us it was absolute mobbed and after purchasing our brownies, muffins and pre-rolled joints we went outside and found a pub not too far away where we could sit outside and enjoy ourselves.  

Brownies, Corona and Weed.. What more can you ask for?

Needless to say it was the most chilled out, relaxing vibe ever and I don’t think that was all just to do with the weed! Amsterdam itself just has this laid back vibe and considering prostitution and certain drugs are legal you would think the atmosphere to be completely different. I can completely see why this is one of the safest cities in the world.
Amsterdam is a must! Day 2 coming in my next post!

Bedankt en tot ziens.