For the walking tour, a tour guide picked us up from our
hostel and we walked with him as he picked up other students before we arrived
at our main destination. I thought the walk there was kind of interesting
because I got to see some other hostels and areas throughout Amsterdam.
Furthermore, the walk gave me an opportunity to become more acquainted with
cultural customs in different districts. I could see that some areas were more
residential and some areas were livelier. I could tell that people just enjoyed
being around one another and it matched what I perceived on the first day which
is just a calm laid-back type of environment.
During the walking tour, enjoyed listening to our tour guide
because he was a native, very knowledgeable, and he’s traveled around the
world. These qualities let me known that he had a wonderful background to be
able to give us a personal perspective of Amsterdam. A couple things that were
highlighted during the tour were the Anne Frank House, two protestant churches,
and an equality monument. These things resonated with me because they were
symbols for Amsterdam, and they represented the culture of Amsterdam to the
rest of the world. Each one had its own unique message, but all were very
symbolic to me. Our tour guide even surprised us with a sample of aged cheese
from a family-owned restaurant, and it was a very tasty snack.
Today was a wonderful day to experience all of the great
things that Amsterdam had to offer and I felt more prepared to learn and enjoy
more of this wonderful city.
