My blog from last week

                I am on a train from Amsterdam to Strasbourg and I am ready to be back even though this week has been awesome. This has been my longest trip since I have been to Europe and it has been the most exhausting. We began in Luxembourg, and then went to Brussels, Bruges, and finally Amsterdam. The first part of the week consisted of visiting European Institutions which was very interesting. I feel like I learned a lot more about each one despite having read many articles about each of them. Unfortunately, I feel like that week was one in which some people in our group needed space from others which is why the five days I spent in Bruges and Amsterdam were extra enjoyable.

                I went to Bruges with Jessica, Maria, and Genevieve. We walked all over the city and did much more than we expected to do which was nice. However, in Amsterdam, I feel like I didn’t do much at all due to general lethargy and lack of understanding of the public transport system. Jessica and I did go to some museums, good restaurants, and bars which was a lot of fun. Amsterdam would be a lot more interesting if it wasn’t so touristy. The red light district was fun to walk around but there were so many people that it was hard to get around the souvenir shops. I am glad to say that I am over all of the touristy parts of Europe and enjoy trying some of the things I think the locals would do.  

-Rachel Cooper