I don’t know if I’d ever tell anyone the entire story of what happened in Amsterdam. But I’ll give you the gist.

On our way into the Netherlands, our trip manager told us we had the option to attend the sex show that night. I don’t think anyone opted out.

When we arrived at the hostel, we got ready for a night out and then headed down to the lounge for dinner. A few of us did tequila shots to get into the right headspace.

*Wandering Amsterdam, admiring the canals*

We walked through the red light district on our way to the show, which was so strange but also was definitely one of those moments that felt like, “I am here. This is happening”. Then we saw the sex show. Which I am not going to recount for you now – you just have to go for yourself.

After the show, a bunch of us walked to the bar. I was Lots of Alcohol deep at that point and just enjoyed the rest of the night, hanging out with some travellers in our Contiki group I’d never spoken to before.

It was a great way to kick off our time in Amsterdam.

Early the next morning, we got on the bus and learned about cheese and clog-making in Holland, and then got to sample some cheese.

Then we got dropped near the city centre and me and my bestie had a hot chocolate on our way to the van Gogh museum. We had bought tickets to see the museum a few days prior, and were both super excited to see his work.

Once we were inside, it was like a dream come true.

I saw the sunflowers and the bedroom; we learned about van Gogh’s life; we probably spent just as much time in the gift shop trying to find the perfect, beautiful souvenir, as we had spent staring at the sunflowers.

I’m so happy to be able to check this museum off my bucket list.

When we were done at the van Gogh museum, my friend went her own way and I got in line for the MOCO modern art museum.

I’m a huge fan of modern and contemporary art, so this museum really struck all the right chords. The MOCO had pieces by Banksy, Kusama, and many artists I’d never heard of but instantly loved their work.

*Adam Parker Smith sculpture at the MOCO Museum*

I found myself wandering out of the MOCO feeling a bit dazed – the last few rooms were interactive light pieces – but I had a group of friends waiting for me outside so we could all go to lunch! What a lovely surprise that was.

So the group of us all went to a place literally called Pancakes to satisfy our pancake cravings. A couple of us ordered pancakes with banana, bacon, and hot peppers in them. SO delicious.

Pancakes in Amsterdam are very thin and similar to the crepes I’m used to, and I’m of the belief that anything with bacon or hot peppers has to be good. I miss these pancakes.

That night, we got all dressed up for a fancy last dinner and a night on the town I’d never forget. It was absolutely pouring rain outside, but that didn’t put a damper on our parade. We headed to the Restaurant 1e klas – a restaurant literally inside Amsterdam’s Central Station and had classic Dutch dishes while we toasted to our final night.

Then it was time to hit the bars and celebrate our last night in Europe together.

The first bar we hit offered 10 shots for €10 and cranked amazing pop tunes. Including the helicopter song our trip manager had taught us about in Austria, that we definitely all danced to together. I ended up having More Than I Probably Should Have, but it only added to the fun. Dancing and singing along to ABBA, the Spice Girls, and Taylor Swift was a great way to start off the night.

Just as we were getting comfortable at the first bar, our trip manager led us to a second bar – one that spun similarly classic millennial tunes. But this place had a pole off to the side of the dance floor for anyone feeling particularly confident. People always were, and it was so much fun.

It was such a good time just letting go and dancing to Journey, The Killers, Beyonce, ABBA – songs I’ll never remember as the backdrop to a night I’ll never forget.

A friend and I ended up dancing for hours. We’d stop every once in a while to grab another drink, but every song was a Good Song that drove us back to the dance floor. Eminem, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears. Before I knew it, I looked up and our entire Contiki group had left for the night. The bar was almost empty and it was 3:00 in the morning.

Instead of calling it a night, we were so high on all the excitement that we walked around Amsterdam for another couple of hours. By the time we got back to the hostel, it was nearing 6:00 a.m. And we had to be up by 7:00 to get on the bus.

Every morning we listened to our travel anthem on the bus, and on that final morning, it finally rang true. “I don’t need no sleep, cause I’m already dreaming.”

It was the best final night I could have asked for. But after a long day of travelling on the bus, we arrived in London and it was time to say goodbye.

Goodbye to our friends, who felt like family for the past month.

Goodbye to our trip manager and bus driver, who had been amazing guides and made this epic journey what it was.

Goodbye to all the good times we had.

It wasn’t our adventure anymore, now it was just a series of amazing memories we’d always have to look back on. And I don’t know about the rest of the group, but I’ll never be able to forget anything we said goodbye to that night.

It was a month of solo travel that changed who I am.

I met people from around the world who I’ll always be friends with. I had experiences that I never thought I could have. I was introduced to the person I could be.

And I’ll never go back to the person I was before this trip.

Eurotrip: Final stop, Amsterdam

It was a month of solo travel that changed who I am.

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