Kimmy InAMSTERDAM

Official done in Amsterdam. With school work that is. Yesterday, I had my last class two classes, handed in three final papers and took one final exam. Interestingly enough, I probably won't see any grades until close to September because of all the time it'll take professors to grade, submit transcripts, convert grades from the number scale to the American system and finally get sent to Oregon. Luckily, I've got a lot more to look forward to than...

This past weekend I ventured to the beautiful (and very affluent) city of Geneva, Switzerland. My friend Courtney, her boyfriend Tyler and I caught a short flight out of Amsterdam early Friday and landed around 11am. We took a train to the central station and one of my least favorite things about traveling is the initial frustration of trying to figure out where everything is when you have no map or bearings. We found the tram we needed and head...

This past Friday was Queen's Day in the Netherlands. It's one of the most celebrated and anticipated Dutch holidays, Every year, the Dutch celebrate the Queen's birthday on the 30th of April. Though Queen Beatrix's birthday is actually in January, when it's too cold to party, she decided to continue with her mother's birthday in April and she now officially celebrates her birthday on April 30th too. Beyond the basis of the day being about Dutch...

Last weekend, CIEE organized a trip to the lovely island of Schiermonnikoog in the north of the Netherlands. After a 3hr bus ride and a 45 minute boat ride, we arrived on the island Friday night and got our rented bikes and headed towards our hostel. Note: it wasn't just any hostel, the hostel was actually a farm that we had all to ourselves. We got an "American" style feast for dinner complete with cole slaw, spare ribs, potato salad and all the...

I spent this past Easter weekend in the gorgeous city of Paris. It definitely lived up to it's name - "City of Lights". I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful city at night. My friend Rachel and I took the bus from Amsterdam to Paris. Which will probably be the last time I ever take the bus. After 9hrs, some traffic and a horrible bus driver who kept getting stuck mid-turn - we finally made it into Paris Friday afternoon. After getting settled...

Wow. So I just got back from an amazing weekend in Barcelona. I had to play some catch up for being gone and pump out two papers after getting back to Amsterdam Monday morning. Anywho. All school aside, I cannot wait to share how much fun I had in Barcelona. I could easily move their in a heartbeat.I set out Friday morning from Amsterdam on a short, less than 2hr flight. I landed around noon to beautiful sunshine and immediately had to rid myself...

Last weekend, I explored the wonderful city of Berlin. Me and four other girls took a 10hr night bus on Thursday night. For the price, it wasn't a bad option. Minus the obnoxious Dutch girls sitting behind us who proceeded to talk all and braid each other's hair through the entire night. The downside to having 99.9% of the Dutch population speak fluent English is that you can't talk about them without them knowing. So with a few hours of sleep...