After watching the movie Hostel, I'm sure you crossed that idea off from your list of things to do in Europe. But movies are just movies. I stayed in hostels when I traveled to Amsterdam and Barcelona, and those were two of the best experiences of my semester abroad.

The Bulldog Hotel

In Amsterdam, my travel partner Jac and I spent our eight unforgettable - at times forgettable - days at The Bulldog Hotel, literally two steps away from the infamous red lights, an eight-minute walk from Central Station, and a few canals away from the two famous shopping streets and Madame Toussauds overlooking Dam Square. Falafel and donner kebab stores mark every corner, coffee shops are literally every other shop, and bikes swarm the streets.

The Bulldog is a funky, laid-back hostel. The walls on each floor are lined and decorated with a different theme; Jac was obsessed with the drawing on our floor:

The beds are the most comfortable beds you'll ever sleep in, there are lockers to store your belongings, and there’s 24-hour security at the front desk. And right downstairs it has its very own coffee shop! Brown leather couches, DVDs, pool tables, a bar. It was perfect, and so convenient.

There wasn't much availability for the days we were going, so our room ended up occupying twelve people, with me and Jac being the only two girls. A crazy-looking man in the bunk beds across from us was our first impression. As I stared at his wildly frizzy hair and smelt the herbal aroma surrounding him, I definitely thought to myself, "Oh my God, what the hell were we thinking sharing a room with complete strangers?" But he was harmless, and we spent the rest of the trip rooming with these two awesome Scottish dudes and a bunch of normal college guys. Who knows, maybe Amsterdam had just gotten the best of that wacko. It definitely made our experience all the more memorable.
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The Bulldog Hotel
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 220
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Paraiso Travellers Hostel 

In Barcelona, we stayed at the Paraiso Travellers Hostel. I know this is a cliché saying, but Paraiso is truly a home away from home.

Paraiso Travellers Hostel is located in the center of Barcelona. It is run by four multilingual (and adorable!) friends who create an intimate, cozy atmosphere for their guests. The hostel is about a 15-minute walk to the beach, within walking distance to La Rambla, and surrounded by restaurants, bars, and supermarkets-all of the necessities.

Jac and I stayed in a 4-person bedroom with two bunk beds, lockers, a sink and a window overlooking the city. Right outside our room was an adorable colorful communal area with couches, free Internet access, a coffee machine (I was addicted to the lattes-sweet hot milk, yum), magazines and a TV. There was a little balcony with two chairs outside the den area where I would drink my coffee almost every morning.

Paraiso has no curfew and no lock-out policy, so there is no excuse for not exploring Barcelona's brilliant nightlife until the early hours :)
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Paraiso
Ronda de Sant Pau, 55-57 Ppal. 1°
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If the queue in front of the Van Gogh Museum seems endless, then drop it and visit another of Amsterdam’s cultural highlights: The House of Bols!

Maybe you haven’t enjoyed Bols liqueurs or genever for quite some time, but at the House of Bols you have a unique opportunity to relive the experience at the museum's “Hall of Taste”.

The House of Bols revolves around the rich history of the world’s oldest distillery: Lucas Bols, which dates back to 1575. Lucas Bols and Rembrandt were neighbours and Rembrandt once paid one of his exorbitant bills with a painting produced by one of his students. Today, the painting is on display at the museum.

Apart from tasting and smelling, you can find out more about the art of flair bartending at the Flair Booth where you can practice your juggling skills.

The House of Bols is located at Paulus Potterstraat 14 opposite the Van Gogh Museum. The entrance fee is € 10. This includes a free cocktail of your choice in the Mirror bar. Cheers!

Author David Rich Momondo

Prostitutes who exhibit themselves from behind windows in the narrow alleys in the old city center, has become synonymous with Amsterdam. But maybe not for much longer. The city's Mayor, Job Cohen, has announced plans to clean up Amsterdam's infamous red light district and replace prostitutes' windows with upmarket boutiques.
According to the Mayor the initiative has been taken to tackle abuses in the city's sex industry which has gotten out of control.

"The romantic picture of the area is outdated if you see the abuses in the sex industry and that is why the council has to act," Cohen said at a press conference in Amsterdam Monday 17. December 2007. "We don't want to get rid of prostitution, but we want to cut crime significantly."

The city has decided to raise the minimum age for prostitutes from 18 to 21 and demanded that brothel owners and escort agencies apply for permits.
 

If flying to, from or via Amsterdam, why not spend a few minutes at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol Museum, a permanent outpost of Amsterdam’s celebrated Rijksmuseum - home of Holland’s greatest art collection - located in the airport on Holland Boulevard, in the area behind the passport control between the E and F Pier.

The museum is open every day from 7:00 until 20:00 and admission is free. It houses a permanent exhibition of ten works by Dutch masters of the Golden Age from the Rijksmuseum’s collection. A temporary exhibition changes a number of times a year - for example, in honour of the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth, the Rijksmuseum presented an exhibition of works by Rembrandt’s pupils at the airport.

The Rijksmuseum is the first museum in the world to have an annex at an airport, while Schiphol is the first airport with a museum in its terminal.
The museum shop affiliated with the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol offers souvenirs specially crafted for the museum.
The Rijksmuseum is only open to passengers.
www.rijksmuseum.nl

Many hours has been spent in Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport over the years. For some reason it seems like KLM always makes sure that if you have a stop in Amsterdam, it needs to be at least 3 hours. Not that they have “coffee shops” in the airport like they have in the city—or actually they do have coffee shops, but they are frenchise places and are about as charming as the next door macdonalds. The bookstores are predictable, with shelves full of porn, fashion and bestseller books. The tourist shops are full of wooden clogs and anything orange, since this is the nations soccer shirt color. There are large areas for internet connections, but it’s very expensive. You have the food choices of any American mall, including full fledged Americans eating big macs and whoppers Ohio styles.
The Bladerunner like voice that with very short breaks rants about people who are late for their departures, saying that the late person is delaying the flight for all the other passengers and that they are in the proccess to throw your lugguage off the flight, unless you run to the gate and catch your bag in mid air somewhere between the plane and the baggage handlers off limit concrete floor. After hearing about 50 of these messages, one imagines these late passangers running around the huge airport, that if you are somewhat not focused you can easily get lost in. But that’s ok. The airport also has a casino, a massage parlor, a meditation center and a full fledged art museum with Dutch masters galore. If you by chance have brought your children, there are also some nice rooms for children to play in. However, the service that really can calm your nerves in this maze of an orange airport is the “comfort seats”. They are leather lounge chairs, pleaced in somewhat quite areas around the airport where one can lay down, put a sweater over ones head and sleep, while you in your dreams are worried if your lugguage will be thrown off your flight by very tall blond flight attendants in orange, speaking firmly into a big megaphone that you must hurry. Hurry up getting a little shut-eye before your next flight to somewhere far far away. Finally, the best detail at the airport of Amsterdam is the little fly that is in-printed into the men's bathroom urinals. First one thinks its just some unpleasant dirt, but then you look closer, and into the other urinals...trying not to look too strange...and you understand it is a small practical joke to keep you on your toes. Its like a smart street art piece by Banksy, exept its made by the producers of the urinals...and who knows, maybe specially designed for Schipol exclusively.