Year 12 students from Norwich High Sixth Form enjoy a cultural trip to Amsterdam every year during Big Skies Week. In this trip report, students and staff share their experiences.

Our group took a short plane ride over to Amsterdam, landing at Schiphol airport. Once we had gotten through the incredible airport queues, we were set free in the beautiful city to board the tram and begin our journey. We spent our first day mainly wandering around the RijksMuseum entranced by the beauty of the paintings, sculptures, pottery and furniture displayed on various floors of a magnificent building, just one of the amazing examples of Amsterdam’s stunning architecture. After exiting the museum, we spent our time strolling around Museum Square, partaking in activities such as running through fountains and eating ice cream. Rather than taking the tram all the way back, as a group we decided to walk part way to take in the beauty of the surrounding city. We walked along the side of the canal, which was laced with beautiful alleyways and lots of brightly coloured flowers, as if to mirror the importance of the tulip in Amsterdam. We could see majestic boats gliding gracefully along the dark waters, and the bridge was entwined with hanging baskets. The peace and tranquility struck us in juxtaposition to the bustle of the more touristy areas.

After enjoying breakfast we took a tram to the Stedelijk Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, which contained many interesting and thought-provoking pieces of paintings, statues and more modern exhibitions and we were tasked with choosing a piece of art to recreate. Later that afternoon, we headed to Albert Cuyp Market, which had many stalls of various products, including Greek street food, cannoli and clothes. Following this we went on a canal cruise seeing several of the important sites of central Amsterdam. It was a really peaceful part of an otherwise very active trip. We managed to fit in a quick trip to Dam Square before enjoying a delicious dinner at the Pancake Carousel restaurant, followed by a Dutch-themed quiz on many different topics, including notable people from Amsterdam, a dorm group recreation of an artwork from today and facts from our trip so far.

Sixth Form students began the day exploring the medieval Bejinhof and Amsterdam Flower Market. An exciting and educational afternoon in the Nemo Science Museum was followed by dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and a sobering and thought-provoking visit to the Anne Frank House.

Sixth Form students ventured outside of Amsterdam today and spent the morning at Duinrell Water Park and the afternoon exploring the Dutch capital of the Hague with an unexpected insight into Dutch politics as we witnessed a farmers’ protest. A delicious meal at Humphrey’s ended another action-packed day.

We started our day off bright and early with a breakfast of the Dutch delicacy of Hagelslag (bread with chocolate sprinkles) in our accommodation StayOk Oost. Then we commenced on a journey with our coach driver Dennis, who pointed out the sights, including the student run petrol station. It is the only one in the Netherlands! Once we arrived, we enjoyed an afternoon of waterslides at Duinrell Amusement Park. Some of these could reach up to 70 km per hour! Ones such as the X-Stream really made your knees shake after falling through a trapdoor into the slide below. In the Hague we encountered farmers holding protests to denounce an agricultural bill currently being debated in the House of Representatives. The Hague is the country’s administrative centre where parliament is held. Our tour included spotting the Prime Minister’s office as well as the homes of two of the Dutch Royal family. Finally, to conclude, we went to Humphreys. Here we had a tasty three course meal before heading back on the coach.

Our visit concluded with two quintessentially Dutch experiences – a guided tour of the world-class Van Gogh Museum in the morning, and a visit to the open air museum Zaanse Schans in the afternoon – a perfectly preserved traditional Dutch village, complete with windmills, dykes, sheep and stroopwafel!