Our Trip : Amsterdam
I don’t know what hasn’t been said about this great city that I can’t help fill in. Personally, Amsterdam has been like a first love and feeling of pure adoration. From the moment I set foot and looked up at the tall crooked buildings, I knew there was something special about this city for me. Art, culture, night life, freedom of choice, winding streets, picturesque canals and some remarkable history; I truly felt like the city had all that I yearned for in a place to live. Getting to explore this city on a second time around has taken that first love and changed it into something more complex. If I could better describe my first visit, it would much be like the strike of match; a quick burst of energy and life. Our second visit was more of a slow burn. We spent more time in the city and we took our time to take in everything it had to offer. I wouldn’t say it was neither better nor worst than my first visit, but only different. If anything, this trip allowed my perspective to widen a bit more. I was able to see past my rosy glasses and take the city into a more realistic perspective.
During my first trip, I was enamored by the many daytime details of Amsterdam. From the bicyclists and bridges to alley cats and gable stones, I loved seeing the activity during the day. This time, my attention was caught more by the activities at night. From the dusk lit parks and dotting street lights, the city came into it’s own alter-ego at night. From my first trip, I remember much more quiet moments and empty streets during any time of the day. This time, Amsterdam was a buzz with tourists, sports cars, and oh-so-many red lights.
We tried exploring new neighborhoods. We ate at different restaurants. We experienced new things.
So here are some travel and accommodation details:
- We flew into Schiphol Airport and took the Sprinter Train that runs directly into Centraal Station.
- We purchased a GVB multi-day ticket to help get around the city.
- The majority of our stay was in the Jordaan Neighborhood through Airbnb at this apartment.
We rented bikes from Rent-A-Bike Amsterdam since it was close to where we were staying. Some bike rentals require that you place a cash deposit when renting. Besides the location, we chose this business because they accepted credit card deposits over cash.
Places we visited during our stay:
I went to my first music festival called Mysteryland. It was fantastic! I didn’t have too many expectations prior and I was happily surprised to find well over 25 different stages set up and playing at one time continuously throughout the weekend. The location was held at a park in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands. The event made great use of the park and had some interesting art installations throughout. This was one of the few times we actually took an Uber to get there since we didn’t want to rent a car and the public transit options were fairly limited. It was amusing to see that Uber offered Choppers that weekend to get to the festival. And no, we did not take a helicopter there. 😂 🚁
We went to the Anne Frank House. You have to purchase tickets well in advance. Especially in the summer months, tickets and availability are limited. I was lucky enough to go in person one morning to find out that there were some cancellations and therefore some available tickets that afternoon. (Side note: I loved going. It’s well worth the wait and lines. I ended up balling my eyes out. It was very emotional and nearly unreal to see her bedroom with pictures still on the walls.) No pictures of this experience since they do not allow photography within the museum. ❤️
We took a book tour through Gray Line/Holland International Canal Cruises. Canal tours are a dime a dozen in Amsterdam, you really can’t go too wrong with any of them. This cruise was 1-hour long, cost about € 15 euros each and came with an English audio tour as the boat snaked its way through the various canals. I mostly enjoyed it for the picture taking opportunities.
We visited Amsterdam’s Hortus Botanicus. There’s a € 8,50 fee to get in but we found that it was worth it. They have a wide array of different plant life and several greenhouses that are broken into different regions of the world. They have an on-site butterfly garden and their cafe boasts a fabulous lunch menu full of fresh teas and healthy toasties.
We spent a good part of an afternoon at the Rijksmuseum. It was nice to see some famous work up close and the museum has several floors of different art from all time periods. I especially enjoyed getting to peek into the inner library full of floor-to-ceiling books. 😍
We strolled around the Waterlooplein, Amsterdam’s oldest flea market. We found mostly junk there but it was fun to browse around the different stalls.
With our bike rental, it made it very easy to get to any place in the city. We spent a lot of time just hanging out in Vondelpark. It’s especially nice to enjoy this park in the summer. Just grab a book, some food and a blanket to lay on… There are a lot of small and secluded sections scattered throughout the park and ample bike paths for easy riding.
Finally, I’ll just mention that we walked. A lot. We ventured in and out of different neighborhoods during all times of the day and night. I took my camera with me for the most part and made use of the “available tripods” that the city offered in order to get a decent night shot. During our last day we went to an amazing sauna called Sauna Deco. Seriously, check out that website and the beautiful architecture found at this bath house! It felt like something from the movie Titanic. The place was very lavish with plenty of amenities. I should note that this bath house is co-ed with a no bathing suit policy. Yes, we were given robes and towels but know that any time you enter a steam sauna or shower you’ll find naked people aplenty. 8 out of 10. Would get naked again. 😂 😳
Places we ate at:
We visited Foodhallen. A very upscale and clean food hall found in Amsterdam’s Oud-West Neighborhood. There’s some local shops that surround the food hall and all of the food stalls prided themselves on their locally-sourced and freshly made food.
We tried some fresh Dutch raw herring from one of the local stalls scattered around Centraal Station. I really enjoyed the taste and would totally order another given the chance. To describe: It was a mixture of fresh fish, salt/brine, and savoriness.
Febo. I love the novelty of Febo. I don’t love its food. Stick some coins in a slot and retrieve your item? Nifty. Watch a man behind the vending machines add more sad looking mystery meats to the empty slots? Very questionable. I’ve eaten worse. 3 out of 10. Would probably not eat again.
The Pantry. I really wanted to try some traditional Dutch food and it was between this restaurant or Moeders. Ironically Moeders was located in the same block as our Airbnb, but we still went to The Pantry. When you step inside the small restaurant you’ll notice the various Delftware and grandfather clocks hanging on the wall. It’s cosy and the staff is extremely nice and open to foreigners coming to eagerly try Dutch cuisine. I ended up ordering the oven dish with cauliflower ground beef, Old Amsterdam cheese, curry onions and mashed potatoes. Basically it’s a Dutch shepherds pie. Thom ordered the hutspot with sausage. His dish was more savory and full of flavor. I order through a fixed menu which also came with Dutch goat cheese croquettes and ended with poffertjes. (Mini pancakes served with butter and powdered sugar) 8 out of 10, would eat there again.
We ate a great Indian restaurant in Jordaan called, Kathmandu Kitchen. We ended up ordering way too much food and asked the waitress to take it to go. I think we offended her since we had so much food to take with us. 😬
On our last evening we went to a great and ubiquitous Italian restaurant that I can’t remember right now. Super fresh pasta and soup. We highly enjoyed it. (I’ll be sure to edit this post when the name comes to me.)
EDIT: The name of the restaurant is Trattoria Caprese. Get their prefixe menu. 👌
After our stay in Amsterdam, we flew back to Stockholm to spend one night at the Radisson Blue SkyCity Hotel. It was a nice stay with a complimentary hot breakfast and free shuttle to and from the Airport. The hotel also has a spa and pool. (Which we didn’t have time to use.) Our flight flew out the next morning so there was no time to further explore Stockholm either.
Overall, we had a great trip this time around. We got to explore several cities, experience new things, and eat some great food.
Here’s some free advice to make for a smoother trip:
- I’m proud to say that we set a budget prior to the trip and we stuck with it through out. I personally spent about 9 months prior saving from each paycheck to add to the “travel fund” we had set for this trip.
- Utilize something like Airbnb and live locally. I’ve been thinking more about our Airbnb and choices. I’ll try and follow up with one last post about our experience, some advice, and tips.
- Get a SIM card for your smart phone and forgo the paper maps/brochures.
- Do some light research of each city and some destinations to see. Pick and choose from that list and keep an open mind for some unexpected experiences that pop up along the way.
- I highly recommend doing heavy research on public transit options before visiting each city. There are so many cards and options available and they vary city to city. Nothing is worse than getting caught in the city itself where you cannot read/understand the language and having to decide right then and there to pick a public transit option. 🙈
- Consider investing in a chip card like Chase Sapphire. Not only can you use it abroad but also boasts no foreign transaction fees, Global lifeline (should you loose your card and need a new one ASAP), and several travel protection benefits. (No, this isn’t a incentivized post, I just really like this card!)
This post is a part of a series based on my recent two-week trip to Europe.
To read this in order:
