Thoughts on Amsterdam

December 25th to December 28th, 2018

Photo by Jace & Afsoon on Unsplash

Things I Did

• Arrived in Amsterdam on Christmas day (from NYC)! The weather was cold, but clear skies and we did not hit any rain during our stay.

• The canals / water is really impressive —much prettier than Venice (in my opinion).

• We bunked at the Bulldog Hostel, a kind of touristy party hostel with lots going on in and around the area. It is located directly in the red light district, right along the water. In hindsight, I actually somewhat regretted this location, as all of the activities and food nearby is really touristy and overpriced. In hindsight, after much exploring, I wish we had stayed further outside the city.

• We took a ferry ride (organized by our hostel) and saw the city lights, was a cool way to cover a lot of ground.

• We walked and walked and walked a ton during the trip. Did a few random things, like go to the WWII and Banksy museums.

• I would highly recommend doing a Mike’s Bikes Tour. I also did one when I went to Munich and can only speak good things of the experience. I am a big proponent of biking as a vehicle for seeing cities, and Amsterdam, in particular, is a really fun place to ride. The flow of traffic is incredible! You also learn a lot about the history of Amsterdam on the tour.

• Ate really tasty Indonesian food at a place called Blauw (probably the best food we had in the Netherlands).

• Also had a really good brunch!

• One of the nights, we went out to a techno night club. It was really cool, felt like a local experience. There are also tons of Irish Pubs (among other places to drink) where you can get some awesome beers. A common theme for this trip was drinking beer and I can tell you drank some really tasty beers throughout! Often (as is the case with many Euro countries), beer was cheaper than water!

Overall thoughts:

• Overall, happy I went to Amsterdam (good vibes in the city all around) but I have no compelling need to want to go back any time soon. I think a lot to learn from the Dutch around water canals, city building, and building culture.

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