I knew we were going to enjoy Amsterdam, but I didn't know I would fall in love with the dreary city. It truly impressed me. We went on a boat tour (thanks Jordan for the recommendation), and we learned more about the city on our 2 hour trip than any guide book could have told us. Here are a few fun facts about Amsterdam we learned:
-Over 90% of the population does not own a car, many of those individuals bike!
-With over 85% of the population biking, there are no helmet laws, and only 6 fatalities a year occur on average. Crazy!
-There are more canals in Amsterdam than in Venice
-Most coffeeshops are frequented by tourists, namely British men
-The average person spends only 5 minutes in the RLD (Red Light District)
-Amsterdam is not known for many foods, but Dutch Apple Pie is one thing they are known for
I am not guaranteeing any of those facts are actually true, however they sounded like it coming out of our tour guide's mouth. hehe
Days in Amsterdam: 2
Transportation: Walking & a little public transportation using GVB (We had exact change ready when we boarded buses and trams)
Accommodations: Hotel Iron Horse - lovely hotel in wonderful location. Would absolutely recommend!
Things to Know: Many visitor/tourist attractions require online reservations if you don't want to wait in line for hours. Also you should absolutely do the canal tour!
1st Evening
Hannekes Boom
We got off the train and headed straight for this awesome "locals" bar Hannekes Boom. There were tons of tables but barely any that had space - always a good sign around 6pm. We ordered a beer and cider and snagged the very last table. I had the best cider I have ever had, unfortunately it is brewed in South Africa and I think there are no chances I am ever going to find it stateside. Oh well, looks like I need to go back. The bar is right on the water and they also have a food menu. After drinks we grabbed an ubed to our hotel, and had some brick oven pizzas and crashed!
Day 1
Van Gogh Museum
Amsterdam has 2 pretty large/famous museums. We enjoy art, but with only 2 days (and not wanting to spend 100 euros on art) we decided to only go to the Van Gogh museum over the Rijksmuseum, and I am glad we did. The Van Gogh museum was fascinating and they happened to be running a special about Vincent's insanity and mental status over the course of his career. We learned so much about him as a person and artist. You were not allowed to take many pictures, but it made us take our time and appreciate the beauty instead of focusing on getting the perfect shot. This was a real treat for us. We bought our tickets online with a designated time (the earlier the better) and we got right in. I was pretty glad we did that, as the line when we left was massive!
Walking Around Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a super easy city to walk around! We headed up towards the main train station and shopped, stopping for lunch before our boat tour.
Those Dam Boat Guys Canal Tour
I cannot emphasize enough what a fantastic time we had on the canal tour! We took a tour with David (a human-in-training) and we had an awesome time. We brought a bottle of wine with us (per the hilarious instructions they emailed us after we booked). Although it was pouring for most of our tour, they had ponchos and umbrellas ready. David was extremely informative and funny throughout the tour. He would stop under bridges if it was really raining. We learned so much and he even extended our tour because he felt bad that it was raining. I felt like I was barely paying attention to the setting because I was so interested in listening to the stories and facts our guide shared. This was one of the most memorable parts of our entire trip and WAY worth it.
-Over 90% of the population does not own a car, many of those individuals bike!
-With over 85% of the population biking, there are no helmet laws, and only 6 fatalities a year occur on average. Crazy!
-There are more canals in Amsterdam than in Venice
-Most coffeeshops are frequented by tourists, namely British men
-The average person spends only 5 minutes in the RLD (Red Light District)
-Amsterdam is not known for many foods, but Dutch Apple Pie is one thing they are known for
I am not guaranteeing any of those facts are actually true, however they sounded like it coming out of our tour guide's mouth. hehe
Days in Amsterdam: 2
Transportation: Walking & a little public transportation using GVB (We had exact change ready when we boarded buses and trams)
Accommodations: Hotel Iron Horse - lovely hotel in wonderful location. Would absolutely recommend!
Things to Know: Many visitor/tourist attractions require online reservations if you don't want to wait in line for hours. Also you should absolutely do the canal tour!
1st Evening
Hannekes Boom
We got off the train and headed straight for this awesome "locals" bar Hannekes Boom. There were tons of tables but barely any that had space - always a good sign around 6pm. We ordered a beer and cider and snagged the very last table. I had the best cider I have ever had, unfortunately it is brewed in South Africa and I think there are no chances I am ever going to find it stateside. Oh well, looks like I need to go back. The bar is right on the water and they also have a food menu. After drinks we grabbed an ubed to our hotel, and had some brick oven pizzas and crashed!
The world's best cider! & D's funky beer
The bar from across the bridge
Hotel room
Delicious thin crust pizza with fresh basil and sundried tomatoes!
Day 1
Van Gogh Museum
Amsterdam has 2 pretty large/famous museums. We enjoy art, but with only 2 days (and not wanting to spend 100 euros on art) we decided to only go to the Van Gogh museum over the Rijksmuseum, and I am glad we did. The Van Gogh museum was fascinating and they happened to be running a special about Vincent's insanity and mental status over the course of his career. We learned so much about him as a person and artist. You were not allowed to take many pictures, but it made us take our time and appreciate the beauty instead of focusing on getting the perfect shot. This was a real treat for us. We bought our tickets online with a designated time (the earlier the better) and we got right in. I was pretty glad we did that, as the line when we left was massive!
Walking Around Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a super easy city to walk around! We headed up towards the main train station and shopped, stopping for lunch before our boat tour.
Pastry shop/Bakery called Stache
Those Dam Boat Guys Canal Tour
I cannot emphasize enough what a fantastic time we had on the canal tour! We took a tour with David (a human-in-training) and we had an awesome time. We brought a bottle of wine with us (per the hilarious instructions they emailed us after we booked). Although it was pouring for most of our tour, they had ponchos and umbrellas ready. David was extremely informative and funny throughout the tour. He would stop under bridges if it was really raining. We learned so much and he even extended our tour because he felt bad that it was raining. I felt like I was barely paying attention to the setting because I was so interested in listening to the stories and facts our guide shared. This was one of the most memorable parts of our entire trip and WAY worth it.
Floating Flower market
light drizzle
Warm apple pie after our chilly boat tour
We finished our day with a stroll through the RLD (we lasted about 15 minutes, needed to beat the average), headed out for dinner, and crashed at our hotel.
Day 2
Anne Frank Museum
One of the things I knew I wanted to do on this trip was make it to the Anne Frank House. As soon as we figured out when we would be in Amsterdam, I looked up tickets to visit this iconic landmark. I was devastated to find out they were sold out. You could wait in line in the evening for general admission, but I knew we wouldn't have the time to spend all day waiting in line. Thank goodness a few weeks before we left I happened to look one more time and they happened to have 2 spots at 8:45am! I was ecstatic. They ended up adding more time slots in the AM. I cannot stress this enough - if you know you want to go you MUST purchase tickets in advance. This is a new system and we saw hundreds of people turned away who did not know this. We got right in and were able to explore the house. Anne was a wonderful writer and it was so sad knowing she was never able to meet her full potential. Even more crushing was thinking of the thousands of others who suffered a similar fate and whose names are not famous. It is so easy to say something like that will never happen again, but I think we are fooling ourselves to think that humans do not have the capacity to be that awful again. I wish I could say otherwise. But Anne was such an inspiration, it makes you feel like each person has such a significant role in history. The house is an absolute must if you visit Amsterdam- sobering and inspirational.
Pancake Bakery
After our hour-ish tour of the secret Annex, we headed for dutch pancakes (thanks Alex for the recommendation). We snagged a table next to some Penn Staters - they are everywhere! I had the banana with nutella and Dustin had the breakfast special - plain with bacon. The servings were HUGE and absolutely delish. Dustin the champ was able to finish his, me not so much.
Banana with Nutella
Heineken Experience
Heineken's original brewery is located in Amsterdam. We bought tickets to the "experience" ahead of time and could then go in at anytime. The tour was self guided and pretty informative. We learned a lot and got 3 beers each out of the deal, so overall a pretty awesome experience! After our tour we stopped for a late lunch at The Butcher - a little burger place right around the corner. I was delighted that they had chicken nuggets (chicken is not quite as common abroad as it is here!) And their fries were so yummy. It was a wonderful lunch :)
Rooftop deck at the Brewery!
Chicken Pip at The Butcher - YUM!
Dustin's burger
For the rest of our time in amsterdam, we shopped around, visited the Tulip museum, stopped at the insanely busy Iamsterdam sign, and ended at Vondelpark before we headed to the airport. What a perfect trip!
Tulip factory
iamsterdam sign
Bikes at Vondelpark
See ya soon Amsterdam!
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