As we touched down in Schipol we could already see dozen of canals spread across the city.
Jordan and I took the train from the airport to Amsterdam Centraal. The first thing we did when we got there was find a kiosk to buy a pass. We walked up to a kiosk outside of the station and tried to buy 72-hour passes, but freaked out when the total was over EUR 100! We thought there was no way that was right and we were correct. We figured out that the kiosks outside of Centraal are for tickets throughout the Netherlands, but that there are kiosks just inside where you can purchase tickets for the buses and trams in Amsterdam. Those were around EUR 17. Much better!
A great thing about travel in Amsterdam is that they have a great website with detailed information for tourists. This is super helpful for creating an itinerary and getting information on the go.
Our AirBnb was in the Oostelijke Eilanden (Eastern Islands) neighborhood. We had a great view of the bay and were about a block away from the Python Bridge. This neighborhood is very modern and hip with lots of great bars and restaurants in walking distance, but is also much quieter than old town Amsterdam. We really enjoyed the distance we had from old town and the Red Light District since it was still quick and easy to take the bus over there.
We arrived in Amsterdam on a Saturday night. We took the bus back to the center of town and it was bananas. There were huge crowds of people. In the Red Light District area it was difficult to even walk through the crowds of people drunk and yelling. For some, that is exactly what they were looking for.
Not pictured: hordes of drunk tourists
This was a bit much for us, so we took ourselves back to the Oost area and grabbed some beers and some fresh salmon at Amsterdam Roest. Roest is a trendy bar in an old factory I had heard about watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s show, The Layover. This place was much more our speed. Outside there were lines of picnic tables and twinkle lights shining above. There was a fire pit which made it much more comfortable to have a beer in the chilly early April evening. Inside, music played in the dimly lit industrial space. There was a great selection of craft beers and our salmon and pickles plate was delicious. I highly recommend this bar, especially to enjoy the outdoor area in the summer sunshine.
As we did in the other cities we visited, we ate much of our food from the grocery store. Jordan and I both love bread and cheese so we were in heaven in every European city we visited. In Amsterdam, we got to eat insane amounts of Gouda. This is a great way to still enjoy the specialty foods a place has to offer without breaking the bank.
“My favorites gouda!”
The first thing we did in the morning was go to the Rijksmuseum. The Rijksmuseum is a massive art museum with pieces all the way from the Middle Ages to Contemporary. When we walked in we had our coats and bags checked, which was free. I would recommend only bringing your phone and/or camera through the museum.
I really enjoyed the HIgh Middle Ages section of the museum as I had studied the period in college. However, the main attraction at the Rijksmuseum is the collection of Rembrandt and Van Gogh pieces. We stopped in a café inside the museum and had coffee and a stroopwafel (thin waffle cookies with syrup in the middle). The coffee in Amsterdam, like in Berlin, was very dark and heavy. At this point in the trip I was really liking it.
For lunch, Jordan and I went to a restaurant called Tomaz. We sat outside in a narrow alleyway and ordered frites and bitterballen. Amsterdam is known for their great fries with mayo. I was skeptical about mayo as a dipping sauce but Holland proved me wrong! Bitterballen are fried gravy balls and I’m honestly shocked they aren’t a thing in the US. They were tasty and indulgent.
After lunch we headed back to the Oost neighborhood to the Brouwerji t’Ij, a brewery in an old windmill. I felt like nothing could have been more Dutch. At this point in the day the sun was warm and shining so we enjoyed our IPAs at one of the long tables outdoors. The beer we had there were fantastic and the location was amazing. Jordan and I both got excited when we saw one of the bartenders there wearing a Snake River Brewing t-shirt. Who knew we would get a little reminder of our home state in Amsterdam?
That night we enjoyed the highlight of our trip — a canal tour from Those Dam Boat Guys. For EUR 25 a person you can get a 90 minute canal tour of Amsterdam led by American and Canadian expats. The tour guides know their stuff about Dutch history and have a great sense of humor. We got to enjoy some beers in a cozy heated boat that had lots of blankets provided. We met our tour guide in Jordaan. On our way, we walked through the Red Light District area and we were amazed by how much better and quieter it is on a Sunday night.
The next morning we took the tram down to Vondelpark, the largest public park in Amsterdam. We got coffees and strolled through the lush green park. Even this early in spring we saw some tulips.
From Vondelpark we headed over to the Bloemenmarkt, the world’s only floating flower market. We walked through the colorful stalls and admired the tulip bulbs and Dutch souvenirs. The bright colors brought me joy on a grey day.
Right across from the Bloemenmarkt is a fantastic Indonesian restaurant called Sampurna. Jordan and I ordered a spread of food because we wanted to try as much as we could. As we ate we enjoyed the people-watching through the front window of the cozy restaurant.
For dessert Jordan and I made the trek to Winkel 43 for the best apple pie in Amsterdam. We ordered a slice to share and two coffees. The restaurant was packed, given its reputation, but we were still able to find a seat to enjoy our pie. Before we knew it we devoured the delicious pie.
We were plenty full but that didn’t stop up from heading to the Cheese Museum. Our original plan was to see the Anne Frank House, but we didn’t get there early enough and the line was winding down the street. We were disappointed, but if anything could help it was free samples of cheese. On our walk over Jordan stopped in his tracks. He gestured ahead to me and pointed out that two musicians we both really like, Jonny Fritz and Josh Hedley, were standing 10 feet in front of us. We said hello to them on our way. Unfortunately they weren’t there for a show, so we weren’t going to see any spontaneous country concerts that night.
The Cheese Museum is more of a large cheese shop. In the basement, there are a few educational materials about the making and history of cheese, as well as some large wooden shoes for photo ops. This was alright and was a quick and fun thing to do. However, the upstairs was a shop selling hundreds of types of gouda cheese with free samples available for each one. That was by far the best part in my opinion, and I ate as many samples as I could take after a delicious lunch and dessert.
I was pretty chilly and felt guilty at this point about stealing Jordan’s jacket, so we stopped at H&M to get a few warm things. I bought an extra pair of black leggings, a pair of jeans, a beanie, a cardigan, and a dress. There was a sale and I no longer had bag restrictions, so I didn’t feel too bad about adding to my luggage.
Jordan and I grabbed beers at the end of the night at a quiet cozy bar. We didn’t stay out too late because we had an early train ride to Brugge to catch in the morning.
