I’ve just got back from a lovely four day trip with my boyfriend to Amsterdam (lets call him T as we all need a bit of anonymity in our lives don’t we!), and wanted to share some things to do if you have a short trip there. It was a bit of a last minute decision, accumulating holiday combined with the holiday year coming to an end left me with a week off work and no where to go. After asking around for suggestions Amsterdam popped up a few times, so with two weeks to go we booked our hotel and flights. It was on a bit a whim if I’m honest. We are new into a relationship, my friends thought I was a bit crazy (because I never do things like this…!), my parents were relived I wasn’t going on my own anymore but most importantly I wanted to do it and I have to say it was a fantastic decision.
After a lot of research on both our parts (him on food and me reading lots of blog posts…) we had a list of places we wanted to visit and places we wanted to eat. I don’t think either of us really knew what to expect but armed with a four day itinerary we flew out to Amsterdam.
I just wanted to chat a bit about the hotel we stayed in as we spent a fair while looking at the right hotel for us. As we were going as a couple we didn’t want to be in a party hotel but we wanted to be close to the action. We found ‘The Student Hotel - Amsterdam City’ and instantly loved the look of it. It was modern, four stops on the metro to the central station and a decent price compared to everywhere else. On arrival we were given a Stroopwaffle (more about these gorgeous things later) and given a city map. We headed up to our room and I have to say it was pretty amazing. Spacious, modern, clean… what more could you want? I’d highly recommend staying here if you’re heading to the Dam anytime soon.
We did a lot in the days we were there and walked A LOT but I just wanted to go into the top five things I’d recommend you doing:
Heineken VIP Tour
To my boyfriends delight, this was something I was really keen to do. Beer isn’t my drink of choice but I do enjoy a beer or two every now and again. I’d heard good things about the tour and I know i’d find it really interesting.
Now T found out that they do VIP tours and set into convincing me this was the tour we wanted to do. To be honest the price tag put me off (it was more than double the price of the usual tour, did we really need that?) but once I looked into what you get I was sold. You got a VIP tour guide (in a group no more than 8 people), access to parts of the tour others guests don’t get, a personalised beer bottle and other gifts, and the winner - access to the private ‘Freddy’s bar’ (this costs thousand to rent out privately for a party!) to tase five different beers alongside Dutch cheese. I mean anything with cheese and beer I am there.
Our tour guide Claire was amazing, our group gave her a round of applause at the end (sadly, she said she has never received that before!) and the other staff really made the experience and you feel very special as a VIP.
Leaving on a high (might have had something to do with the six beers but we’ll glaze over that…) we wandered round Amsterdam hand in hand recounting beer facts with massive smiles on our faces. Highly recommend this tour!
Pizza Canal Cruise
I’m pretty sure one of the things that attracted me to T was his love of pizza and the look on his face when he realised that I loved pizza just as much as him. We wanted to do a canal cruise and we were going to book in on one of the normal daytime ones, but then we saw it. ‘Pizza Canal Cruise 8.15pm’. YES. 100% a cruise made just for us. Pizza, unlimited beer and a cruise. Winning. We were on the canal boat for about 2 hours which was the perfect amount of time to make the most of the unlimited drinks, the views and fresh pizza delivered to your boat. It was a great way to get around Amsterdam and learn about the city. Its pretty hard to navigate around the city (well, for me it was) so it was helpful to do this early on and see things that we wanted to go and visit or learn about things that then made us wanted to go and see them. It cost us €39 euros each which I think is really good bearing in mind a normal cruise without drink or dinner costs €18 on average. Win, win!
The Food
Ok, so this is pretty generic but hear me out. Amsterdam is a foodie’s heaven. There is so much for you to try and it caters for all diets (I saw a Vegan Junk Food place). I’m pretty sure I could write a whole blog post on this (maybe thats one to add to the list) but I’m going suggest a breakfast, dinner and snack:
Breakfast - The Breakfast Club - T found this place one morning while I was getting ready (I was probably taking ages… oops) and it was only a quick stroll from our hotel. I mean look how beautiful these pancakes look, that should be enough to convince you to go. Buttermilk pancakes, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, banana and honeycomb butter… damn. They also had some of the best coffee we had when we were out there.
Dinner - Bulls and Dogs - T and I actually found this place separately and sent it to each other so it was a definite visit. I’d read on various on blogs that they were the ‘Best Hotdogs in Amsterdam’ and I have to say they are definitely the best hotdogs that I have ever had. I had ‘The Bacon & Chips Dog’ (chips meaning crips in Holland) and OH MY GOD. Pork hotdog, mustard mayonnaise, bacon and crushed crips on the top. T had ‘The German Wiener Dog' - Beef hotdog, currysauce, sauerkraut and crispy onions. Even though his was good I think we both agreed mine won the hotdog wars. Conveniently it happened to have some of the best milkshakes in Amsterdam too. I had a Stroopwaffle milkshake, I mean look at it. Its like a meal in itself but it was so good. Safe to say we waddled back to the hotel that night.
Snack - Stroopwaffles - Now I’ve heard of these before but I don’t think we would have brought six packets back to the UK if we weren’t given them at the hotel (cheers The Student Hotel!). They are a traditional Dutch waffle with melted caramel in the middle. We had so many in our four days that I pretty much turned into a Stroopwaffle. I might even be eating one while I write this blog post… ok, we all know I am. Head to the Original Stroopwaffle stall in Albert Cup market for the best damn Stroopwaffle you'll ever have.
Sex Museum and the Red Light District
I debated for a while to put these in here but its just something you have to do when you are in Amsterdam, it’s definitely an experience. I wouldn’t say I am a prude but DAMN did I feel uncomfortable at the Red Light District. It took us quite a while to find the bloody thing, it’s not as easy as you would think. So after wandering around trying to find it for a good hour (told you its hard to navigate around!) we walked down this side lane and suddenly there it was. I get it, but it did make me feel very very weird.
The Sex Museum was pretty funny but also pretty baffling. Don’t go in expecting a funny museum because it is full frontal nudity and sex ‘throughout the ages’… but if you fancy a bit of a giggle pay the €5 and have a wander around for an hour.
Vondelpark
We had this recommendation from one of T’s friends and I think if we hadn’t we would have missed out on a beautiful place. Vondelpark, thats right you’ve guessed it, is a massive park in the middle of the city. To make the most of it you really need to hire a bike and cycle around it as it's so big. We decided to go for a little stroll and get food at Vondelpark/3 Kitchen and Bar. Sitting out in the sun drinking Heineken and eating possibly the best club sandwich I’ve had surrounded by beautiful scenery isn’t a bad way to spend a Monday lunchtime.
There is SO much more I wanted to chat about in this post, but I think I'll finish it here. We did so much more and had the most wonderful time. Amsterdam is such a beautiful city with so much more to it than it is known for.
“Some people think Amsterdam is a city full of sin. I think that in a city of freedom some people find sin”
To our next Adventure!
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