#Bitterballen and #Bicycles, all you need for a visit to #Amsterdam. This is a day by day activity guide. Thanks to my excel doc outline.
My husband surprised me with a trip to Amsterdam. (I guess I was good in 2019, as this was a Christmas present, I opened up a printed-out airline itinerary on Christmas morning.) My husband let me know the flights were relatively inexpensive from Pittsburgh, PA and he used points for our hotel, so it wasn’t too expensive, maybe I wasn’t that good? We also went with 2 other couples and planned for a long weekend trip.
Of the 4 other people on our trip, 0 had been out of the country other than an all-inclusive trip to a beach resort in Mexico, so we knew it would be pretty interesting. We left on a Wednesday night, had a quick layover in Heathrow Airport, then landed in Schiphol (Amsterdam Airport). My husband and I know enough now to pack light. We only take carry-ons and do not check bags.
This is due to a number of factors. 1. In Europe, everything is smaller and more confined. 2. When using public transportation, it is easier and more convenient. And 3. We do not want the risk of baggage being lost (layover or not, as sometimes your bags are checked due to space).
Yes, this is tough as I always want to pack multiple outfits and shoes for options. I have learned to pack for what we have planned. (This is why I create excel docs for daily). Also, I have learned to always have a good pair of walking shoes.
I wanted to add in a note in case this is the first time you are reading about longer flights. Usually, with any flight overseas you are provided a meal. This meal comes on one plate that includes some sort of a main course (usually a vegetarian meal is provided), a fruit, salad with dressing, bread, cheese/ crackers a dessert, water, and usually a red or white wine. If you arrive in the morning on flights, you will usually be provided with a breakfast sandwich as well with juice. Consider this when eating before your flights. And yes, the food usually is good.
Now when we landed in Heathrow, we found out about the London Airport security that was new for us and we have not had to deal with before. Once we landed, we had to change planes for our layover, so we had to go through security (not customs). In Heathrow, you are only allowed to carry through in total, 100ml or less of liquids. All of your liquid items must fit into a transparent and sealable bag that is 20cm x 20cm. One per person. This became an issue for me (since this includes all fragrances, cosmetics, toiletries, lip gloss, etc.). Our friends that did not have carry-ons (since they all checked bags) let me put items into their clear bags to get through. This was an inconvenience, so make sure you check each stop for security.
Once we landed in Amsterdam, we took the train to Central/ City Station. My husband watched a few YouTube videos on navigating the train, it turned out to be pretty straight forward, but our friends had no idea and would have just called an uber (they actually did to get back to the airport a few days later). Our friends with the checked luggage did have to haul their suitcases up and down a flight of stairs at one point (again, why a carry on is easier to travel with). We used Google maps on our phones to walk to our hotel (and navigate most of our trip). We all went to our rooms/ hotels, freshened up, and headed to a spot I was craving. Van Wonderen Stroopwafels.
When I planned this walk, (I wrote on my excel doc.) I wanted to make sure we walked along the canals and not through the streets… We were in for a surprise.
Canals are everywhere, every other street is a canal. It would be very difficult to avoid and miss a street on a canal. I even did a lot of research! It is just tough to picture how wide and big the streets are until you are there. Speaking of the streets… Most of the streets are cobblestone, narrow, and one way.
This gets us to BIKES! Everyone has a bicycle. There are bikes locked up everywhere. A bike is the city’s main transportation. There are bikes with baskets, car seats, animal baskets, secret compartments, and every bike has a bell. It is expensive to have a car in Amsterdam, so a bike is a clear way to go. Bicyclists have the right away no matter the type of street, and they will make sure you are aware- Yes even over pedestrians. And they will make sure you are aware with a lot of ding, dings from the bell. If you ever look at a picture of Amsterdam of a bridge over a canal, I can guarantee you will see a bicycle locked up. You have to watch where you place your bike as you will get a ticket from the police if you illegally lock it up (I know from this first hand.).
Back to the stroopwafles while my mouth waters. The ones from Van Wonderen were HUGE, as big as my face. AND the best part is you can be a tourist and get the stroopwafle covered in half with toppings then take it to the Paleisstraat bridge for a photo opt. (I chose a dipped in chocolate with Oreo topping.) Since they are made to order, the inside is warm and gooey.
If you are not sure what a stroopwafle is. You are missing out. Google It, you won’t be disappointed.
After our walk, we took an uber and went to our scheduled activity as the House of Bols. This was a request of one of our friends, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Bols is a liqueur or additive to cocktails. Here in the states, we only have a small selection to choose from, but Bols actually makes 40+ flavors and have been doing so since 1575.
The experience was great! It started as a self-guided tour with audio, and had many smells, sight experiences, and tastes along with a history lesson. From there we grabbed 2 cocktails with our drink tickets (choose from options via an online experience) and waited for our cocktail making class to start. During our class, we each made 3 cocktails and learned about pouring, taste, and presentation. This was well worth it!
From there we headed to dinner at Cafe De Klos. A smaller restaurant with a pub-type atmosphere. To wait for our table, we were directed across the street to Cafe 't Genootschap der Geneugten, another bar to grab a drink and they would walk over to get us. It was during this time we got an understanding of the Café vs Coffee shops.
I’ll make a few notes on this only: Café and Coffee shops are everywhere- 2 things to know. 1. There is a difference, and 2. You will need to get a drink (alcoholic or not) no matter what.
We grabbed a drink (at the bar…) and enjoyed our dinner after we were seated. From there we walked around the city, through the Red-Light district back to our hotel. My husband and I went out for one more nightcap to an Irish Bar with some locals. (The red-light district is what you would expect, even though there aren’t many pictures of if since it really is illegal to take pictures.)
The next day, we met for a quick grab-and-go breakfast by our hotel, grabbed a coffee and croissant, and walked to our 9:30 am tour of the Anne Frank House. We got our tickets online prior and were told it would be about an hour tour. When we arrived, we went through security and were able to check our coats and belongings. We walked through the museum, the entire house, and yes through the Secret Annex. This was powerful and emotional. We had an audio self-guided tour, but there were a lot of people walking through with you as well. This is a must go to get the feeling of history. I ended up returning from the trip and reading Anne Frank: Diary of A Young Girl (yes, we read this in middle school, but it had more impact on my now than it did then).
After this, we had brunch reservations at G’s Jordan at 11 am. This place was great and helped lift our moods… and hangovers. They had the best Bloody Mary’s and a ton of options to make them. Our food was great too. After brunch, we had to get ready for our Canal Cruise at 2 pm. Everyone went to their hotel to freshen up and get ready. I went to the grocery store by our hotel and picked up some snacks for the Canal ride, some meats, cheeses, fruits, chocolates, and bread.
This is when I found out about the 2 flavorings that most junk food comes in… ‘American Flavor’ or Paprika. The American Flavor is basically Ranch flavor, and you can get pretzels, Pringles, Doritos, really anything in this flavor, same with the Paprika! All pretty tasty.
We met our Canal cruise driver at our hotel. One of our friends wanted to be in charge of this and found him from some research. This guy was great. He looked like the normal Dutch guy (tall, nice head of hair, and a lean/long body). He was funny, informative from a local mindset, very laid back, and seemed like he would be a part of our friend group.
We floated over to New Amsterdam and through the canals while having some drinks and snacks. We went under the Skinny Bridge and had a nice awkward moment while…no one proposed. Shout out to Captain’ Jack! We talked about dinner reservations and ended up changing at the last minute to a steakhouse based on Captain’ Jacks recommendation and connection to get us a reservation.
After dinner, we walked through the museum areas, through neighborhoods, and somehow ended up at the original place we were to have dinner. We went to that bar and we all had our first bitterballen. A hot, crispy, gooey, delicious meatball with cheese. A perfect end to the night, and helped soak up the drinks.
Our last day, my husband and I rented bikes from a local shop, and rode around. We went into the Dam Square. I recommend staying away from this area due to how many tourists are there. I was actually nervous on the bike since you have a right away for everything and need to pay attention to where you are going. We grabbed a stroopwafle coffee (amazing), and
we made sure to stop at Van Stapele Koekmakerij for the “Amsterdam cookie”. This cookie is the single item they bake, and it is delicious- A chocolate cookie with a cream/marshmallow in the middle- worth the find!
We met our friends at the Food Hallen (they took an Uber). We all got something to eat and drink (some bitterballen balls were shared). We walked around, went to some outdoor markets, and headed out to our last dinner together to KOP VAN JUT, we sat outside at another place for drinks and then took an uber over to a few different parts of town. We went a little out of city center and made our way over to Brouwerij’t IJ- the windmill bar!
It was great, local, crowded but had some good drinks and were able to see what it was like for some locals that got out. We then attempted to go to Delirium Café but it was closed, so we made our way to another local bar in the area. It was this night that we were told “Going Dutch” really does mean to pay for your own meals. We were told this is how the Dutch get rich.
Final Recommendation: When you go, make sure you take the time to experience what the locals do. I could have used one more day to enjoy more Dutch food, and go to some other museums and parks. But we still, clearly, had a packed full fun time from our video.
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