Amsterdam.. a dam fine city

This October, I had planned a trip to Amsterdam for a girlie weekend with my cousin. We packed beanie hats, jackets expecting cold weather but it was so sunny and in it’s 70s, even the locals were shocked at the weather. We couldn’t check into our accommodation for a few hours so we left our luggage in Left Luggage at Amsterdam Centraal Station. It costs  10 euro for holding two weekend bags and 7 euro for a small bag for the day.

As usual, we went on a walking tour with Sandemann’s New Europe which was excellent as always. We met at the monument opposite The Royal Palace which is below:The walk took us out and about for two and a half hours with a stop half way through for a refreshment stop. We walked over some beautiful bridges.We were in awe from one of the locations where Monet had painted one of his famous paintings.
Can you recognise it? I’d thoroughly recommend you go on one of these Sandemanns tours as you learn so much. You pay however much you feel like!

We finished our tour by Anne Frank House, make sure you book your tickets months in advance as the museum is always booked out. Daily, some tickets are allocated at 2pm but they are only issued online, so please make sure you book. 

Here’s the website:  https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/tickets/ 

A boat trip is a definite when visiting a city, make sure you go on one. You will see Amsterdam canals and learn more facts about the city. We went with Flagship, it was an open boat and had a bar and was a fun way of seeing the canals for an hour. The boat trip cost 15 euro and you can pay on the day. Bear in mind you will need to queue. We got the boat by Anne Frank Huis, there are some boats by Amsterdam Centraal  station as well with roofs on them.

Whilst walking over the bridges and the canals make sure you look out for the bicycles! They have rights over the pedestrians. Look up and marvel at the architecture, the long, narrow houses and the large windows.  

There are ample restaurants, places to get snacks in Amsterdam, they can be expensive, but you can walk with a snack whilst walking along the cobbled streets.  You can smell a particular smell outside ” The Coffee Shops” or the Brown cafes as they are called permeating along the streets. The crime level is so low, I wonder what it can be?

You can buy travelcards from Amsterdam Centraal and tram tickets and once you are used to the tram network it is easy to navigate.

Make sure you spend a day in the Museum area and visit below! a # Entry costs 17 euro 50 and is worth every cent.  The famous Rembrandt Night Watch painting is there,  you must go there.

The staff are friendly and the architecture is wonderful. Outside the museum is the famous Iamsterdam logo, get a photo. There is the Van Gogh Museum  right by the museum so please go there.

After your neurons have been exercised by the Museums, go and visit  http://www.brouwerijhetij.nl.
It is a brewery with the last remaining windmill in Amsterdam. You can go on a brewery tour or  do a self tour as we did! We had a snack of cheese that made us giggly, or was it the beer

We explored Jordaan as well, a nice part of Amsterdam, local restaurants and cafes.

We stayed at Hotel2Stay apartments – https://hotel2stay.nl/ which is located two minutes walk from Amsterdam Slotterdjik station.  The rooms were clean, sufficient, comfy beds and a small kitchenette.   The train only took 6 minutes to get to Amsterdam Centraal Station. 

The nightlife was fun, people were friendly. We avoided the Red Light District as we didn’t want to be surrounded by Stag Parties etc.

Instead, we went where the locals went and that was to Leidseplein which is walkable, there’s a huge square of outdoor bars with patio heaters as well as small bars which are packed to the beams of party revellers and those just out to enjoy themselves. We met lovely people and had lots of fun. There are clubs there too open to the early hours. So you must visit!

We visited the De Pipj area which had a large street market with local delicacies too.

We went to the ADAM tower which is on an island not far from Amsterdam Centraal Station, you get a free ferry over to the island which operates from 7am-10pm and walk a few minutes to the tower. Pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists get the ferry over, it is quite an experience and only takes a few minutes.

Upon arriving at the ADAM tower, you pay to goto the rooftop and you can  see the beautiful views of Amsterdam from the ticket office. It costs 13.50 for adults and 7.50 for under 12’s. If you want to go on the two seated swing on the top of the building you pay an extra 5 euro. It is wise to book in advance if you want to use the swing at daytime and nightime. There is a rooftop bar there too.
For tickets: http://www.adamlookout.com.

The view is amazing, you must visit.

Amsterdam was a fun, vibrant and safe city, you must visit. There’s something for everyone.