The Great Big Wonder

Amsterdam, is the city of art, history, incredible canals, legal weed, and the red light district.

My 25th birthday present to myself was a trip to Europe. This may seem kind of ‘extreme’, who spends thousands of dollars on a birthday present for themselves? Me. I wanted to see Europe and the only way to do it was to actually buy the tickets. So I asked two of my favorite people on the planet to go with me and… we did it! We planned for months, literally. After meeting at least once a month for 9 months in various coffee shops, we were in Europe, and our first stop was Amsterdam.

Casey and I landed in Paris, on November 10th, 2018. Flying into Charles De Gaulle was cheaper than flying into Amsterdam direct and the connection was a short 40-minute plane ride, after a 10-hour flight from LAX we were content with a short flight. We landed in Paris and did our best to navigate the HUGE airport (more on that in my Paris post) before finding our terminal. We took our connecting flight, which I promptly fell asleep on, and then landed in Amsterdam.

First things first, we picked up our transit passes before leaving the airport, this was vital for our trip, as it gave us access to all the trains and busses that we needed to use while in the city and the surrounding region, for about 30 dollars. We hopped on a bus at the airport and took it about halfway to our Airbnb, and proceeded to walk the remaining two miles. By the time we found our Airbnb, after almost knocking on the wrong door, we ate a snack –the sandwich the airline had given us- and collapsed for the night.

Day One:

For our first day in Amsterdam, we headed outside of the city to Muiden, a small town located east of Amsterdam. We took a Sprinter (train) from Amsterdam to Weesp and then walked a little over a mile to Muiden. Our walk was lovely, and avoidable by bus, but we opted for the chance to stop and look at some farms and cows along the way. Our walk was so peaceful if you don’t count the dude who drove by and laughed at us for no reason.

Eventually, we made it to the town of Muiden, where we had lunch at a darling little cafe, called Ome Ko. It’s a traditional Bruin Kroeg or Brown Cafe. These cafes/pubs are meant to be cozy. These are not cafes filled with light and minimalist decor, these are homey and comfortable, Ome Ko was exactly that. I ordered a lunch plate; a traditional meatball or Gehaktballen, with white bread, and a salad. The meatball was well seasoned and sat in a saucer of its own gravy. The meal was super filling and the staff was helpful and friendly. We even chatted with some locals and the owner about our trip and the fires raging back home. The decor inside felt like a hug. A light fireplace made it feel as if I walked into someone’s grandma’s house.

After lunch, we visited Muiderslot, a medieval castle. Surrounded by an actual moat, the castle’s wildly impressive stone walls soared into the sky. A lush garden and amphitheater were situated on the outside of the moat, surrounding the castle in greenery. It was incredible. Exactly what I imagined a castle to look like.

Once we purchased our tickets we were quickly ushered onto the guided tour, where we were handed English audio tours and we followed a guide as he worked his way through the castle and told the group –in Dutch- the castle’s history. Being the only two non-dutch speaking people on the tour Casey and I elicited a lot of stares but I didn’t mind as the castle’s history was well worth it. We paid two dollars for a children’s guidebook, also in Dutch, and collected stamps around the castle to earn a medal at the end. It was silly but I enjoyed searching for our checkpoints in the different rooms. Turns out there is a lot of stuff about castles that I didn’t know, and learning how a guard defended the home or how the occupants truly lived was eye-opening.

To conclude our day in the Dutch countryside we took the bus back to Weesp and wandered around the streets looking for a snack and some windmills. We stopped for ice cream at Neils Ice Cream Parlor where we ordered a HUGE chocolate sundae, everything here is made fresh and the ice cream was creamy and delicious. It was generously covered in toppings. If you didn’t want chocolate they had fruity sundaes as well as regular scoops of ice cream and milkshakes. You should definitely try the stroopwafel flavor as it’s native to Holland.

We continued our walk, enjoying the fall leaves and the smooth and tranquil waters of the canals. Church bells tolled and locals rode by on their bikes wondering why these too foreigners keep stopping to look at the houses. Eventually, we found two windmills, both very old and under-construction. They were attached to someone’s home, which meant that we couldn’t pop inside for a look around. But seeing them was all we needed. We finished our day in the countryside with a stroll to a park where we played on the seesaw, and zip line before finally making it back on a train to the city.

Day Two:

We started day two with a trip to Albert Cuyp Market. It was raining that morning so the market was pretty empty. Some stands were left unoccupied, as merchants waited out the rain, but enough were filled to make our trip worth it. I’m sure that in the spring and summer the market is teaming with life.

We did a lap around the market, huddled together under a single umbrella before stopping for some souvenirs and then the coveted Stroopwafel. We purchased our stroopwafels for 1.50 Euros and then ate them under an easy-up to escape the rain. Our stroopwafels were made as we ordered them. The fresh waffle batter was ladled onto the waffle press and in about a minute it was finished and promptly covered in gooey melted caramel and topped with another waffle. The waffles are thin, imagine the thickness of a crepe vs a pancake. You can also have your waffle made with Nutella or chocolate but I opted for the original version. I wouldn’t recommend this for breakfast as it’s VERY sweet. But, if you visit Amsterdam you have to try it.

After our stroll, we grabbed lunch at a bagel shop right across the way from the market entrance and made our way to the “I Amsterdam” sign. The landmark sign was taken down on December 3rd, two weeks after we visited because it was creating a wild tourism influx in the area. I’m so glad we got to take a photo of/with it before it was removed as it was on my bucket list of things to see. I can attest, the area was SWARMING with tourists and kids, it was the largest amount of tourists we had seen in Amsterdam and it was pretty overwhelming.

Our next item on the itinerary was our visit to the Anne Frank House and Museum, which we had scheduled two months in advance. I was looking forward to this part of the trip as I really wanted to understand the history of WWII in a way that I hadn’t before. Prior to our tour, we explored the area, looking at the homes that lined the canals and I tried my best to envision the war. Casey and I agreed that unless someone told you, you would never know that WWII had blown apart the region.

We booked the history lesson offered for an extra price at the museum with our tickets and I’m glad we did. Not only did it reaffirm how much I remember from history class it went over the Frank Family history and the area history to help better frame your time in the house. Once inside you can’t take photos, to help preserve the artifacts and the museum itself. You’re guided through the house by an audio tour and most everyone is silent as they make their way through the house.

I took the time to really focus in each room and take in the life that Anne and so many people were faced with living during the war. It was heart-shattering and I’m not sure how I made it without crying. The photos I do have are of replicas they keep in the history lesson room and the front door to the house.

Post the Anne Frank house, we needed a MAJOR pick me up, so we walked a mile to a Black Bikes and rented two bikes for a ride around Amsterdam. Originally, we were going to get a tandem bike but they didn’t have any when we arrived so we settled on separate bikes which were probably better anyway because we were a mess. Once on the bikes, we went down streets for pedestrians only, we went the opposite way down one-way streets and nearly ran a red light or two. It’s a wonder we made it back alive and in one piece at all, but it was one of my favorite moments from our trip to Europe! It pays to be confident on a bike here, if you’re not you’ll get swept away in the traffic and locals. When we rented the bikes they provided us with a paper map to navigate which we only really took out when we felt really lost, otherwise, we just turned wherever we wanted. We rode through a few different areas, getting to see the touristy shopping area, the business area, and the red light district before finally calling it quits and returning our bikes before our legs gave out.

After exploring the city we made our way back to Amsterdam Central and then to our Airbnb. For dinner, we headed to the Haarlemmer Buurt neighborhood, only two tram stops away from our Airbnb. We settled on Italian food from Restaurant Toscana for dinner, where we both ordered spaghetti bolognese and a soda. The food was tasty and the man who served us was very welcoming. After dinner, we strolled around the neighborhood enjoying the shops and restaurants available. This is a really cute off-the-tourist path area for good food and local shopping! I really wish we had visited during the daylight.

Day 3: Last day in Amsterdam

Our final day in Amsterdam was a half day as we were due at the airport in the afternoon to catch our flight to Zurich, Switzerland. We spent our morning eating breakfast at a nearby restaurant that we had been looking forward to since our arrival. We went to the Breakfast Club, an apparently cool place to go for breakfast. I ordered a Chai Tea Latte, a side of bacon, and a stack of buttermilk pancakes topped with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and a dusting of powdered sugar. It was really quite tasty and WAY more than I could finish.

After breakfast, we went back to our Airbnb and collected our belongings. Saying goodbye to Amsterdam was difficult. I really loved this city. The people were so friendly, almost everyone we came across stopped to talk to us, smile, and engage. Public transit was marvelous and so easy to use with connections everywhere you almost never had to walk far. This is a place I would most certainly come back to. It was a place I figured I’d enjoy, but I honestly could see myself living there. Enjoying the culture and beauty of the city. The effortless blend of nature and city was inspiring. Almost everyone has a canal view, a cobblestoned street lined with trees along the bank of a shimmering canal? YES PLEASE! Don’t worry Amsterdam, I’ll be back.

Updated 12/22/2022