Trip Log: The Low Countries - Part 5a: Amsterdam Days 1-3
In which I start to share about our week-ish in Amsterdam
The longest stretch of our trip was spent in Amsterdam. This post will be about getting there and our first two days in town.
I won’t lie - I thought the city would be mostly focused on its unique attributes (legal prostitution and pot) but that was only a very tiny portion of the place and pretty easy to avoid. It’s a very young, vibrant city that has a busy center but lots of quiet areas to explore, too. Like most major European cities, you’ll find food from all over the world alongside Dutch classics.
Wednesday, 6 August - Getting to Amsterdam
Much of the day was spent actually getting to Amsterdam. The train ride was direct to Amsterdam, taking about four hours. We had a little confusion over our assigned seats but eventually figured it out once we realized our seats had changed back to their original ones from the new ones we were given shortly before boarding. Such fun!
After the world’s longest walk to get on an Uber at the train station, we were dropped off by our apartment rental. It was too early to get inside but we left our things at the hotel associated with the rental. We grabbed lunch at the food hall right down the street. It’s a busy place but we managed to join a table with a couple other folks before we’d all made our choices and ordered. Turns out, they have all sorts of music events, including scheduled concerts and open mic nights.
Lots of wandering happened though I don’t think it was following any particular tour. We just sort of picked a direction and wandered until we all got tired and chose to take an Uber back to where we were staying. Dinner was to-go pizza from an Italian-style pizza place for an easy option.
Thursday, 7 August - Rijksmuseum
When my mom heard we were going to Amsterdam, she had three requests: Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and the Anne Frank House. Matt got us timed ticketed to all three before we left. Our first stop was the Rijksmuseum which is the main art museum in town. I’ll be honest, none of us were all that impressed. Pretty good collection but felt more like the biggest museum in, say, Chicago. There is a very neat exhibit that we all enjoyed, though, on the doll houses which the NY Times recently did an article on (read here for free).
After lunch at one of the many highly-rated burger places, Matt went off to wander around while the girls went on a Hop On-Hop Off bus. My mom loves these for the ability to get an overview of the city while not having to walk everywhere. We did one complete loop before meeting up with Matt. My mom and Lizzy got dinner from the food hall while Matt and I went out to a tiny Japanese place not far from our rental.
Friday, 8 August - Three Towns
Matt, Lizzy, and I spent the day enjoying three small towns outside of Amsterdam while my mom stayed back to get some rest. First was Edam, famous for its cheese and very sleepy due to the somewhat early hour we arrived via bus. It was starting to fill up with tour groups by the time we left around 11 am.
Next was Volendam, about 10 minutes away by bus. Many more shops around but was truly overwhelmed by tourists. We ate at one of the many fried seafood places along the water and got very attentive service and had a great meal despite the crowds. They also have a little take-away stall if you want to sit along the water to enjoy your food.
The last town was Marken which is reached via a sort of ferry. It’s technically a peninsula now though it used to be an island before they made the temporary causeway permanent. Another touristy area, but you can see what a traditional house from the area looks like and it’s a lovely walk through neighborhoods back to the bus terminal.
Dinner was as a group at a place that offered tapas from Spain and Greece. I was able to have some N/A sangria which was a surprising treat.
Where We Went / What We Did
Food hall - Food Hallen - there are also some great shops just around the corner
Hop On/Hop Off bus (search online before you book for any available coupons)
Japanese restaurant, Izakaya-style, reservations highly recommended - Kyō
Combined bus and ferry ticket for traveling between Edam, Volendam, and Marken (info here); several buses go from Amsterdam
Seafood in Volendam - De Lunch