Amsterdam

Amsterdam was another city break that we blitzed in an entire weekend. With our flights leaving Manchester at 7.15 am, arriving into Amsterdam at 9.40 am on a Saturday morning, and leaving Amsterdam Sunday night at 9.50 pm and arriving back into Manchester at 10.10 pm. We love these quick visits, we get so much done – it’s also so much cheaper than having a day out somewhere in the UK, craziness!

Amsterdam Airport

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is located southwest of Amsterdam in Haarlemmermeer. The third busiest airport in Europe – and I can believe that, and it’s beautiful inside. It’s only got one terminal, but split into three departure halls.

We really enjoyed this airport, even though we had too much time to kill – we made the most of the places to eat, all of the shops and massage chairs. Not to mention, it was so clean, and all of the staff spoke great English.

Getting to and from the airport, seemed to be a bit of a pain on paper, but in reality, rather simple. First of all, there is a direct railway line to and from Amsterdam Centraal from the Airport. It’s the most convenient way to do so, and it’s cheap as chips!

You can find the airport trains in Platform one and two under the airports main arrival hall. With trains running all day long every 10 to 15 minutes. It takes roughly 15 minutes to get into the center of Amsterdam. The train runs every 10 to 15 minutes for 6am to 1am, and once per house on the 00 minute between the hours of 1am and 6am.

When we arrived at the platform, it was choka-block. Like, loads of people waiting, that we couldn’t fit on the train that came one minute later, so we got the next train that involved a quick change – which wasn’t an issue and seems to be a common option if the direct trains are busy or cancelled.

The journey from the airport to Amsterdam Central Station was roughly 30 minutes, and our change was roughly 10 minutes into the train ride. We had to jump off at Buiksloterweg, to then go to the next terminal to get back on track. But if you are in this situation, just follow the crowds, everyone is going into Amsterdam.

Centraal Station

As you will have guessed Centraal Station, is quite literally in the center of Amsterdam, it is actually the heart of the city. It’s such a popular station, thousands and thousands of people use it day in, day out – especially with links to the airport. To get to the airport from the station, you can catch a train on platform 14a or 15, every ten minutes.

Apollo Museum Hotel

One of the main reasons I picked our hotel was because it was around the corner from Hard Rock Cafe, is that bad?

Our hotel was perfectly situated in all serious-ness and was very modern. Based in central Amsterdam, in the Oud-Zuid region. It is actually part of a chain of hotels in the Netherlands – which we didn’t know about until arriving.

For the one night that we stayed in Amsterdam, it had everything we needed. Our room was simple, with a shower, comfy bed, TV and of course a kettle with a selection of tea and coffee! The main reception was very glam, with a computer area, and a lovely dining and bar area, which I would have loved to have used but we didn’t stop exploring the city!

If you choose to stay at this hotel, you are walking distance from most attractions, including the Heineken Experience, Museumplein, Beatrixpark, World Trade Centre and more.

Kalverstraat

Kalverstraat is the main high street, running from Dam Square to Muntplein square.

It is definitley one of the busier streets, and the street is lined with all of the shops we all know and love, like H&M, Nike, Fossil etc.

I also have to add on this, a shop we have visited a few times in Europe called Hema, it is a mix between Ikea and Flying Tiger. It is such a cool and fun shop, especially for trinkets. We ended up buying loads of stroopwaffles for souvenirs from here.

We also stubbled upon a Hema food shop, where we bought delicious hot dogs, it felt totally random, but they were cheap and tasty, and filled the gap.

Jordaan Neighbourhood and De 9 Straatjes

If you are after that typical Amsterdam photo, the Jordaan neighbourhood, is exactly how you mihht envision Amsterdam. Beautiful canals, architecture, flowers and quirky cafes and shops.

If you also head over to De 9 Straatjes (9 little streets) you can also find some really cool cafes, restaurants and shops.

Christmas Palace

I will have mentioned this loads throughout our travels. But I collect baubles from everywhere we visit. So, we are always hunting down a good Christmas shop for them. The one in Amsterdam is called Christmas Palace, and is quite close by to the flower market.

As you can expect from a Christmas shop. Small, cluttered and magical. Decorations everywhere, with so much to choose from.

Bloemenmarkt

We visited the Bloemenmarkt, for nothing of interest but to see all of the beautiful flowers floating on the canal.

It’s the only floating flower market in the world – the flower stalls are upon houseboats. It’s very colourful, and great for the ‘Insta-world’ if you are needing a splash of colour to your feed. All kinds of flowers are for sale here, especially Tulips, you can get bouquets, single flowers or bulbs (bulbs are even ready so you can take them home with you). They are also popular for the Black Tulips!

It’s open Monday to Saturday, 11am to 6.30pm.

Waterlooplein Market

We love a market, especially on holiday. So many unique things you can buy and eat – that I always think it is a perfect attraction to visit, if you want to do something more authentic, than touristy.

The market is on Monday through to Saturday, 9.30 am to 6pm. It is essentially a flea market, that holds around 300 stall, of vintage clothing, and general bric-a-brac.

Another market to note is the Westergasfabriek market that is only on Sundays, 12pm to 6pm.

Dam Square

Dam Square isn’t too far of a walk from Centraal Station, you will find yourself walking through it once your adventure starts. It’s always jam-packed with tourists, food stalls, shops and some kind of entertainment.

The buildings in this square are phenomenal. They are all so grand and intricate. Dam square was roughly a 10 minute walk from our hotel, it isn’t too far from many places.

Museumplein

Museumkwartier which is Museumplein, also known as the Museum Quarter, is located in the Oud-Zuid district.

We came here for the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Moco Museum – which are possibly the main museums that you would visit in Amsterdam. As well as museums, this area is used for large events like festivals; and in the winter the pond is transformed into an ice skating rink.

Iamsterdam Sign

When you see photos of tourists in front of this sign all to themselves. I have no idea what time they where there, either ridiculous o’clock in the morning or they have good photoshop skills. Every time we passed the sign, it was rammed, people in front of it, people on top of it and people in it.

The iconic letters are over two metres tall, and 23 metres wide. It is however, in a perfect location, right in front of the Rijz museum – but it does move around, due to the government wanting to try and distribute visitors around the city.

Moco Museum – The Banksy Exhibition

The Moco Museum is a boutique museum, with COOL modern and contemporary art. Moco hold exhibitions, dedicated to specific artists that change quite often, so during our visit it was Banksy and Icy and Sot both at the museum and were on until the 15th of January 2019.

I’ve mentioned in other blogs, but I’m not a massive modern art fan. But we where lucky enough to make the viewing of the Banksy Exhibition – Banksy, someone who I’ve heard of and know of.

For those who don’t know: Banksy is a British artist who mainly creates street art – humorous, satirical, political. Icy and Sot are Iranian brothers and have been known to be called ‘Banksy of Iran’ – their work is controversial and actually … banned.

Moco have as garden that includes some fascinating art. You will see statues that you can interact with like sitting on a large rocking horse-like statue. There’s a large red gummy bear just sitting there, a ‘Freaky Mouse’ and just more wacky stuff!

Tickets will cost you in Euros; for an adult 13.50 Euro on the door and 12 Euro online, Students 11 Euro on the door and 10 Euro online, children 10-15 years of age 8.50 Euro on the door and 7.50 Euro online and under 10 its free!

Moco is open daily between the hours of 9am and 7pm November to June. In July, Sunday to Thurday 9am to 7pm, and Friday to Saturday 9am to 9pm. August to October, Sunday to Thursday 9am to 7pm and Friday to Saturday 9am to 8pm.

Van Gogh Museum

As mentioned above, located in the Museum quarter, Van Gogh is probably as popular as visiting the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam.

I must point out to you now, this museum DOES NOT have The Starry Night painting. I know right? Who else wanted to go just to see the famous painting? Its actually in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, who knew!?

There are hundreds of finely painted pictures here, all of them are hardly believable that they have been painted, they are mesmerizing. But there is only so much you can look at in my opinion, especially if you are there to see the painting that isn’t there. There is also part of the museum where you can paint away and have a lesson from some experts – so if you have some spare time, I would definitely do this.

We booked our entry into the museum for 1.30pm, which was a great time to go, as it didn’t feel too busy as I assume most people could have been out eating. The opening hours are 9am to 7pm.

Rijkmuseum

Rijksmuseum is an art and Dutch history museum located in Museum Square near the Van Gogh museum. You can not miss it, it’s huge (the largest in the Netherlands) and the architecture is phenomenal too.

Inside the museum, there is so much to look at that it’s overwhelming. Over 8,000 pieces of art, and being honest, if you’re not sold on art, I wouldn’t recommend visiting, it’s beautiful and all, but if you can’t appreciate the art as much as you should, it’s a waste of time. We blitzed it, well we tried too to be in and out, and got lost.

Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House, is one of the best museums we have visited. It gives you the best insight into Anne Franks story, and in terms of dark tourism this has to be one to visit. It’s a museum with a story. And a story that should sit in everybody’s hearts.

Going through the museum you have a free audio tour, which is fantastic. Essential for this tour, as you walk around the museum, the audio guide hits hotspots where you listen into it and it tells you more intricate details about Jewish life, WW2, people hiding, Anne Franks family and much more. I don’t want to say too much without giving too much a way, but you see more than you would think, it is upsetting to walk around looking at all of the photos, diary extracts, and listen to people involved.

The museum requires a lot of walking up and down steep stairs, if you struggle to walk, you would unfortunately have to give this a miss. To make your tour more at ease, there is a cloakroom free of charge to places your belongings – anything that isn’t classed as a large item.

After your visit, there is a museum cafe, that serves hot and cold drinks, and snacks. It can only be accessed through the museum. And on top of that, the museum shop, obviously. You can buy Anne Franks diary here, and your typically museum buys.

Now, tickets can only be purchased online for a specific time slot. If you plan on turning up on the day, you will NOT be able to get in. The queues are so long. Demand is high for the tickets so tickets are released exactly two months in advance of the day you wish to visit. They come on sale each day at 9am, so be sure to get your tickets, and plan the day they will be released in so you don’t miss your chance to visit this inciteful museum. Prices are as follows, adults 10 euros, ages 10-17 5 euros and 9 and under is free of charge.

We booked our ticket slot between 15.30 and 15.45 – so we would have been there during the hours a lot of places closed – so we didn’t miss out on anything.

A’Dam Lookout

A’Dam Lookout is an observatory and swing, with views over Amsterdam – open from 10am until 10pm. It is a must, it’s a unique experience – even if you’re afraid of heights, give it a go, it’s not for very long.

From above, you see the best views over Amsterdam, including all of the historical buildings and beautiful canals. The Lookout (Swing) is located on top of the A’Dam Tower in the north of the city. It is the highest swing in Europe, so you are over the edge, 100 metres above the ground.

Entry to the Lookout is, online – 12.50 Euros for adults and 6.50 Euros for children, on the door it is an extra 2 Euros – I advise to plan ahead and book your tickets in adventure, online.

When you go up to the Lookout, you take the lift, that takes you from the 1st to 20th floor with a light spectacular in 20 seconds – it’s an experience not expected, but cool, in a very unique way. When it is your turn to take the swing, there are staff to hand to take photos of you on the swing – because we all know that we want that photo of us swinging over the edge. You can then, get your photos as hard copy at reception, or you can get a digital download of your photos from free – which is what we done.

To get over to this part of Amsterdam, you have to get a FREE ferry over. The Ferry can be found behind the station, and the Ferry is F3 to Buiksloterweg.

Eye Film Museum

The Eye Film Museum is open from 10am until 7pm – and is right next to the A’Dam Lookout. Quite a confusing museum really, we didn’t pay for entry, you just pay for the exhibits – which we didn’t really have much interest in, because they were all based around Dutch film, and culture that we had no idea about, and couldn’t understand.

But from what we did see, we watched a few snippets of films in some really cool booths, made some funny films on green screens, looked at the insides of filming equipment – things like that. So it was interesting. 

Red Light District

We explored part of the Red Light District – I say explored, walked through – it’s located in the De Wallen Neighborhood. It is totally not of any interest to us, but we were passing through on our walk so thought may as well. Honestly, it’s like you might expect – scantily clad women dancing in windows,, “adult” massage parlours… yeah.

Canal Cruise

It was a last minute decision, but a canal cruise has to be done doesn’t it?

This was a great way to see the city in a relaxing way. We sat as we cruised along, listening to the tour guide tell us absolutely everything about this amazing city – including, how clean the water actually is in the canal (and it really doesn’t look it). He took a glass and scooped some water into it, expecting it to be a brown colour, it was clear.

Going through the narrow canals, and ducking under low bridges. We ended up at one point in a bit of a traffic jam once the canal opened up. Where boats and canal boats where trying to navigate inbetween each other to get back on track. Bizarre moment.

Van Stapele Koekmakerij

If you are after a tasty sweet treat, Van Stapele Koekmakerij is your place. It is down a narrow street, and the shop itself is only small. So, expect to see queues outside. But on our visit, the queue did go fast, and it was totally worth it.

They sell stuffed cookies. We bought a beautiful tin, that included 9 fresh cookies inside, with a mix of white chocolate and milk chocolate stuff cookies. And when I say fresh, they were lovely and warm. A proper melt in the mouth cookie. Definitely pay this place a visit.

Hard Rock Café

Need I say more? Obviously we visited HRC. Obviously we booked ourselves for two diamond menus – this included a starter, main, dessert and soft drink each (roughly £20 to £25 each).

This restaurant set up was different, it had your normal restaurant design, but upstairs it felt more like a cafe. They also seemed to have half the restaurant shut for certain times. Unsure, if we just turned up on a different day, and didn’t get the memo.

There was also an option to have a Hard Rock meal on a canal cruise, we were late to finding this out, so next time we will definitely consider this option.

 The Pancake Bakery

This had to be done. Delicious pancakes for breakfast, hell yes!

The Pancake Bakery is a very popular place to visit, so make sure you get there in good time. We got there for opening at 9am, and were seated straight away. Also, don’t be fooled that it is only a breakfast place – it is open until 9.30pm!

Every type of pancake, and filling was available. But you could also buy other breakfast options like croissants, yoghurt etc.

 Café Alto

We researched a couple of jazz bars to visit, as this is a favourite of ours to do, Cafe Alto, Bimhius and Bourbon Street. We settled for Cafe Alto – this one seems to be the most popular.

It’s open between the hours of 9pm to 4am – and it is what you imagine a jazz bar to be like – small, tightly packed seats, crowd outside, and a band just feeling the music. However, the act on, on the Saturday night, I would say was more blues than jazz – but we were OK with that. We relaxed and had fun – it is the perfect way to end a busy, busy day of walking and sightseeing.

Brouwerij ‘t ij

Brouwerij ‘t IJ is a microbrewery, that we didn’t end up going to, but had researched it prior to our trip. It looks like a cool place to stop buy for a drink or two. It is located next to a windmill and is 30 minutes from the station, and is open 2pm to 8pm.

 The City as a whole

We loved Amsterdam so much. More than we thought we would. For a place that is only a short flight away, it is the perfect place for a weekend getaway.

Everything was enjoyable, the locals are so welcoming and polite. And the city offers so much to see and do. Whether you want a jam packed weekend of sight-seeing. Or a weekend of relaxing. Amsterdam has you covered.