Amsterdam, what a cool city. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed exploring the Dutch capital. While travelling I found most of the ratings I got about Amsterdam were to do with the red light district and the coffee shops, as these are unique parts that not a lot of cities have. I was excited to find there was far more to this city than just these spots. I also had a little briefly misplaced camera situation while we were in Amsterdam (more on that another time) so there’s not a lot of photos but I took a few on my phone too which should suffice. Enjoy my guide to Amsterdam!
Cycling
One of my favourite past-times is riding bikes, fast, slow, on road, off road, take your pick, I’ll do any. So naturally, my favourite thing to do in Amsterdam was cycling down the streets. We popped into a bike hire place just down from our hostel called Roxy Rentals. There was a lovely lady there who fixed us up with city bikes, taught us how to use the seemingly complicated bike locks and we were off!
The bike lanes around the city were easy to follow and normally separated from the vehicle traffic by a small island or a gutter. This made me feel far safer biking around. A lot of the bike lanes also had their own bike traffic lights to work with the street traffic lights and the pedestrians. It was an awesome way to experience the city and get from A to B quicker but still with decent city viewing opportunities.
Anne Frank House
I first read Anne Frank’s diary in primary school and was always fascinated and somewhat haunted by the story. So this weekend was the perfect opportunity to visit the annexe where she stayed for almost two years during World War II.
The tour is self-guided with audio guides and walks you through the story of Anne Frank and her family. There are quotes from her famous diary throughout the tour bringing deeper meaning to the various rooms. The warehouse and offices in the lower building are included in the tour as well as the secret annexe behind the bookcase where Anne and her family hid for just under two years. It’s a one-way system so you go up through the main stairs behind the bookcase to the bedrooms. And they’ve knocked out one of the walls to allow you to exit out of the top floor.
The actual rooms don’t have any furniture in them, but there are photos to assist your imagination in painting the picture of how it would’ve been. The furniture was not returned as a request from Otto Frank, Anne’s father and the only person who lived in the annexe to survive to the end of the war. He later read and then published Anne’s diaries.
I found it an interesting place to visit, having read her diaries a few years ago. It shows the proximity of which the 8 people lived in for so long. But it also made me think of all the other Jewish families who were in hiding or taken away, and their stories that didn’t get shared with the world.
Heineken Experience
A little bit more of an upbeat attraction, the Heineken Experience. A probably slightly overpriced self-guided tour of the old Heineken factory (the second one they used towards the end of the 19th century). It was fun for a laugh, and there were a lot of flashing lights and sparkly things but I didn’t learn any more from this guided tour than any other brewery tour I’ve been on. The slight difference with this one was there were heaps of activities in the sporting area (as they’re a big sponsor for many major sports events) so there was rugby, football, and athletic computer games/Wii style games to play, as well as a couple of beers at the end. Fun but not necessarily a ‘must-do’.
Stroopwafel
Mmm-hmmm, a new fave of mine! These are best eaten in the cold and rain when they’re hot off the oven plate thingy with hot caramel in the middle, need I say more?
Second-Hand shops
Something that took us by surprise was the quality of second-hand clothing shops in Amsterdam. There were heaps of them lining the main shopping streets as well as near the Albert Cuyp Market. We could’ve spent most of our time just looking at old fur coats, oversized leather jackets, eighties denim, and boots. The quality was high and the prices generally reflected that, but that didn’t take all the fun out of scouring the racks and trying fun items on.
Red light district and Coffee shops
Of course, we still had to check out these areas for ourselves, having heard a lot of different opinions about them. For those who don’t know here’s a little more information:
In the Netherlands, prostitution is legalized but is not allowed on the streets, this is how the Red Light District operates. Women/prostitutes sit in rooms with full-length windows facing the streets with red lights shining on them, hence the name. It is strictly forbidden to take photos of them. At night it is a very rowdy area, with large crowds of people. It was far quieter during the day but possibly even more uncomfortable. The whole thing just made me feel a little uneasy, really. But I think it was still interesting to go a see this area while we were there.
Cannabis isn’t technically legal in the Netherlands, however, it’s been decriminalised since the 1970s. Under the ‘soft drugs’ toleration policy coffee shops are allowed the operate, selling a range of different weed or mushroom brownies, cakes, and coffees. The coffee shops buy their weed through third-party buyers and are only allowed 500g on the premises at any one time, they are also only allowed to sell 5g at a time. It was pretty easy to find coffee shops, if not for the smell, then for the fact they are scattered right throughout the center city. If you’re actually just wanting a normal coffee then find a ‘coffee cafe’ or ‘coffee house’, that way you won’t get a spiked beverage.
Neither of these are my thing, so I didn’t get involved, but, each to their own. And I guess, even just walking by is part of the Amsterdam experience.
Overall, two days was not at all enough time to spend in Amsterdam. We felt there was still so much to see, including museums, outer suburbs, and Zaanse Schans. James was particularly upset at the fact he didn’t see a single windmill. So we have to go back sometime in search of a windmill, and maybe some tulips if we get the time of year right.
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