Amsterdam

After visiting our friend, we got back to Amsterdam and it was pouring. We weren’t interested in getting wet, so we took some downtime before heading out to find dinner. We followed a suggestion and went to a delicious burger place which had excellent reviews and top quality meat. They even had an award willing salmon and cod burger which was amazing. On our way back after dinner, we also stopped at a bakery next door for some cookies. 

In the morning, we decided to sleep in because we knew it was the last chance we had (or at least the last chance we wanted to take) before we leave. When we finally dragged ourselves out of bed, we headed over to a cute brunch restaurant near the hostel where we got different types of pancakes, both of which were delicious and very different from American pancakes. They were lighter and somehow both fluffier and thinner. They also both came covered in fresh fruit which made it even better. 

Once we finished brunch and caught the train over to the central station, it was almost time for our tour. We wandered into some shops while we were waiting and then found our guide outside the stock exchange building. Our guide was very well informed on the history of the city and shared the good and the bad sides as we moved through the central part of the city. He took us past the area that used to be the main harbor before passing the red light district and going into china town. The theme of the tour was that turning a blind eye toward things that are illegal but profitable and necessary. For example, weed is technically illegal but it is decriminalized because the government knows people will use drugs and they prefer that it be weed than heroin. Similarly, when Amsterdam was just a port town, the church turned a blind eye to prostitution because it protected the local Christian women from losing their “purity” to the sailors instead of waiting till marriage. This was the origin of the red light district. After we finished with the stereotypes of Amsterdam (sex and drugs), our guide spoke on the Holocaust and showed us a picture of the square we were standing in with a fence that separated the Jews from everyone else. It was moving and heartbreaking to see what it looked like in the exact spot we were standing. 

The next part of the tour focused on the trade routes that made Amsterdam the richest city in the world for 200 years. A lot of this story also returned to the theme of turning a blind eye. In general, the people and the government have always been very good at letting people be who they are and do what they want as long as it isn’t hurting anyone else and doesn’t harm the economy. It’s a great standard to live by and seems to work beautifully. 

Following the tour, we took some time to wander the other side of the city before catching the train back and getting dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant near the hostel. We really enjoyed it and realized we hadn’t had much Mediterranean food since we’ve been traveling. We were happy and full when we got back to the hostel to shower and get ourselves in bed. The next morning, we boarded a train heading to Belgium! 

Our train into Amsterdam was incredibly long and we were very thankful to our decision to buy seat reservations. After about 8 hours, we finally made it to the hostel. We got settled before reluctantly going back into the heat to find food for a late lunch/early dinner. Our hostel is not the most central (it’s a 6min train ride to the central station) so there weren’t a lot of restaurants close by. We ended up at Lidl and grabbed food for sandwiches, fruit, and chips (to avoid anything hot) before making our way back to the hostel to eat. 

We were lucky enough to have the room to ourselves for the first night so we got a very good night sleep before our first full day in Amsterdam. After getting ourselves up and ready, we took the train to the central station and got breakfast at a popular pancake house that was absolutely amazing. Our only regret was not pushing ourselves to get there earlier because we were very rushed to eat fast so that we weren’t late for our Anne Frank Huis tickets. Luckily, we were only a block away so we didn’t have to walk far and we arrived just in time. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but the museum was very well done and is definitely a must for anyone visiting Amsterdam. It is set up as a one way walk through of each room in the house with an audio guide that tells you different information in each room. The audio guide for some of the rooms tell you more about the room itself and what happened there while others are more general history on the war or the time leading up to the way or the Frank family. Most of the rooms also had different relevant pictures or artifacts that are also explained in the audio guide. It was very moving (and heartbreaking) to be able to see the Annex where they stayed and hear the accounts of what life was like during that time period for so many people. 

Before leaving, we took a few minutes to sit and reflect before heading out to see more of the city. We walked over toward the royal castle to catch a tram to the marketplace. This market has over 200 stands that together sell anything you can think of. There was all different cuisines of prepared food, fish stands, fruit stands, cheese stands, souvenirs, clothing, glasses, dishes, leather, jewelry, and so much more. We spent a ton of time wandering through the market looking at every stand and trying to resist from buying everything. 

Our timing ended up being pretty good because the rain started as we finished up and were waiting to catch the tram. Since the rain made it less enjoyable to be outside, we went into a few large stores to stay dry and get a few things we needed before catching a train back to the hostel.

After a short break, we ate our leftovers from the day before before heading back out to the XtraCold Amsterdam Ice Bar which was easily the coolest bar either of us have been to. The entrance fee includes a welcome cocktail in the front bar and two shots in the ice bar. The front room wasn’t anything too special, but we each enjoyed our cocktails before grabbing coats and gloves and “joining the expedition to the arctic” aka walking into the back room that is kept at -18 degrees Celsius and features a frozen polar bear and lots of ice. Even the shot glasses were made of ice! It was  a lot of fun and we took a ton of pictures before we decided to head back to the front room to warm up and get a couple more shots before heading out. 

When we decided it was time to go, we were a little surprised to see that it was still light outside. I guess even after 8 weeks, we’re still not used to how late the sun sets in Europe over the summer. We grabbed a snack on the way back before heading to the hotel to shower and sleep.

This morning, we left the city to visit a friend and her newborn baby for the day. We just made it back to Amsterdam and will relax for a bit before dinner.