Amsterdam was one of the places that I was most excited to visit on our trip. It is filled with history yet extremely modern. Plus, the never-ending canals make it beautifully picturesque. It is also known as one of the most tolerant cities in Europe with legal prostitution and marijuana. One of cities tag lines is “be more tolerant or build more jails” which seems to be working, as they rent much of their jail space to Belgium. When we originally decided to go to Amsterdam, I did some research and learned that instead of staying in a hotel, you can rent a houseboat for a very reasonable price. Houseboats line every canal in the city, and every one has its own unique look and style.
When our friend Rob joined on to the trip, the houseboat was a no-brainer. We found a great one on the east side of the city that had one large bedroom and a tiny “nook” bedroom for Rob. Since we got there much later than scheduled on the first day due to the rail strike, we immediately headed out to check out the city. The first thing you notice about the city is the overwhelming amount of bikers. They are everywhere, and crossing the street can be a bit daunting at first. Still, it seems to be a sort of controlled chaos. We wandered a bit north and got Asian fusion for dinner, since Kevin and I were unsure when our next option for anything Asian would be. We stumbled upon a small carnival in a square near the restaurant and learned from our waitress that there were several carnivals set up around the city in preparation of King’s Day on Monday. King’s Day is a national holiday that seems comparable to St. Patrick’s Day, except everyone dresses up in the official color of the Netherlands – orange. There are music concerts and parades all around the city and it’s apparently an amazing party. Unfortunately, we didn’t find out about the holiday until after we had booked our trip and had train tickets on Sunday for Germany. When we mentioned this to anyone, we got several variations of “NO! THAT’S SUCH A SHAME” and “SWITCH YOUR TICKETS NOW!”. We eventually started telling people that we would be there on King’s Day, as we found that was easier than getting pitied by everyone. Just like Paris, it’s hard to decide if Amsterdam is prettier during the day or at night. As we walked back to our houseboat, we basked in the beauty of the Dutch architecture and street lights reflecting off the canals.
On our first official day in Amsterdam, we grabbed some food at a market down the street and made lunch at the boat. Since we are constantly eating in restaurants on this trip, it was nice to have a refrigerator and kitchen where we could make a meal. After lunch, we began our “Nazi Hating Day” and first headed to the Dutch Resistance Museum. The museum covers the history of the Netherlands during the period of the Nazi Occupation from 1940-1945. The exhibit was large and very powerful but also quite sad, explaining how conflicted the Dutch were during the time and how much they struggled at the hands of the Germans. 75% (105,000 out of 140,000) of the Jewish population perished during this time. To this day, anytime anyone asks for Amsterdam recommendations, I tell them to go to the Dutch Resistance Museum.
After the museum, we made our way over to the Anne Frank Huis. We stopped at an old pub along the way, In De Wildeman, which was recommended to us by a friend. Luckily, and maybe since it was the late afternoon, the line for Anne Frank wasn’t bad at all. I found the museum to be very moving. Though all the furniture was looted after the Frank family was taken, the annex still included the secret door behind the bookshelf and pictures tacked to the wall by Anne in her bedroom. There were also several interactive displays and interviews with her father and her childhood friend who coincidentally ended up in the neighboring concentration camp and spoke to her through the fence right before her death. You were also given the chance to see her actual diary.
In all of our research, we found that the national meal in Amsterdam was not pancakes or frites but rather Indonesian. There are Indonesian restaurants on every street in the city and it seems similar to Indian food in London. We weren’t really sure what to expect with the food at Kantijl & De Tijger, but we found it be a mix between Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese. We got a rijsttafel – a combination of about a dozen small dishes. The meal was delicious and one of the best things I’ve eaten on the trip so far. After dinner, we started heading back to the houseboat and stopped in Rembrandt Square for a nightcap. The only bars that are open late are clubs and we stumbled into one called the Cooldown Cafe. Cooldown was not an appropriate name for this club – the bartenders all acted like they were high on speed and were constantly ringing bells, dancing on the bar and shining bright lights into our faces (no idea why). They seemed really excited to serve us and even shouted “Welcome to the three people from Chicago!” over the loudspeaker.
After reading about a large-scale renovation that was recently completed, we decided to check out the Rijksmuseum the next day. The art museum, which primarily focuses on the work of Dutch artists, was enormous and showcased several important works from Van Gogh, Vermeer and Rembrandt, including the famous Night Watch. The museum also has a special collection that features over 1 million objects, including antique dishes, jewelry, ship models, guns and even the largest library of art books in the world. You could easily spend an entire day wandering around in there. After the museum, we stopped at one of the city’s famous coffee shops (when in Rome…) and wandered around the city, enjoying the beautiful weather. I would venture to guess that spring is the most beautiful time to visit Amsterdam, with the weather turning and the celebrated tulips in full bloom.
We then drank a few beers on the outside section of the houseboat, waving to passing boats and watching the sunset. It only took Kevin about 30 seconds to get in front and yell “I’m the king of the woooorrrld”. We did a quick walk through the Red Light District, which was definitely interesting and a bit hilarious. The ‘working girls’ stand in little windows waiting for their next customer. After dinner, we made our way to the Two Swans, a famous tiny pub in the Jordaan neighborhood that we had heard we had to visit. They only play traditional Dutch songs with the occasional Frank Sinatra tune thrown in. The bar’s live singers encourage the entire bar to sing along which made us easily standout as the only non-Dutch in the place. However, the atmosphere was amazing and we ended up staying there most of the night.
On our last day in Amsterdam, we got a late start after doing some work but had a delicious lunch at Cafe Koosje, where Rob got a pancake (an Amsterdam specialty). We walked to the Waterlooplein flea market, which took up several blocks and had a good mix of antiques and Amsterdam souvenirs. We then checked out an awesome brewery that is housed in an old windmill called Brouwerij ‘t Ij. After, we grabbed some great burgers right next door. We called it an early night since our train and Rob’s flight were the next morning. Overall, we all fell in love with Amsterdam. It’s a mix of old and new and the atmosphere is at times relaxed and at times chaotic. It was definitely one of our favorite stops on this 3 month trip.
Recommendations:
- Dutch Resistance Museum. Plantage Kerklaan 61, 1018 CX Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://www.verzetsmuseum.org/.
- Anne Frank House. Westermarkt 20, 1016 GV Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://www.annefrank.org/nl/.
- Kantijl & De Tijger. Spuistraat 291-293, 1012 VS Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://www.kantjil.nl/.
- Rijksmuseum. Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl.
- The Two Swans. Prinsengracht 114, 1015 EA Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Brouwerij ‘t Ij. Funenkade 7, 1018 AL Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://www.brouwerijhetij.nl/.
