As Amsterdam was on my 'I'd like to go' Pinterest board we decided to venture to the colourful city to celebrate two birthdays
over the long Easter weekend.
Due to our short stay I spent a significant amount of time
(too long!) researching into must-see places, the best restaurants and fun
activities, and, although I think my friends took some time to get used to my
organisation, the planning really paid off.
We wanted a central and funky hotel so chose Hotel V Frederiksplein
which had fantastic staff, a great atmosphere and nice rooms. It's right outside
taxi and tram stops so, although we often took on the fifteen minute walk into
the centre in the mornings, there were a number of transport options which was
perfect for us.
Day one saw a quick turnaround of unpacking at the hotel and
freshening up before heading out for a five minute walk to the Heineken Museum,
something the male members of the party were very excited about doing... I on
the other hand, am not a fan of beer so wasn't so keen but it was interesting
all the same. The Museum is not a working factory but you get to see the
process of brewing, try the raw hops (yuk!) and then, of course, enjoy a few
glasses of Heineken after being shown how to drink beer properly!
With food on our minds we walked to Rembrandtplein Square and
enjoyed a quick bite to eat in a traditional cafe before heading to Xtra Cold
Ice Bar. Going to the Ice Bar was not my choice but, as I'd experienced an ice
bar before, I was happy to oblige... now I wish I hadn't! Unfortunately it
wasn't quite the experience we'd hoped for - damp ponchos and gloves, salty
drinks and rude staff. Thankfully, due to our group, we still had a good time
together!
The night was made a million times better when I managed to
get us into a 'secret' bar; Door 74. After sending a text and receiving a reply
saying we were invited we knocked on a door with no sign and the lovely host
peered through the spy-hole to greet us! As we entered there were about 40
people in a long atmospheric room and a bar stocked with every drink you can
think of taking up the majority of the space. We were offered a menu full of
unique cocktails of varying strengths - I managed one five star caramel
cocktail complete with an apple slice and a piece of fudge and I was done. We
absolutely loved it in there!
After a comfy sleep, we were up early skipping the hotel's
continental breakfast (which was good when we had it) to go to The Pancake Bakery in the Jordaan District. There are a lot of pancake houses in Amsterdam
but we opted for this one with a massive range of pancakes from English Pear to
Greek Lamb and lots of rustic charm. Despite one member of our party not liking
pancakes - these managed to turn him into a fan!
We spent the rest of the day walking around the Jordaan
District, through the busy Leidseplein Square to Singel Flower Market which is
the world's only floating flower market to admire the beautiful tulips. It's
lovely to simply walk around Amsterdam and take in the attractive buildings and
canals. I've visited Bruges before and will say I found it prettier than
Amsterdam but I think Amsterdam is more fun!
Next up was the night I'd been most looking forward to -
dinner at Asian fusion restaurant Momo followed by dancing at the nightclub
Jimmy Woo (great name!). Momo did not disappoint, in fact, it surpassed
expectations - not only was the food amazing as expected, the drinks, service
and atmosphere made it one of my favourite ever dining experiences. We kicked
off with cocktails and then decided to go for the tasting menu to share to give
us a real taste for the whole menu. Every single course, and there were many of
them, was simply perfect. I could have eaten there every night and cannot wait
to go back.
Despite not getting back to our hotel until the early hours
after a fantastic night at Jimmy Woo, we were up early for a two hour bike tour
around the city with SANDEMANs NEW Europe Tours. I'd looked into a number
of bike tours but found this one to be the best. Our tour guide Lars was
fantastic and made even the most hung-over of us laugh out loud while showing
us the city's most interesting sites. Beware... cycling around Amsterdam was a
very scary experience! The city contains more bikes than people - they come
from every direction! It was a highlight of the trip and I'd say go for it but
be prepared.
Our last full day in Amsterdam was spent being proper
tourists and visiting Anne Frank's House and the Van Gogh Museum which houses
the biggest collection of Van Gogh in the world. Anne Frank's House was very
interesting and moving. It was amazing to see the space the family lived in,
hear about the history and discover even more about her story. Every time we
walked past on previous days the queue was around three hours long so we went
early and queued for about half an hour before it opened.
The Van Gogh Museum, although not my cup of tea, is set in
Museum Square which is a sight in itself. It was a lovely sunny day and we
spent some time eating hot dogs on the grass amongst the famous 'iamsterdam'
sign people watching. Another place get your greenery fix is Vondelpark - the
largest city park in Amsterdam.
Completing our tourist day we went on an evening canal
cruise with the Blue Boat Company which I would recommend over the day cruise. We sat on the back of the
boat with glasses of Heineken (of course!) and wine and watched the twinkling
city go by. The earlier bike tour enabled us to see the city in the day and
this during the night... perfect!
After our cruise we enjoyed dinner at
Restaurant Saray in the very hip De Pijp district. Saray serves the most delicious,
traditional, homemade Turkish food - we had what seemed like a banquet and
enjoyed every bite. I would have loved to spend longer in De Pijp and visited
it by day too... next time!
Amsterdam was an interesting, energetic, unique city and I'd
encourage everyone to visit it once in their lives. I'm certainly looking
forward to going back soon.
Jane x
Highlights
- The bike tour with fantastic guide Lars
- Momo - for amazing food and a fantastic atmosphere
Must-Dos
- Anne Frank House - no visit would be complete without learning more about the history of Anne and her family
- An evening canal cruise to finish off your stay
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