Having only a hazy memory of the whirlwind weekend I spent in Amsterdam while abroad ten years ago, I was excited to return with Alex.
We got to our hotel by 8am and were once again thankful to be allowed an extremely early check-in. Reviews of Amstel Corner had mentioned the steep stairs - typical of many older Amsterdam homes - and they weren't exaggerating! In addition to the incline and narrow steps, the walls were freshly painted so we really had to focus to avoid falling and / or ruining our clothes!
After resting for a bit we set off to grab some coffee and wander the streets and canals. Admittedly I had forgotten just how beautiful the city is and Alex and I enjoyed slowly strolling about and taking it all in.
Pretty much the view down every street!
It is tulip season in Holland!
We stopped for lunch at the crowded Omelegg and immediately realized why the place is so popular - they make delicious, huge omelettes with just about any ingredient you desire. Not standard Dutch food but something we hadn't had in long time!
We went to check out the floating flower market but were a little disappointed - in addition to being overrun with other tourists, the stalls sold mostly tulip bulbs and other tchotchkes, not fresh flowers. Oh well!
One of our favorite "houseboats" - these things definitely cannot fit under the low canal bridges with masts like that!
But these smaller ferryboats cruised around just fine.
Not sure whether we saw more boats or bicycles!
We were feeling pretty tired from our 3:30am wake up so we went back to our hotel for a nap before dinner. After a little rest, we walked to a cute outdoor bar filled with locals, many of whom were drinking our favorite US beers! Alex ordered a Brooklyn Lager and I had an Anchor Steam - great reminders of home after a month of pilsners. For dinner we walked down the block to Oresti's and enjoyed a casual meal of Greek small-plates before heading back to crash at our hotel.
Tuesday morning we grabbed coffees and enjoyed yet another beautiful stroll around the city. Given the looming clouds, I made a mental note to stop back into a few shops if the weather turned nasty later on. We had an amazing lunch at Broodje Bert – highly recommended for delicious sandwiches – before we indeed needed to dodge the pouring rain at a nearby café. We then tried to visit the Anne Frank House but weren’t really up for a two hour wait in the rain. Since I had visited during my previous trip and Alex and I agreed we have both had a lot of recent exposure to the Holocaust, we decided to skip it this time around. Instead we headed back to our hotel to catch up on trip planning and wait out the weather. We headed to dinner at The Pantry and snagged the last available table, which was outside! Even though my feet were a little cold, I was glad we decided to stay as our traditional Dutch meal (heavy on the meats and carbs) was incredible.
I started Wednesday by dropping off our – long overdue – laundry and went for a run. Unfortunately, by the time I returned it had started raining again so we took our time getting ready for the day. After a quick lunch we returned to check out some of the shops I had seen earlier but again were caught in the rain. We grabbed a drink nearby and waited until the rain passed to head to the Van Gogh Museum.
After a few hours exploring the museum, which is definitely one of our favorites, we filled up on wine, meats and cheese at Van Hoeck and called it an early night.
The traditional types of meats in Amsterdam were often served raw and uncured, which was a very different take than the Italian and Spanish-style meat plates we are used to. Also, we had no idea Dutch cheese was such a thing, but there were shops selling massive cheese wheels everywhere.
Today we woke up early and picked up coffees and sandwiches to go before heading to Keukenkof Gardens to explore Holland’s famous tulip fields. While the “fields” themselves weren’t much to see – at least those open to the public – the park itself is gorgeous and well worth the three modes of public transportation required to get there!
What a beautiful place to stroll around.
Rows and rows of colorful tulips.
Despite the crowds and sometimes maddening hoards of tourists, we still managed to steal some quiet moments due to the massive size of the park!
We may not have found the endless fields of colorful tulips, but the gardens were still incredible.
So pretty.
Even though the tulip fields were largely depleted (it's the end of the season), the views were still pretty great.
Hard to believe this scene only lasts for two months out of the entire year.
I'm so glad we dealt with the hassle of getting to Keukenhof - it was definitely worth the trouble. We are heading to Madrid tonight and excited to spend the next two weeks in Spain. Ole!