Amsterdam, everyone have been talking about Amsterdam! Oh you gotta go there, oh why didn’t you head to Amsterdam. I can say it out loud that I finally did it on this trip of mine in Europe and it is one of the decision that I will never forget in my life. I am currently on the ending phase of my two and a half months of adventures in the world. Currently in Seattle, Amsterdam is about a month old and I have already been to a ton of cities and numerous countries after Amsterdam and the memories are still fresh in my mind. Yea you get tons of unpleasant smell in the air and it is always associated by being a sleazy chill place where you can do what you want but it is completely so nice and safe. The people that I met are nice and friendly except for the public transport people but everything else is fine! On the plus side the canals and environment is just that nice and romantic. The best way is just simply to stroll around and get lost in all the canals and waterway!
Never be afraid by all the bad stories that you have ever heard on Amsterdam such as the red light district the relax policing and the rules. The “you can do whatever you want” feeling that you get in Amsterdam. In fact I stay in a bed and breakfast close to the red light district and there are a couple of sex shops and weed shops just around the corner from my place. I still feel perfectly fine and safe. In fact as a cosmopolitan I feel even more safe in a crowded street rather than a quiet one at night. In fact the red light district in Amsterdam is one of the safest district in Amsterdam because of the increase in police presence. Nothing will happen to you if you simply want to walk through it as a tourists! Now on the bright side, check out the amazing view!
On the first day that I arrived it was incredibly hot, with the sun bearing down on me! After all coming down from brussels which is much more cooler, I actually felt warm and sticky for the first time in Europe! Yea not even the first day and I got lost finding the way to the Bed and Breakfast! Totally sweating on the way to the place and climbing up the steep stairs of the historical house in Amsterdam. The first day I simply check out the surrounding and then head to the Heineken Experience where I have covered in a separate post! There are simply too many nice places and photo spots in Amsterdam!
Another place that I went to during my time in Amsterdam was to the Albert Cuyp market! It is a short walk from the city centre and also nears to the Heineken Experience! The market is really nice and sells all sorts of things. The surrounding also had numerous cafes and restaurants. By cafes, I mean the legit ones selling coffees and cakes. Definitely you could find those weed ones as well. The market is pretty huge, although I was there pretty late so the crowd isn’t really there. The market is more for shopping rather than eating, it isn’t something like the borough market but there are still food to buy at the market. And I really think that it is one of life’s greatest pleasure to eat and shop at the same time. This is also one of the reason why I like to stroll around markets so much when I am overseas! I really enjoy strolling around and check out all the unique stuff! Simply just check out how good all these looks!
Another place that you simply can’t miss is stopping by the Winkel Cafe in Amsterdam to rest your legs and also have some of the best apple pie in town. It is really good and nice! Paired with a dop of whipped cream it is the best way to spend your afternoon and do some people watching! The pie cost around 4 euros!
Although I have heard a lot of the flowers market, when I visited it, it is kind of underwhelming. I am unsure if it is the time when I am visiting or the season. Perhaps I was thinking of super blooms of tulips and flowers in my face. But simply it isn’t! Oh last but not least you definitely have to check out the few must do tourists attraction such as the Dam Square, Rijksmuseum……Another thing that you can consider doing is signing up for a complimentary Diamond factory tour at coster diamond. While the information that they give you is pretty basic and what you can find on wikipedia. The real benefit is the ability to see how the workers in the factory polishing and cutting the diamond. And yes, of course the one last thing that you definitely can’t miss doing is heading to the I Amsterdam Sign for a tourists shot!
I really enjoy Amsterdam, after all the best way is to just stroll around and enjoy the place. Get lost and find even better surroundings to explore. One thing that I have to say is the huge amount of cyclist in the city. After all it is a biking city. But one thing that I hate is that as a pedestrian. You actually have to watch out for the cyclist and it is pretty dangerous! Let me know what you think of Amsterdam!
Seeing The World In Steps 