Back in February this year I was lucky enough to go to Amsterdam with my mam, as part of my 18th birthday present. I wanted to visit Amsterdam for so long, and getting the chance to finally go excited me so much.
Monday:
We flew on the 15th February from Edinburgh airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The flight was surprisingly short, only taking just over an hour, most of which was spent taking, what I thought were ‘artsy’, photos out of the window and the rest of the time was used to start a book that I had been wanting to read for a long time.
When we arrived we had to get the train to Amsterdam Centraal Station and then a tram to our hotel. I was put in charge of navigation, putting into practise the ideology of ‘If you want to travel in the future then you need to learn how to navigate your way around’, which in hindsight was a good idea since my sense of direction is absolutely terrible. Somehow we made it to the hotel easily and didn’t end up on the wrong side of Amsterdam, which believe me was a strong possibility.
Whilst there, we stayed at the Park Hotel, which is located right by Vondelpark (something we somehow didn’t realise until the last day). We arrived at our hotel at about midday, and so the rest of the day we used to wander around and see the sights of Amsterdam, exploring the shops, getting food, and getting our bearings on how far things were from our hotel.
Tuesday:
The second day that we were there was our busiest, journeying around Amsterdam on a canal boat tour, visiting the infamous Ice Bar, and the Van Gogh Museum, amongst other things.
We started the morning by going for breakfast in Museum Square, which is where the main museums in Amsterdam are.
After breakfast we went to the Van Gogh museum in which we spent a good three hours looking around the many floors, admiring the work of one the world’s most influential artists. Following that, it was time for us to make our way back to Centraal Station which is where we boarded the canal boat in order to set off on our canal tour of Amsterdam. This was such a lovely experience as it allowed us to see parts of the city that we probably wouldn’t have gone to on foot, and also showed us just how beautiful the city and the architecture really is.
Next up was our visit to the Amsterdam Ice Bar, and after quite a long walk to find it, we were able to have a well deserved drink! We didn’t spend long in the Ice Bar itself, as it is so cold (duh) and isn’t actually that big inside. Still, it was a good experience and something that is nice to be able to say that you have done.
We didn’t have anything planned after the ice bar, and so the rest of our day was spent wandering around, looking in shops, and also visiting a coffeeshop, which was an interesting experience to say the least.
There were loads of places to eat in the evening near our hotel, so making a decision took quite a long time when we went for a meal that evening. We eventually chose a restaurant called the Palladium, which was delicious I have to say. Afterwards, we were ready for bed after our busy day of seeing the sights of Amsterdam, so we headed back to our hotel for the night.
Wednesday:
This was our final full day in Amsterdam, and the day when we finally went to the Anne Frank House, which was the main thing that I wanted to do whilst there. We walked there in the morning, getting there just after opening, as we had been advised to get there early due to long queues. This was not advice to be ignored, as when we got there, not even half an hour after opening, the queue was approximately a 2 hour wait. We decided (wrongly) to leave and go for some breakfast and then come back later in the day, thinking that the queue would have died down (wrong again). In the afternoon we returned and the queue hadn’t shortened whatsoever, so a word of advice, if you’re going to Amsterdam and know that you want to visit the Anne Frank House, pre-book your tickets online, you will save so much time! However, I wasn’t going to leave Amsterdam without visiting the Anne Frank House, so we got in line and began the long queue to the entrance. This day was particularly cold, and so standing outside for two and a half hours in the freezing cold was not the most enjoyable part of the holiday, but it was so worth it for the amazing experience. The whole experience is so emotional, and it really opens your eyes to the horrific events that happened during WW2 that are never to be forgotten.
Afterwards, we walked back to our hotel, stopping for a walk through Vondelpark on the way. We didn’t walk too far into it, since it is huge, but we walked some way, seeing some of the sights of the park. The sun was setting too which made the park look particularly beautiful.
For our final evening meal we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe, which was located just across the road from our hotel. The meal was delicious, and I definitely had a food baby forming by the end of it. Following that, we had (yet another) wander round the area for a final time before returning to our hotel.
Thursday:
Sadly, the final day was upon us, and it was time to return home, but not before we had a nice big breakfast to start us up for the long day of travelling ahead. We went to an Irish pub (you can see it in the photo above – ‘Aran Pub’) and had a full Irish breakfast before getting back on the tram, then the train, and then finally the aeroplane; it was time to wave bye-bye to Amsterdam – cue more artsy photos from the plane!
I will definitely be returning to Amsterdam in the future as it is one of my favourite places that I have visited, it was so beautiful and peaceful to walk around, and I loved every minute of my trip there (so thank you to my mam who planned the whole thing!) I would advise anyone who is thinking of going to definitely go because there is so much to do there and it is such a lovely place for people of all ages to enjoy. One piece of advice though, watch out for the trams and bicycles, they are lethal!
See you again soon, Amsterdam!
Introducing Georgia 