Back in February last year I spent a week in Amsterdam as part of my 18th birthday present from my mam. I had one of the best weeks ever, and I knew that I definitely wanted to revisit in the future.
And so, fast forward a year and that is exactly what I did. When we were booking hostels, the weekend prices were over double that of nights during the week, and so we decided to go on a Sunday, which was also significantly cheaper, until Tuesday. So bare that in mind if you’re in a similar situation to us and need to find cheap accommodation! I would have loved to have gone for longer, but Amsterdam is a pretty expensive city and when you’re on a 5 week long trip around Europe, budgeting is key!
We stayed at the Stayokay Amsterdam Vondelpark hostel, which, as the name might suggest, is located right on the edge of Vondelpark. The hotel that I stayed at during my last visit to Amsterdam was only across the road from our hostel and so I could remember the area and knew my way to certain places, which made navigation a little bit easier.
Having checked into the hostel, we headed straight to Vondelpark for a walk around the area. The weather was beautiful; it seems that every time I visit this city the weather couldn’t be any better. We sat on a bench in the sun people-watching for a while before going back to the hostel to get showered and settled in. After a spot of lunch in the hostel bar, we walked to the I Amsterdam sign, which is only about a ten minute walk from where we were staying. I loved seeing it again, it took me back to when I was there a year ago and I, of course, re-took the typical tourist photos next to the sign.
The next day we had a few activities planned. We began by going to the torture museum, which our hostel offered discounted tickets for. It was a task in itself trying to find the museum, but we got there in the end! (FYI, it is right opposite the flower market, across the canal). It was an okay museum, not something that I would rush to do again, but for €7, it was cheap enough and it was interesting to see the medieval torture instruments and the ways they were used – if you’re into that sort of gruesome stuff like me that is!
As we were right by it, we headed over to Amsterdam’s famous flower market for a little look around the stalls. It is a popular place amongst tourists as it is so well known as a staple location in Amsterdam, and so we had to check it out whilst we were there.
Next up on our to-do list was a canal ride around Amsterdam. Last time I was there I went on one of the large canal boats which take you around the main canals of the city, however, this time we went on a ‘luxury’ tour, which used a small boat that could take you down the smaller and less used canals. The luxury tour was only €2 more than the regular one, and again, our hostel offered discounted ticket prices. I love these sorts of tours as you find out so much interesting information and since the tour guide was from Amsterdam, he was very passionate about his city and had little anecdotes to tell from his life there.
I enjoyed my visit to Amsterdam just as much this time as I did the previous time, and I would definitely re visit it once again. There is just so much to do in the city that you never really get bored, and with a bit more of a lenient budget we could have done so much more. Nevertheless, I had a wonderful time!
Now to move onto the next stop and go on some more adventures. Until next time, Amsterdam!
Introducing Georgia 