Time of Visit -July
Duration of Stay -3 days
My trip to Amsterdam seems like a blur. I found it really hard to pen down everything. I went with a group of friends and even after constant consulting, I could not account for the whole trip yet. Honestly Amsterdam is most worthy of the phrase What happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam!! When I was trying to do a survey before going, I did try asking around, didn't really get any solid answer of where, what, when to go. Hence the conclusion, everybody makes their own story at Amsterdam.
Going down memory lane, of whatever memory has sustained and with a little help from google maps, have managed to retrace most of the steps.
Hotel - 1 night at the St. Christophers Winston Hostel. We booked our stay last minute so obviously we couldn't grab a steal deal. And also, ours was a twin sharing room with an attached bathroom. We didnt stay in a dorm.
We basically wanted to feel the essence of the backpacker traveler. It reminded me of my days when I was studying in Manchester. That's how small our room and bathroom was.
The next two nights, we stayed at the Swissotel.
Both the places were located at the best place near Dam Square. They were both located in each others proximity, barely a 5min walk. Wouldn't recommend you to stay anywhere else. Everything is close from this location.
And our accommodation at both places were awesome! The hostel room seemed a little small and cramped, more so when you are carrying 2 huge sets of suitcases. So travel light when you do plan to stay in a hostel.
TO DO:
Bike ride- We picked the Yellow Bike. If you enjoy cycling, you have to see the city on a bike. It is amazing. It rains anytime there but they do provide you with a poncho styles raincoat. That should be fine! It is a 3 hr tour. The bike ride is just a cruise through the city.You will see sights such as the harbour, the Jordaan quarter, the Anne Frank house, the Rijksmuseum, the Vondel Park, the “Skinny Bridge”, Rembrandt’s house and the Red Light District. In short it is a glimpse of the city's culture, architecture and history. So, if you do want photo ops or spend more time at a certain place, you will have to just go there once again.
Also, you can take these free walking tours. So, Amsterdam is not that huge. It would be really fun to walk it too.
Places to see:
1)Flower Market
2)Canals - Amsterdam is a very scenic city. In fact, I think Venice is overrated. In comparison to Venice, the canals are way better in Amsterdam than Venice. VERY VERY clean city! And the canals are there at every 10 mins distance. So now you know amongst many other names, why is Amsterdam called the canal city too!
3)Red Light District - You have to see it to believe it. Sharing no pictures for it!. Enticing the curious mind. :) In fact, honestly it is literally 'window shopping.' However, in the true sense, being no moral police or going by the laws of ethics, I appreciate the concept of the display of the Red Light District. Going by my opinion, I didnt find it distasteful at all!
4)Van Gogh Museum - We reached after 5 pm. Try reaching there before closing time. So we missed out on seeing some of the most beautiful art work.
5)Anne Franks Museum- If you are into hitler and nazis and history. Definitely worth a visit. Always a long qeueu. Huge wait to get in.
6)iAMsterdam - You cannot come back without taking a picture there.
Vondel Park - It is immense, so you can bike ride through it, lounge around the garden area. Since everything is legit in Amsterdam, you can do illegit legitimately.
Another thing, you could do is go to the Heineken museum and have some heineken beer.
There are all sorts of museum, the other popular one would be the sex museum.
Shopping:
This is the first and only time, I did not find time to shop. Sigh!!!!
But, there is this huge street right behind swissotel with all the stores. And it extends all the way to the other side of the Dam square running horizontal. MUST MUST check it out.
There will be all the European Brands - H&M, Pimkie to name a few!
Buy Cheese, Mayonnaise and Sauces of different types - there are a lot of choices with respect to that. And they are all good!
Food
The Mexican Restaurant- for mexican food; Damstreet. Really good food!
Umami - Tapas- That meal was uber delicious.
Chipsy King- amazing fries!!
Around our hostel Christopher Winston there are a lot of cafe's and restaurants and small bars. Can go visit any. You will definitely find something to satiate your taste buds.
Then we went to a restaurant on the Spuitstraat street. There are a lot of options there too.
Leidseplein - This area is super for a night out! There are restaurants, clubs and basically a party scene.
I think we went to the club Jimmy Woo and then around that there are a few others.
Rembrandt Square for the Night Life, Food, and the like.
Bulldog Cafe - When in Amsterdam, people tell you oh you must go to any cafe and youll find the brownie, but NO, that is not true. You have have have to go to CAFE BULLDOG and have the out of the space cake. That's it. There is no other brownie!
Cafe Metropolitan - You can actually sniff chocolate. I didnt do it, so I dont know how it is done, though you should try it. It is neighbouring to our hostel.
All in all, Amsterdam is Beautiful. I'd identify it with a split personality. It is a scenic, serene, all things pretty and can be called a family place to go to.
But yeah, then on the other side, it has it's Wild Side, but I guess you choose which side you want to be on and you can experience both. It is pretty balanced. Safe to visit. I don't remember us taking a cab ever.
As I already did mention, this blog is a little incomplete. I dont have the names of the restaurants, the clubs that we went to, to suggest the exact places which would be worth your time. But I have managed to identify the areas. Hope it helps!!
3 days flew by. But you dont need more time than this to explore the city. And I haven't even yet accounted for the real story ! Somethings are just better not shared. I wish you ' Bon Voyage' and hope you have your own story to tell or not ;).
Duration of Stay -3 days
My trip to Amsterdam seems like a blur. I found it really hard to pen down everything. I went with a group of friends and even after constant consulting, I could not account for the whole trip yet. Honestly Amsterdam is most worthy of the phrase What happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam!! When I was trying to do a survey before going, I did try asking around, didn't really get any solid answer of where, what, when to go. Hence the conclusion, everybody makes their own story at Amsterdam.
Going down memory lane, of whatever memory has sustained and with a little help from google maps, have managed to retrace most of the steps.
Hotel - 1 night at the St. Christophers Winston Hostel. We booked our stay last minute so obviously we couldn't grab a steal deal. And also, ours was a twin sharing room with an attached bathroom. We didnt stay in a dorm.
We basically wanted to feel the essence of the backpacker traveler. It reminded me of my days when I was studying in Manchester. That's how small our room and bathroom was.
 |
| Yeah - that's our room in Amsterdam - this is how the trip begins! |
The next two nights, we stayed at the Swissotel.
Both the places were located at the best place near Dam Square. They were both located in each others proximity, barely a 5min walk. Wouldn't recommend you to stay anywhere else. Everything is close from this location.
And our accommodation at both places were awesome! The hostel room seemed a little small and cramped, more so when you are carrying 2 huge sets of suitcases. So travel light when you do plan to stay in a hostel.
 |
| The Lobby at St. Christopher's Hostel |
TO DO:
Bike ride- We picked the Yellow Bike. If you enjoy cycling, you have to see the city on a bike. It is amazing. It rains anytime there but they do provide you with a poncho styles raincoat. That should be fine! It is a 3 hr tour. The bike ride is just a cruise through the city.You will see sights such as the harbour, the Jordaan quarter, the Anne Frank house, the Rijksmuseum, the Vondel Park, the “Skinny Bridge”, Rembrandt’s house and the Red Light District. In short it is a glimpse of the city's culture, architecture and history. So, if you do want photo ops or spend more time at a certain place, you will have to just go there once again.
 |
| Notice this architectural beauty - It is triangulated at the edge! not a rectangular corner. |
Also, you can take these free walking tours. So, Amsterdam is not that huge. It would be really fun to walk it too.
 |
| Cruising through the serence city of Amsterdam |
Places to see:
1)Flower Market
 |
| Ohhh -so pretty!! |
 |
| The variety of Cacti amazes me! |
2)Canals - Amsterdam is a very scenic city. In fact, I think Venice is overrated. In comparison to Venice, the canals are way better in Amsterdam than Venice. VERY VERY clean city! And the canals are there at every 10 mins distance. So now you know amongst many other names, why is Amsterdam called the canal city too!
 |
| Canal City - Amsterdam |
3)Red Light District - You have to see it to believe it. Sharing no pictures for it!. Enticing the curious mind. :) In fact, honestly it is literally 'window shopping.' However, in the true sense, being no moral police or going by the laws of ethics, I appreciate the concept of the display of the Red Light District. Going by my opinion, I didnt find it distasteful at all!
4)Van Gogh Museum - We reached after 5 pm. Try reaching there before closing time. So we missed out on seeing some of the most beautiful art work.
5)Anne Franks Museum- If you are into hitler and nazis and history. Definitely worth a visit. Always a long qeueu. Huge wait to get in.
6)iAMsterdam - You cannot come back without taking a picture there.
 |
| Being Touristy - and why not! |
Vondel Park - It is immense, so you can bike ride through it, lounge around the garden area. Since everything is legit in Amsterdam, you can do illegit legitimately.
Another thing, you could do is go to the Heineken museum and have some heineken beer.
There are all sorts of museum, the other popular one would be the sex museum.
 |
| Heineken Beer Museum |
Shopping:
This is the first and only time, I did not find time to shop. Sigh!!!!
But, there is this huge street right behind swissotel with all the stores. And it extends all the way to the other side of the Dam square running horizontal. MUST MUST check it out.
There will be all the European Brands - H&M, Pimkie to name a few!
Buy Cheese, Mayonnaise and Sauces of different types - there are a lot of choices with respect to that. And they are all good!
 |
| Red Window Capture - There is a cheese and sauce store in the basement |
Food
The Mexican Restaurant- for mexican food; Damstreet. Really good food!
Umami - Tapas- That meal was uber delicious.
Chipsy King- amazing fries!!
Around our hostel Christopher Winston there are a lot of cafe's and restaurants and small bars. Can go visit any. You will definitely find something to satiate your taste buds.
Then we went to a restaurant on the Spuitstraat street. There are a lot of options there too.
Leidseplein - This area is super for a night out! There are restaurants, clubs and basically a party scene.
I think we went to the club Jimmy Woo and then around that there are a few others.
Rembrandt Square for the Night Life, Food, and the like.
Bulldog Cafe - When in Amsterdam, people tell you oh you must go to any cafe and youll find the brownie, but NO, that is not true. You have have have to go to CAFE BULLDOG and have the out of the space cake. That's it. There is no other brownie!
 |
| Aptly named 'Out of Space' Brownie |
Cafe Metropolitan - You can actually sniff chocolate. I didnt do it, so I dont know how it is done, though you should try it. It is neighbouring to our hostel.
All in all, Amsterdam is Beautiful. I'd identify it with a split personality. It is a scenic, serene, all things pretty and can be called a family place to go to.
But yeah, then on the other side, it has it's Wild Side, but I guess you choose which side you want to be on and you can experience both. It is pretty balanced. Safe to visit. I don't remember us taking a cab ever.
 |
| Resplendent in its architectural beauty - Dam Square |
As I already did mention, this blog is a little incomplete. I dont have the names of the restaurants, the clubs that we went to, to suggest the exact places which would be worth your time. But I have managed to identify the areas. Hope it helps!!
3 days flew by. But you dont need more time than this to explore the city. And I haven't even yet accounted for the real story ! Somethings are just better not shared. I wish you ' Bon Voyage' and hope you have your own story to tell or not ;).
