Hallo!

As you probably know Henri and I spent the week of our anniversary in Amsterdam celebrating 5 years of marriage. This is a trip that we’ve been wanting to make for years and are so glad that we finally made happen. Henri’s grandpa grew up in Amsterdam so Henri’s always been interested in visiting the Netherlands. We loved our time in Amsterdam and I think the Netherlands quickly won over our top spot for our favorite travel destination that we’ve been to together. 

If you’ve never been we can’t recommend a trip to Amsterdam and the Netherlands enough!

Where We Stayed

We stayed in an Airbnb  in the Jordaan area of the city. Our apartment was small but it had all of the necessities like a bed, a kitchen and a bathroom. We really like the option of having a kitchen when we are traveling because it gives us the opportunity to save a little bit of money by grocery shopping and eating breakfast in a few days during our trip. I can’t recommend Jordaan enough, it is a very cute area of the city with the classic feel of Amsterdam with the canals and Dutch style architecture. 

To get $40 off your first Airbnb stay anywhere in the world click here.

Personally, I would recommend avoiding staying anywhere in the city center. It was so busy when we were there that it was a little overwhelming walking through the city center. It was so nice to retreat out to Jordaan every evening and get away from the hustle and bustle of the city center.

What To Do

• Visit the Royal Palace and do a free audio-guide tour
• Take a boat tour around the canals
• Hang out in the Museumplein taking in the view of the Riksmuseum + I Amsterdam sign
• Go up the tower at Westerkerk (guided tours only, every 30 minutes)

• Visit the Anne Frank Museum 
• Go for a run, walk or bike in Vondelpark (seriously a beautiful place to go for a run)

• Spend a day at exploring the art collections at the Rijksmuseum.
• If beer is your thing, check out the Heineken Experience/Brewery.
• Wander around the streets/canals around Joordan and take in the beauty of the city.
• Take one of the free ferries (which leave from behind Amsterdam Centraal) to the Noord side of the canal and explore/eat a meal with a unique view of Amsterdam.

Day Trips

Amsterdam is a relatively small city so if your visit is longer than a few days it’s a good idea to have a few day trips planned outside of the city. We personally visited Haarlem, Gouda, Naarden and Muiden.

Haarlem

Haarlem is just a 15 minute train ride from Amsterdam’s Centraal Station. It is a very quintessential Dutch town and the architecture there was just beautiful. I highly recommend simply grabbing a map from the visitors station and following the map’s suggested walking tour. We grabbed a quick lunch in an old church turned brewery and made sure to check out the windmill and do a tour before we headed back to Amsterdam.

Gouda

Gouda is a quick, 30-minute train ride from Amsterdam. It is a small, quaint city so it can definitely be seen on foot in a few hours. In the summer make sure to visit on a Thursday for their weekly cheese market. The market includes various vendors selling all sorts of food and goods, live music, actors playing out how the farmers and cheese vendors used to barter and people dressed in traditional Dutch outfits. The old weighing house also has a small museum upstairs that is only a few euros to get in and is worth checking out if you are interested in learning how Gouda cheese is made. If you are a fan of Gouda make sure to buy some at the market because it is much cheaper than what you find in Amsterdam.

Naarden + Muiden

One of our favorite days of our trip was when we rented bikes and rode out to Naarden and Muiden. Naarden is an star-shaped, fortified city that dates back to the 1500s and Muiden’s castle, Muiderslot, was built in the middle ages. Both were an easy bike ride from Amsterdam, it’s about 30 miles round-trip but the terrain is relatively flat and you’re on a bike path nearly the entire time which was so much nicer than riding on the side of a road. If you are up for the bike ride I think it’s a much more fun option than driving because you get to see a bit of the Dutch country-side, ride along the water, and ride through farmland where cows and sheep are roaming. 

Naarden is very tiny and we were able to hit up all of the main spots in about an hour. We also made sure to visit the Fortress Museum (Nederlands Vestingmuseum), most of the information in the museum was in Dutch so we had a hard time deciphering it but it was interesting to see inside of the fortress itself. If you visit the museum definitely take one of the boat tours that are offered for the extra fee because the guide tells you a lot about the history and construction of the fortress.

Muiderslot was so fun to visit. It’s really well preserved and you really do feel like you take a step back in history when you enter the castle. All of the signs are in both Dutch and English so we learned a lot about the castle’s history on our visit. The only thing we didn’t take into account on our trip was that the castle closes at 5pm most days and we arrived at 4:20pm from Naarden. We were able to see everything but we definitely felt rushed and would have preferred up to 2 hours to look through everything and visit the gardens that we just got to glance at. 

Additional, recommended day trips: Leiden, Rotterdam, Utrecht & The Hague

Where We Ate

Kessens – Kessens was the one restaurant listed here that we ate at multiple times during our trip. It is a wonderful, little coffee-shop and breakfast/lunch spot that we just adored. They have egg dishes, a yummy fruit and yogurt parfait, fresh pastries and much more. Their homemade cookies that come with their coffees are also delicious!

Moeders – On our first night in the city we went on a search for classic, Dutch fare and were pointed to Moeders. It is a quaint little, family-owned restaurant that has pictures of mothers from all around the world covering the walls. The food was tasty, especially the spare-ribs and Dutch apple pie!

Lavinia Good Food – If you are in search of a healthy, hipster-type meal in Amsterdam Lavinia Good Food is the place to go. Of course Henri and I wanted to check it out because of the name, but the food ended up being really good as well. I got the Avocado Toast and while I definitely could have used avocado and eggs on both slices of toast it was a nice, light lunch.

The Pancake Bakery – The ambiance of The Pancake Bakery is pretty cool, because it’s located inside of an old canal house. They have a wide variety of pancake options and they are famous for their “international pancakes” that are each inspired by a different country. Henri got the Indonesian pancake which he loved! I stuck with a more classic, breakfast style pancake that was yummy as well. It was also fun that they have huge vats of syrup on the table that you just ladle onto your pancake with a wooden spoon if desired.

Pancakes Amsterdam – We hit up this chain, Dutch pancake restaurant a few times to split a pancake for a snack. Each time the staff was friendly and our pancakes were always delicious! (just a heads up that they only take card – no cash!)

The Seafood Bar – The Seafood Bar is a great place to celebrate a special occasion. Henri and I went here for our unofficial-official anniversary dinner. They seemed most popular for their large, sharing platters of chilled or fried seafood. Unlucky for Henri I’m a bit picky about what kind of seafood I like so he “settled” for the Mixed Grill meal while I enjoyed my salmon. 

Cafe De Klos – Cafe De Klos is one of those restaurants that you probably won’t go into if you just looked at it from the outside. It’s an unassuming building and to be completely honest if I was judging just based on the logo on their sign I wouldn’t have chosen to eat there (my bad!). After we got back from our Naarden/Muiden trip we were told by the guy we returned our bikes to at the shop that this was THE place to get spare ribs in the city. He said nothing else was worth ordering so we took him at his word and boy was he right! I’m not even a big ribs guy usually but these were out this world amazing!

IJscuypje – If you are in search of a cool, sweet treat IJscuypje is the place!

La Perla – We were told this was the best spot in the city for pizza and it did not disappoint! Definitely a must if you are crazy some Italian food during your visit. But beware because it is an incredibly small restaurant so a reservation is necessary!

Coffee + Coconuts – This place was so fun. It totally have a Southern California, hipster vibe to it and the coffee is amazing! I had both a flat white and a latte because the coffee was so good. Henri went with the breakfast burrito and I chose the coconut pancakes. 

Sampurna – We really wanted to try out an Indonesian rice-table style meal while we were in Amsterdam and Sampurna was a great place for it. You typically choose a specific fixed menu and it’s priced per person. Everything comes out at once and you get to sample all of the dishes. I loved everything (besides the tofu dishes) that came in our menu and the only thing I wish is that the portions would have been bigger so I could have had more of my favorite dishes.

De Pont – A fun, outdoor restaurant on the Noord side of the canal. It serves tapas-style dishes meant for sharing. We tried so many things I can’t even remember, but they were all very good!

What to Eat

If you are in the Netherlands do not leave without trying all of these uniquely Dutch treats.

Poffertjes

Dutch Pancakes
Fresh Mint Tea
Indonesian Rice Table
Gouda Cheese
Dutch Fries
Spare Ribs
Dutch Apple Pie

Things to Know

• Everyone in the Netherlands speaks really good English but I do always love to know a few key phrases of the countries that I visit. The only phrases that we ever ended up using were Hallo (Hello) and Dank u wel (Thank you)
• The bikers in the city stop for NO ONE! Be very careful when going to cross the street on foot and if you decide to ride bikes through the city be aware that the other bikers will never be expecting you to stop! 
• The coffee is the most American-like coffee that I’ve had in Europe. The sizes are generous and they are down with to-go coffee, which a lot of countries aren’t. 
• Many restaurants require reservations. From my previous experiences this is very uncommon in Europe so I was very surprised at first. If there is a restaurant that you are really interested in check online ahead of time to see if a reservation is required.
• A lot of museums encourage or even require you to buy your tickets online so make sure to check before heading out. 
• The Anne Frank House Museum requires you to buy your tickets far far in advance. I tried to buy tickets a few weeks before we left for our trip and the week we were there was already sold out. It is probably the thing that I am most bummed that we missed out on, if that museum is on your MUST SEE list make sure to make a reservation a month or more in advance.
• Amsterdam is a relatively small city, we were really glad that we had multiple day trips planned to get out of Amsterdam itself because we felt that we were able to see/experience Amsterdam sufficiently in 3-4 days 
• Some restaurants/shops are very particular about what types of payments they accept. Some only take card, some only take cash, etc. so be prepared with both just in case.

I think I’m ready to go back already!