Amsterdam

Welcome to Amsterdam

I’m gonna tell you right away to be smart here, for one reason only: it’s easy to be high the entire time. So it will slow everything down and you won’t get to see everything you want to. That aside, here we go.

So I went on a guided tour which had two huge pros and one massive con. Pros were that we got seriously hooked up with this hotel with the best beds. Second, they took us to two old towns outside of Amsterdam that were absolutely breathtaking (Volendam and Edam).  The con? We left Friday morning, took a bus all day and then a ferry. So we lost almost the entire day on the front end and back end of the weekend, so we only had like, 38 hours there.. oh and an afternoon in Bruges. It does take out the stress of planning for yourself though.

This is the Program 

and it’s 145 pounds.. if you’re leaving from anywhere in England. Not horrific. If you’re leaving form somewhere else..just fly over there.

From what I DO remember….

Everything is walkable, so you don’t need to take the trams. BUT the trams are based on the honor system so if you’re going to take one, you don’t neeeed to buy a ticket, but don’t get caught.

What to See:

Heineken Experience: aka brewery. One of the better brew tours I’ve been to.

Van Gogh Museum

You must go to the Red Light District (but don’t take pictures…and if you do, don’t take them with flash….I got chased down by a Spanish prostitute.. I wouldn’t recommend it.)

I Amsterdam sign.. it’s right next to the Van Gogh Museum.

Ann Frank House

If you’re on this program, take advantage of the guided tours of Edam and Volendam. If I haven’t said this enough, I will keep saying it. They were one of my favorite places I’ve ever been, just gorgeous. You can take an old time picture in one of the areas in traditional Dutch garb. It’s one of the funniest pictures I have, I love it.

Night Life:

Honestly go to any “coffee house” they have menus of what kind of weed you want.

Bull Dog and Grasshopper are two good places. Get some stuff at Grey Area.

If you’re looking for night clubs, OT301, and Studio 80 are good places to go. But I would recommend going to a night club in another city if you have limited nights.

What to Eat:

French fries with ketchup, curry powder, and mayonnaise. IT’S SO GOOD, TRUST.

Wok to Walk

Get some cheeses. They’re bomb. And chocolate.

The wine here is DANGEROUS… and the beer is super bitter.

(This is so pathetic I actually don’t remember much of anything from this weekend. We went to a random Chinese restaurant for dinner one night. I have never experienced anything so much like The Hangover in my life)

As for Bruges, get a Belgian Waffle, take some pictures, it’s beautiful. But if you’re on this trip that’s basically all you have time for.

OVERALL

If you can’t get on this trip or think it’s a bit of bull (which maybe a little bit), PLEASE do yourself a favor and go to Edam and Volendam. I’ve truly never been to such beautiful places in my life. It was like a storybook.