I just returned from a trip to Amsterdam and Brussels. I’m going to post some extended details about some of the stuff we did, but for now, here’s the itinerary for the Amsterdam portion of the trip. Feel free to use this as a starting point for your own planning!
17 September – Arrival
• Arrive in Amsterdam around 10:30A. The airport is massive, so figure out where you’re going to meet before you get there. But there’s free wifi if you want to use WhatsApp or something like that
• Banks Mansion (hotel) – Beautiful property in Herengracht with all drinks included, as well as breakfast in the mornings and wine and cheese tastings in the evenings. If you book through their website, you can use code FEELHOME to get a 5% discount on your stay. It’s not cheap, but it’s a nice place.
• Bloemenmarkt (flowers) – This line of about 20 shops sells all of the tulips and flowers and Amsterdam kitch that you could need. The stores used to be floating on the canal, but now they are fixed in place, which takes away some of the romance of the space, but it probably makes it a lot more stable and less likely to float away in a storm.
• We popped into a few stores near Bloemenmarkt to get cheese samples, check out the head shop (we didn’t buy anything), get some fries, and try a stroopwaffel. Grab a coffee and find someplace to hang out for a little while. But be warned, there are a lot of tourists walking around, so expect it to be crowded.
• Golden Bend (view) – Our hotel is right around the Golden Bend, so walking through that neighborhood was quite scenic. I don’t think there’s a specific location called “the Golden Bend,” though. From there, we wandered around the city, mostly northwest of the hotel. We didn’t have a plan at this point, so we just walked and caught up.
• Dinner at Gebroeders Hartering. This was a fantastic meal. Make a reservation and do the tasting menu with the wine. It’s not cheap, but it’s one of the best meals I’ve had in years. I may do a separate post about this meal by itself.
18 September – Western Canal Ring
• Westerkerk (tower) – This church is still in use and very scenic if you want to walk around it. I don’t think you can go into the church, though.
• Jordaan (neighborhood) – This neighborhood is right across the canal from Westerkerk, so it was a logical next step. Walk through the streets and see the views. There is supposed to be a small park here, but we couldn’t find it.
• Negen Straatjes (9 little streets) – Also in the area, Negan Straatjes has lots of little shops and cafes. Grab something to eat and drink and relax. Kicking back in Negen Straatjes was one of the most “European” experiences of the trip, in my opinion. Hanging out at a sidewalk cafe and chatting with friends is something far more common in Europe than in the US, and something I’d love to try to do here.
• De Kaaskamer (cheese) – Nothing impressive here. They don’t do samples, but there are more types of gouda here than you can imagine. You can get a sandwich here if you want, although I only saw one person take advantage of that option. I’d skip it next time.
• Chocolaterie Pompadour (chocolate) – One of the better known chocolate shops in Amsterdam (and recently profiled on Housewives of Beverly Hills, apparently), this little shop has just a few tables in the back. Don’t waste your time waiting for one; just grab what looks good and enjoy while you walk along the canals. But the chocolate is great, so check it out.
• De Zotte (bar) – This place was supposed to have great cocktails, but our waitress knew nothing about them. I need to figure out where I heard about this place, but for the most part, it was pretty weak. I wouldn’t recommend going there.
• Whiskeycafe L&B (bar) – Decent whiskey list, but the whiskey flights were poorly designed and they seemed to be out of a lot of things. By the time we got here, we were pretty buzzed, so the fact that I still didn’t like it much should tell you something.
• Tujuh Maret (Indonesian restaurant) – Amsterdam is known for their Indonesian restaurants, oddly enough. We checked out one of the better known spots, which wasn’t too far from the hotel. I thought the food was lacking in seasonings and flavor, but that might just have been my palate. I’m not going to race back to try Indonesian anytime in the near future, but I wouldn’t be adverse to the idea.
19 September – Central Canal Ring
• Albert Cuyp Markt (street market) – This 6 or 7 block stretch has everything you need from waffles and pastries to shoes and washing machines (the last one confused the crap out of me when I saw it)
• Rijksmuseum (museum) – Just like any other museum. Very spacious and well laid-out, this museum has something for everyone. I’m not really a museum person, but it was still a fun way to spend a little time.
• Heineken Experience (brewery tour) – This brewery tour covers the basics of brewing as well as some of the history of Heineken. There are a few fun activities at the end, and your admission includes 2 beers (don’t do the pour-it-yourself beer, because then you’ll only get one). Plan on getting there relatively early so you beat the crowd.
• House of Bols (distillery tour) – There wasn’t a lot of history about genever as a liquor here. The place felt more like a giant ad for Bols (which I guess it is), trying to sell guests on how many different flavors they offer. Your admission includes one cocktail based on Bols liquor, and you can buy more for €5 each. We ended up trying three different cocktails, none of which were all that great. For the Bols Cosmo, they just swapped out the vodka in a cosmopolitan for genever. If you can imagine making a cocktail with gin, then you’re on the right track. The right track to make a cocktail that’s not tasty.
• Dinner @ Ciel Blue (restaurant) – This Michelin 2-starred restaurant was one hell of an experience. The tasting menu with the wine pairings took 5 1/2 hours. Seriously. We weren’t exactly racing to get through the meal, but it was a long, leisurely experience. It wasn’t cheap (I won’t tell you how much it was), but I felt that it was overpriced. I know you’re there for the service and the experience, and you’re paying for all of that, but the food wasn’t nearly as good as some of the other ‘great’ meals I’ve had over the years, and I don’t even think it was as good as Gebroeder’s Hartering.
• Red Light district (neighborhood) – If you’re in Amsterdam, there are a few things you’re almost expected to do. One of them is that you have to visit the red light district. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was about 2A (like I said, dinner took 5 1/2 hours), and this was a Monday night/ Tuesday morning. Apparently even folks in the red light district in Amsterdam go to sleep at that hour. We found a few bars that were closing, but that was about it.
20 September – Eastern Canal Ring
• Rembrandt Plein (neighborhood) – We started the day by checking out this little neighborhood near our hotel. It’s really just a square with some statues in the middle. There are a lot of tourists taking pictures there, as expected. Around it are a few cafes and coffee shops (there’s a difference), but nothing really impressive. You can walk there, spend 10 minutes looking around, and be done with it.
• Oudekerk (church) – For some reason, we had a really hard time finding this church. It’s really not that hard to find, but we had some issues. Inside is beautiful, with some amazing stained glass and statues.
• Red Light district (neighborhood) – One of the most interesting things that we found in Amsterdam was that all of the prostitutes were located within 2 blocks of the Oudekerk chuch. If you stand on the sidewalk and look one way, you see a beautiful church. Turn around, and there’s semi-dressed women in the window. Walk around a little and you get a clear idea of what’s going on. We didn’t see anyone going in to partake of any of the “services,” but some of the windows had the curtains drawn, which is supposed to indicate that they were busy. I wasn’t about to knock on the glass to find out.
• Amsterdam Jewel Cruises (Dinner cruise) – This is a fun way to check out the city, although there was absolutely no information given about what neighborhood we were in or any of the history of the city. The captain introduced himself at the start of the cruise and said goodbye at the end of the cruise; that was the extent of the talking. The other interesting thing about the cruise is that the food wasn’t prepared on the boat. We docked, the crew got off to get food from a restaurant, and served us on the boat. It was an interesting approach to a dinner cruise which I hadn’t seen before.
21 September – Leave Amsterdam
• Another quick walk around the Bloemenmarkt and we headed to the train station. If you look at the itinerary above, it looks pretty hectic, but it ended up being great. We had plenty of time to stroll around and see things leisurely and to stop and enjoy beer and coffee at the local venues. Other than the Rijksmuseum, we didn’t pre-purchase any tickets, so we could adjust our plans as needed.
What we missed:
• Leidspelein (neighborhood) – This area is supposed to have great nightlife. We didn’t make it there, but it may be worth checking out.
