I recently went to Amsterdam at the end of March and it was an amazing experience and I’m already planning to go back!
My day started early, I was at Edinburgh airport for 3.30am and checked into my flight with KLM at 3.45am! Thank god for the new scanners are the airport, they make going through security so much quicker and easier! No faffing around getting iPads and liquids out! However, at 4am not much is really open at the airport so I got some toiletries and then waited for my gate.
The flight with KLM was great and smooth, you get a drink and snack included in the ticket fare which is a bonus! Once we landed in Schiphol airport, we taxied to gate and departed the plane. I did have trouble locating the baggage claim and passport control but once I found it, it was very clear where my bag would come out and there was even a expected timeline of that which was great.
Once my bag arrived and my friends flight had landed, I made a quick change into some jeans and a nice top and then headed out and down to the train station. We got the train to Amsterdam Central which was about 20 minutes and made my way to the exit and bag storage, which is right by the Ibis at the entrance to the train station from the city. The total for the day for a medium locker was €15.00 but make sure you have everything out as once it is locked, you cannot open it again without having to pay to re-lock it.
From there, we made our way towards the main central area by the Royal Palace Amsterdam, which at the time of writing, is currently closed. Wondering through the side streets, we came across what I can only describe as my dream cafe… Sweet Treats! This cafe was a flower and pink lovers dream, there are flowers and pink everywhere, and the small pancakes they did were incredible! I love being able to get fluffy pancakes which real chocolate melted on top rather than chocolate sauce.
We continued to wonder round the side streets and headed for Anne Franks House. Note for future me for my return, book well in advance and make sure you book using the offical page: https://www.annefrank.org/nl/museum/tickets/ as there are a number of frauds out there, one of which I fell for! As we walked, there were so many beautiful cafes and stores, pastels which I loved! Every bridge we crossed, we saw bikes including ones with aritical flowers! Each bridge was stunning and offered a new view of the city. We stopped off for lunch at Pluk, where I had more pancakes (these were with chocolate sauce though). Pluk had some gorgeous wee trinkets you could buy. They had books, plates, glasses, candles etc.
We then got to Westerkerk church, which has the Anne Frank monument beside it. Here I purchased some local tulips for some photos, we looked at the local sovereign shop where I bought a lovely tote bag that says “Easily Distracted by Cows” which for me is especially true – living in Scotland I am mostly distracted by Highland Cows…
Westerkerk Church is the biggest church in Amsterdam. Built from 1619 to 1631, the church is the most important protestant church with the bell tower being a staple of Amsterdam. The view from the bridges is probably one that you have seen when searching Amsterdam.
As mentioned. the Anne Frank monument is located beside or outside the church. This monument is a silent tribute to Anne Frank and everything that she went through. For me, knowing she was just 16 when she died, made the monument emotional for me. Last year, I visited Auschwitz and saw where Jewish people like Anne were sent. Knowing and seeing what she would have gone through, made seeing the statue and even the house, emotional. Here, you can pay tribute to Anne but also all the others who would have been in the same situation as her.
The house where Anne hid is just behind the church and monument, down along canal. When we went, there was construction happening to the entrance however we did not have tickets to go in unforntuantly, so I will be doing this when I go back. However, seeing the actual house from the outside brings simialar emotions to monument. Whilst I do love a photo, it did not feel right to take a photo in front of the house as some were doing (no hate to them). The house wasn’t as I thought from the outside, I guess I thought it would still be the same as it was back in the 1940’s, it’s impossible for me to imagine what Anne and her family would have felt, but the now positive atmosphere outside the house, shows how much an impact her diary had on the world and keeping that memory alive, reminds us of what humans can do.
We walked down a little more and found a bench by the canal. We watched the boats go along and enjoyed some food. This is where my day got a little sad… whilst taking a picture with my phone, my camera with all my photos of Amsterdam to this point, fell from the bench and in slow motion fell into the canal… with all those in surrounding cafes watching… This is where I found out that you can pay someone with a magent to go and try and recover things, however the cost was not justifable and I had insurances, I just lost my photos of my partner, cat and Amsterdam which can all be taken again. Some very lovely locals did provide some details on the magnet man but the only one I could find was expensive.
After I cried internally and my friends finished their food, we walked another bridge and found a bike I had wanted to find purely for the fact it was covered in pink flowers! Only after I took the photos did I realise Anne Franks house is in the background… We went through some more back streets and got some coffee then began to head back towards Amsterdam Central. We wondered through the cities sides street (we did need the toilet here and learnt it was 70 cent to use the toilet in McDonalds). We found another store which was adorable called the “Cow Museum” – which was filled with cow statues and paintings! If I could have I would have bought so many however, I knew I couldn’t fit them in my bag home!
Before we went to our AirBnB, we visited the ‘Sex Musuem’, which I found a very unique experience. For me, this sort of this is a very private thing however, I did want to see the museum. The first floor is definently more comedic, with moving statues displaying certain acts, a room about the older Red Light District and a motion sensor fart machine.
There was infortmation on Mata Hari and her male partners, a statue of American Model and Actress Marilyn Monreo with wind blowing her skirt up, as well as on the third floor a display of a Moulin Rouge show. There are a number of intimate pictures throughout, however, my personal favourite was the plastic phalluses that must have been about 6ft tall, standing erect which you can pose with! It made for a funny picture! Ticket were €10 for entry and it is open from 10am to 6pm.
After a long day we went to our AirBnB. We collected our bags and then got an uber from the taxi collection at Amsterdam Centra. We stayed about 20 minutes by bike outside the city. The Uber took 10 minutes I’m usual traffic however, we went back at what appeared to be rush hour, so took us about 30 minutes. After meeting the host, we chilled out before we headed to the local supermarket down by the harbour. We were able to use the bikes provided by our host and took the 15 minutes down to the harbour.
Personally, I enjoyed the bike however, not on the main roads. One main thing to note is that you need to ensure you use signally or the locals get rather annoyed. On the way back from the store, we used the bike path which was good, calmer and easier I found. We got pizza at a local restaurant near the supermarket and cycled home. We chilled and enjoyed that pizza, then I headed in for an ‘early’ night.
My favourite pictures from day one:
