TRAVEL GUIDE AMSTERDAM

Three weeks ago I visited Amsterdam with two of my best friends. We had all officially passed our last exams in order to graduate, which had – of course – been a reason to celebrate. On top of that, it was the first time that we drove somewhere ourselves and stayed in a hotel without our parents. All in all pretty exciting! 

In this post I would like to tell you a little about my favorite spots and things to do in Amsterdam. And who knows? Maybe there is someone between you who decides to make a trip to the Netherlands soonish and finds some helpful information or ideas for places they would like to visit. 

Sadly my camera was broke during our stay so I can just upload a couple of cellphone pictures but I’m sure they will give you a good impression about what that beautiful city looks like!  

1. make a Canal Cruise
If the weather is sunny you should definitely make a Canal Cruise through Amsterdam since you not only get a good overview over the city - which can later help you a lot to find your way through all the little streets - but also, because you will learn some interesting facts about the city's history. Moreover, take a look at the outstandingly beautiful architecture!

2. visit the Anne Frank Museum
At least everybody who has read the diary of Anne Frank should visit this place at least once, but I would also recommend the museum to anyone else too. It shows the place, where the young Anne Frank and her jewish family had to hide during the time Germany was under the rule of Adolf Hitler. The dramatic story of this family and of course - many others during that time - will pluck your heartstrings. If you are planning your trip a week or more before, you should reserve some tickets over the internet otherwise it will take you up to 3 hours to get in!

3. try some local food
On one morning the three of us decided to have "Poffertjes" for breakfast. You can find this meal, which actually tastes and looks like small pancakes, at various places in town. They come with a large range of different toppings...so just look for what you like the most!
If you don't have a sweet tooth maybe one of the many cheese shops will be an opportunity for you! But do me a favor: Don't only eat in the touristy areas! We often grabbed our breakfast at different bakeries and were amazed how much cheaper and yummier the food was in the outside areas of Amsterdam!

4. go hardcore shopping
None of us three imagined that there would be so many opportunities to go shopping in Amsterdam. We were totally overwhelmed by the variety of shops - of which some - are just found in bigger cities or not found in Germany at all. If you have enough time and in the best case money you should check out the area around the Dam.

5. visit the Red Light District
We walked through the Red Light District just once. We had heard and seen that this area is very famous for Amsterdam, which is the reason why we thought: Ok, why not?! Somehow it's actually kind of interesting to walk trough but as a woman you are not really welcomed!

6. drive to Zaandvoort to relax 
On our last two days we decided that we wanted to see the sea...so this is what we did! We drove to Bloemendaal aan Zee and spent our evenings in the Beachclub San Blas. This place was a great choice! Not only the interior of this Beachclub, but also the food we got to enjoy was just awesome! If you have planned to stay for a longer time at the sea, I would recommend you to walk down the beach and take a look at all the different restaurants and clubs! Some of them look like stage designs - just too perfect to be real!

7. take a walk through Vondelpark
We spent an hour eating our breakfast from a bakery in the Vondelpark on our last day. I could imagine that it would have been nice to go there for a run or to plan a big picnic.


Love Laura