Five Days In Amsterdam

I love travelling, experiencing new things and seeing what the world has to offer, as although I feel a bit anxious - being in a town or city that I don't know - I also feel really relaxed and happy that I am able to get away from everything for a bit and just have fun; as if I am a little kid again. 

With travelling comes memories and my trip to Amsterdam with my boyfriend this week is full of them; some of which I managed to capture on camera and want to document here on my blog. So, if you want to hear about what we got up to on our 5-day break in this beautiful city and what my top tips would be if you are thinking of going there, then carry on reading :)

Let's start with the hotel. It was called Park Hotel and oh my gosh, I have never stayed in such a posh place! I mean, I had to pay 200€ when we checked in for what they called a 'deposit', but with a (really expensive) minibar, a wet room, a bed that you literally sunk into when you laid on it and a little pot with earbuds and shower caps in, I felt like a star from a movie or something haha. I must say, I really made use of the wet room as on the first day I had a shower and - I still don't know how - the water ran through the entire bathroom, under the door and out into the bedroom! It took hours for all of the water to completely dry up and after that I was so scared that it would happen again that I kept checking every 2 minutes whilst in the shower haha. Anyway, the room was amazing and the hotel was quite central to everywhere that we wanted to go which was a plus. 

On the first day we went to the Van Gogh museum which although was a 5 minute walk away, I still managed to make us late. Actually, I made us late to all of the places that we visited haha. So we walked round each floor, looked at the artwork and visited the gift shop to get a fridge magnet (a must), before heading back outside where we grabbed a hotdog and a crepe to satisfy our rumbling stomachs. 
We then headed to a park and nature reserve which was about a 40 minute tram and train ride away. We walked along the paths, took photos and made friends with a number of dogs along the way. It was a lovely peaceful park which I would definitely spend an afternoon at if it wasn't so cold haha. 

On Wednesday we went to a place called Sherlocked which is essentially a room escape game. We had one hour to work out all the clues and get out of the room that we were in, which we didn't manage to do, although we had fun trying. This kind of thing is something I have never tried before and I definitely want to go back and have another go at it! 
It was pouring down with rain the whole day with crazy winds due to storm Doris, so soaking wet clothes and two broken umbrellas later, we got back to the hotel and waited for the weather to settle before going out for dinner. 
The food in Amsterdam is definitely something worth raving about. We tried different restaurants and ate Chinese, Pizza, Pancakes, Hotdogs, Pasta, Ribs and Burgers; all of which were amazing! I definitely recommend Pancake Corner (the satellite sports bar) in Leidseplein. We also tried McDonalds and Burger King products that aren't available in the UK because, why not? 

On Thursday we went to the Anne Frank House because I love History and learning about things that have happened in the past and this experience and learning about what Anne and her family went through was so sad, yet so interesting. The annex that they hid in over the years seemed so tiny and cramped and the stories that we heard from the people that survived the war were so eye-opening. 

Later on in the evening we went to the Ice Bar because again it is something that I have never done before and yet have always wanted to do. So we got our drinks tokens, downed our Sex on the Beach cocktails, put our gloves and jackets on and then went into the -9.4º bar where we took photos and drank from our ice glasses. It was a really good experience and it made the weather outside seem 100x better haha. 

As we had to leave on Friday, we got ready, packed up all of our things and checked out; leaving our bags in the hotel's holding room until we had to go to the airport. We spent the afternoon taking more photos, eating pancakes and hotdogs and picking up souvenirs before heading back to collect our bags to jump on the tram back to the station. 

During the week we also visited the Red Light District because I had heard about it and was obviously intrigued haha. So we went home with many memories, wishing that we could spend another 5 days there. 

Amsterdam is one of those places that you can visit over and over again as there is so much to do there, so I for one will be going back! I also picked up things throughout my time there so I thought that I would share my top 5 tips for anyone who is thinking of visiting :) 

1. Buy any tickets to museums or canal cruises online in advance. It saves a lot of time (and your feet don't ache from waiting in endless queues).
2. If you are about to walk on something that looks like a pavement, think twice as it is probably a road in disguise. 
3. Look out for bikes more than you look out for anything else on the road. They are EVERYWHERE.
4. Go to Pancake Corner and order a pancake with bacon or bananas or one of the many other choices, then smother it in syrup. You'll thank me later.
5. Buy a 24/48/72/96 hour travel card depending on how long you are there for. Trust me, it will save you quite a bit! 

So, that was my week, I hope you all enjoyed your's as much as I did! 

xx