We woke up on day two (Sept. 14) of our trip in Amsterdam and went out for a "traditional Dutch breakfast" - basically eggs, toast and bacon. Sealed the deal we are not fans of the Dutch cuisine.
Then we went to the Anne Frank House for our tour. My good friend Carrie recommended we get tickets online so we could skip the line and walked right in. Cameras weren't allowed inside of the museum but it was really an amazing experience. Like most young girls I read The Diary Of Anne Frank growing up so it was pretty surreal being in the attic she lived in. Everything was in its original places and it was a very moving experience.
sign at the door
The attic where Anne Frank lived
After the Anne Frank House we moved onto some lighter things on our Amsterdam to-do list:
We went to find the "I am sterdam" letters in front of the Rijksmuseum...
Went and walked around the flower market...
tulip bulbs
Tried pickled herring and as you can tell from the picture it was awful! We figured we should at least try it since it was another Dutch food - but again sealed the deal Dutch food is not good.
the pickled herring stand Rick Steves recommended
picked herring = yuck!
Did a canal cruise (interesting fact there are more canals in Amsterdam then there are in Venice) and it was a great way to see the beautiful city.
And something that was very high on my list - riding bikes around the city! I felt so European and tried to blend in with the locals. They even have special bike stop lights for the bike lanes.
off we go on our bikes!
riding along the canals
biking through the park
they have special bike lanes with their own stoplights
And lots of coffee to keep us going
coffee #1
coffee #2 (look how tiny it is)
coffee #3
Indonesian food + Belgium beer = happy travelers
After dinner the last thing we had to do on our Amsterdam list was check out the Red Light District. It was needless to say very interesting. We felt safe the whole time, there were lots of police officers and it was mainly tourists like us not there to "shop" but just check out the area and see what it was all about. And as as you would expect, everything is just right there in the open - the ladies just stand there in their "shop window" waiting for "customers."
After our Red Light walk we kept walking around the city and took some night pictures of the lovely city. We had a great couple of days in Amsterdam and are so glad we added it onto our trip! Next stop - Venice!
goodbye Amsterdam - may we meet again!
33 comments:
So jealous of you getting to be in AF's attic. Loved that book. All of your photos are great!
This looks like it was an amazing trip! I'd love to visit Amsterdam some day. Hoegarden is one of my all time favorite beers.
I did not know Amsterdam was so clean and beautiful! Love all the canals. Bike riding seems like a great way to enjoy the beautiful city!
Oh your pictures are all gorgeous! I can't wait to see more of them! I love love love fresh flower markets, one of my few reasons I wish I lived in a city.
I've never been to amsterdam it looks amazing. I love your photos!
Loved the pictures!!!! It looks like you had a wonderful time! I must admit that Amsterdam does not find itself on my "must see" list but I now might reconsider. :)
Love the photos! Pickled herring is so gross! I can't even smell it and it makes me cringe. Your photo of you and Nick in front of the I am sterdam letters is super cute!
I feel you're always traveling to these wonderful destinations! I just live vicariously through your awesome pics!
Cute pictures of you two with the bikes and the sign.
I love European coffee - and how they always serve it with a little cookie. Ahh, I want to go back!
We never tried Dutch food while we were there - I had just heard too many bad things about it, and you have confirmed we didn't miss out. We did have a lot of good non-Dutch food while we were there -their ethnic food is great!
I've always wanted to visit Amsterdam, and now I really, really want to. :)
I am so jealous of your trip!! So gorgeous!!!
new follower :) loooks like such a fun trip! cant wait to hear more about it!!
My goodness Europe is remarkably romantic and quite and an adventure. The flowers...the colors....all very appealing.
If only we didn't live on opposite coasts, perhaps we could take a cake decorating class together!
Beautiful pictures, girl!! Looks like it was a blast and those coffees look amazing! xx
i loved amsterdam when i visited it! and it is ok if you don't always like the food in another country i am the way with viennese food. i am going back through to see all your trip re-caps! love your blog!!
Carol, you should totally blow up and frame that bottom picture! It's so pretty! Maybe with a simple white matte and frame? It would be a great contrast!
Ah I LOVED Amsterdam. Such a great city.
haha love your face in the pickled herring picture :) Amsterdam is beautiful!!
looks like so much fun, the name of that sandwich just sounds gross
This is my first visit to your blog and I must say you are so blessed to have had such an amazing european experience. I'm looking forward to seeing more and pretending I'm there too!
BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS!! LOVELY BLOG!;)
Beautiful, Carol... Amsterdam was one of my favorite cities!! Love all of your pictures!
Every single photo looks like a postcard, SO amazing!!!
Wow, looks like such a fun trip! I hope that my husband & I get to take a European vacation someday soon! :)
Great photos! This gets me excited for a future trip to Amsterdam. I've always wanted to go...
Your pictures are amazing! I would love to see the Anne Frank Museum.
I LOVE Amsterdam! I studied there on a Mary Gates Grant several years ago with UW and loved living there. So fun to see your pictures!
xo Lisa
http://belleandbentley.blogspot.com
It is so much fun to see you talking about Amsterdam, I live in the Netherlands and I was born in Amsterdam.
It is funny when I see you writing about our bike lane, it is so normal for us to do LOL.
And yes the red light district isn't it amazing???
In Amsterdam everything is normal.
Big hugs from the Netherlands
Awww, Amsterdam...it's been so long that I've walked through that city but I remember its beauty and its charm. :) Love the combination of Indonesian food and Belgium beer...haha!
What a fun filled day! I love the face you're making on the food. I've heard it's pretty bland there. My roommate in college did a study abroad there and she said she missed food the most.
i think amsterdam is such a great city. but i am mad at myself for always missing anne franks home when im there! for some reason i always forget it is there!?!?
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..
You look too cute! haha Love all the pics..
Post a Comment