Let me first thank all the people that provided recommendations for things to do and see, and places to eat in Amsterdam. There are definitely a lot of things to do in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it around to everything that was on our list, including a day trip to Bruges, Belgium. We will have to save those things for the next time. Nevertheless, we had a really nice time! Without further ado, here are my notes (which get a little thin toward the end) and photo galleries from the trip.
Note: For the photo galleries, you can either click on “Show as slideshow,” or simply click on any of the thumbnails images to see an enlarged version. Use the arrows at the bottom of the picture(s) to can navigate left and right within the pop-up gallery. To get out of the gallery and return to the post, just click on the picture.Travel Day
Our British Airways flight was scheduled to depart Dulles at 6:15 pm. Somewhere around noon, Carla approaches me, with a sick look on her face, and says “I have a sinking feeling that my passport is in the apartment in New York.” Zoinks!!!
I must admit that my first reaction was not a tempered one. “Why are you just now looking for your passport? I asked you and Noah a few days ago about them.” Carla’s suggested that the direction of my conversation is helping the situation. The panic in the air was palpable. It became clear that, barring the appearance of a passport fairy, Noah and I would have to travel to Amsterdam without Carla. The big, looming question was really whether she could get on a plane from New York the next day without paying British Airways a king’s ransom. Carla immediately got on the phone with British Airways. Apparently, there was trouble trying to make changes to her ticket, because it was arranged through Hilton’s travel office. (Hilton sponsored the trip on Top Chef, so we worked with their in-house travel office.) In the end, the British Airways agent suggested that we all go to Dulles, and, hopefully, one of the agents there could help Carla sort things out. So, we all piled in the car for a rather quiet drive to the airport. I didn’t want to provide any more non-constructive commentary.
Once at the airport, Noah and I went to one agent, and Carla went to another. Our agent bumped Noah and me up from premium economy seats to Club World seats (no lounge access, unfortunately) for the flight to London. Once checked in, we walked down to Carla. Fortunately, the agent was able to get her on a flight the next day out of JFK, and the fees were just $275. Whew! While I was sad that we wouldn’t fly out together, I was relieved to know that things worked out. With that, Noah and I gave Carla a hug and said goodbye.
Our flight departed on time from Dulles, and we arrived in London Heathrow around 6 am (GMT).
A little sidebar about the flight: The British Airways Club World seats were nice! The service was spectacular. The lay-flat seats with 10″ personal, swing-out screens were awesome. The food and wine was tasty. I appreciated even the smallest touches, like the personal toiletry kits that we received. Nothing like being able to freshen up and brush your teeth after an overnight flight.
After a short layover in London, we boarded our flight to Amsterdam. It was a short flight, and we landed in Amsterdam around 9:40 am (CET) — six hours ahead of Eastern time. (Read: It was 3 am to our bodies.)
Day 1
I read quite a bit about catching the train to Centraal Station and then taking a tram to the hotel, but I opted for a taxi. It still amazes me that taxis in a lot of European countries are Mercedes Benz sedans. Anyway, twenty minutes and 35€ later, we arrived at our home for the week — the Hilton Amsterdam. Surprisingly, in spite of the early hour, we were able to check in. Noah and I were tired, but we forged on. We picked up 24-hour tram cards from the concierge, and walked over to the nearest stop. We took the tram in to outer part of the city center, walked around a bit, and then decided to jump on a canal tour. We had to wait for about 40 minutes until the next tour, we Noah and I walked around in Vondelpark. We jumped on a Blue Boat Company canal tour boat, and proceeded to nod off repeatedly. After the tour, we walked along the fashion district until we stopped in Brasserie Keyser for lunch. The service was incredibly slow, which given our jet lag shouldn’t have bothered us, but we would much rather sleep in the hotel than at a brasserie table. We jumped on a tram back to the hotel. Noah and I both passed out immediately when we got into the room. I woke up after and hour, and tried to stayed up as long as I could to get adjusted to the time. Noah didn’t budge.
Day 2
Noah and I got up around 9. Buffet breakfast was included with our stay, so we head down to Roberto’s. Carla was due in around 11, so we planned to stay around the room until she arrived. I just happened to be online when I received an IM from Carla letting me know that she missed her flight in London because of a snafu with the airport tram. She was not due into Amsterdam at 2pm. Instead of heading out and coming back, Noah and I chilled out in the room until Carla arrived.
After Carla arrived — around 4 — we all walked out and jumped on a 16 tram to Dam Square. I heard that one must try Indonesian food while in Amsterdam, and I remembered hearing about Toko Joyce. We walked around looking for Toko Joyce. This involved walking up and down the streets of the Red Light District. Between the women in the windows and the near non-stop aroma of weed wafting through the air, the walk was quite an experience. It’s an understatement that the streets of the City Center of Amsterdam can be confusing. When we finally found Toko Joyce, but were disappointed to discover that the place was a take away, not dine in. That was my bad. Apparently, I didn’t read enough about the place to know that it wasn’t a dine-in spot. We changed gears pretty quickly, and walked around. We came across Blauw ann de Wal, which was recommended by a few people that commented on the blog. We popped in, but were told they were all booked for the evening. We made a reservation for the next day and asked for a recommendation. We were told to go to Restaurant Anna. After getting lost a few times, again, we finally found the restaurant. Unfortunately, they were also completely booked for the evening. The hostess suggested visiting their sister restaurant, Brasserie Harkema, which was about 7-10 minutes away by foot. She told us that the restaurant was a straight walk. I couldn’t resist quipping that nothing in Amsterdam travels on a straight line. She politely laughed. Off we went. The atmosphere at Brasserie Harkema was nice. The service was a bit spotty and the food was decent. After dinner, we caught a 16 tram back to the hotel.
Day 3
I think that we all woke up intermittently in the wee hours, but I’ll say that we officially got up around 10 am. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and then hit the street. We caught the 5 tram to Dam Square and walked to the Ann Frank Huis. It was rainy, quite windy, and chilly. As we approached the museum, we could see that the line wrapped around the building and ran down the side street. We were in the queue for about an hour and a half. (Note: If you visit, it is best to buy your tickets online. You will get to avoid standing in the long line.) Entry to the museum was 8,50 € for adults and 4,00 € for kids 11-17. It’s free from kids up to 10. The wait to get into the museum was well worth it. The tour was very interesting. I guess that it’s been a while since I’ve read the Diary of Anne Frank, because I thought the living quarters of the secret annex would be much smaller (not that it was enormous). After touring the museum, Carla and I both commented that we feel compelled to read the story again.
We were planning to visiting the Heineken Experience, but since the tour of the Anne Frank Huis took a long time, we decided to return to the hotel and rest before going back out for dinner at 6:30. We rested up and then head back out for dinner at Blauw aan de Wal. Our host sat us at the center table on the first floor, which is a small, rustic room with about six or seven tables. The walls are exposed brick, and there is a server area with wine and a dumb waiter. Apparently, there is more seating upstairs, but we didn’t walk around. Once seated, the host (I can’t recall his name), pulled up a chair and sat with us to explain the restaurant’s concept and the dining options. We all opted for the three-course prix fixe meal. It isn’t cheap, though — 55 €. The meal was fantastic, as was the ambiance. Our host paired each course with a great wine. I must say, this is a great place. I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Amsterdam. After dinner, we walked a bit in the Old City Center — no really need to hit coffee houses, the contact high was strong enough. Eventually, we hopped on a tram back to the hotel.
Day 4
After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we caught the 5 tram down to the museumplein area and picked up three 48-hour iAmsterdam packs. These packs gives us 48-hour transit cards and an iAmsterdam card. The iAmsterdam card provides admission to many of the major museums and a canal tour. We also gott 25% of many other attractions, including the Heineken Experience. We went across the street to the Van Gogh Museum. The exhibits were amazing! After the Van Gogh Museum, we walked to the Heineken Experience. I am not much of a beer drinker, but it was interesting learning more about the company and the process for making the beer. By the end of the tour, I happily enjoyed two cold beers.
After the Heineken Experience, Noah and I walked to the FOAM Museum (photography) and Carla walked to the Tassen Museum of Bags and Purses. We met up after the museum tours and jumped on a 24 tram. We hopped off in the Albert Cuyp street market area so Carla could check out the bakery, Bakken Met Passie, that she saw earlier from the tram. Armed with fresh baked goods, we jumped back on the 24 tram and returned to the hotel. We were all pretty tired from day, so we decided to do something low-key for dinner. After deciding that the dining options in the neighborhood around the hotel weren’t that promising, we hoped on a 24 tram to eat at Burgermeester on Albert Cuypstraat (across the street from the bakery). The burgers were pretty tasty — so much so that I forgot to take pictures. I must admit, thought, that I had a hard time getting past not having fries, or at least some chips, to go with my burger. They did have a baked potato, but that seemed to be a bit much.
Day 5 (New Year’s Eve)
For the first several days of the trip, I was making an effort to jot down reflections of the day. Unfortunately, I didn’t make notes for the last few days of the trip, so this is where the trip notes get a little thin. Some of you are probably thinking, “Thank God!”
We walked through the glass doors of Roberto’s for breakfast and were greeted by the chef. It was quite clear that he recognized Carla, and he doted on her quite a bit. Meanwhile, Noah and I went about our business of foraging for waffles, bacon and fresh fruit. The chef brought us a plate of Oliebollen, a fried dumpling that is traditionally eaten in the Netherlands at New Year’s Eve. Now that our bellies were warm and full with these Dutch treats, we bundled up and head out for the 5 tram. We hopped off at the Rijksmuseum, which is the Dutch national museum. The museum is features works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hal, Steen, and many others masters. In a word…Wow!
It was raining when we left the Rijksmuseum. What should we do next? Something indoors would be ideal, so we decided to visit the Hermitage Amsterdam. Naturally, the trip to Amsterdam wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t attempt to take every form of public transportation. Well…not really, but it sounds adventurous. We ended up on the Amsterdam Metro because the walk between the tram stop and Hermitage was a bit far in the rain. I couldn’t help but chuckle as we descended into the station, and the first sign overhead admonished patrons to be on guard for pickpockets. Duly noted! We got off the Metro and got turned around, yet again, on the streets of Amsterdam. Unbeknownst to me, we walked right past the Ice Bar. Once we got back on track, we found the Hermitage Amsterdam, and got a chance to view some great works by Van Dyck, Rubens and Jordaens.
Once out of the Hermitage, we had a decision to make about what to do for New Year’s Eve. Carla and Noah were clearly beat from a lot of walking, standing, circling (associated with getting lost). Carla and I are not what you would call revelers/partygoesrs, but we were torn about hanging out. Noah was indifferent. We were told by more than a few people to be mindful of random fireworks. Apparently, folks in Amsterdam are quite fond of pyrotechnics, including shooting firecrackers, Roman Candles and other explosives rather indiscriminately into the air (read: crowded spaces). With that in mind, the notion of going back to the hotel, ordering room service, and watching fireworks from our window and on TV became more appealing. We were not disappointed. The fireworks in the Oud-Zuid (Old South) neighborhood were insane! We heard and saw miscellaneous fireworks being shot off throughout the evening, but at midnight…we were treated to nearly an hour of fireworks!
Here’s a video that I shot from our 5th-floor hotel room.
Here is my gallery from Day 5.
Day 6
When we were planning this trip, I thought that it might be a good idea to cut the trip short by a day. My concern was that things would be closed on New Year’s Day. Nothing like being on the ground to see that concern come to fruition. Amsterdam was practically a ghost town on January 1. Almost all the museums (except for the Anne Frank Huis), restaurants and shops were closed. We used this lack of touring options to attempt getting back on Eastern time. The three of us stayed up most of the night before and then slept in. We didn’t go downstairs for breakfast until 11:30. We were treated to a different room in the restaurant that overlooked the canal, as well as more Oliebollen. That was a pleasant start to the day. We chilled out in the room for a while after breakfast, and then decided to walk through the Jordaan area of town. We were told that this former working-class neighborhood now has an eclectic mix of people, and features a lot of art galleries and funky shops. We knew that we would be window shopping, if you will. We took the 5 and 10 trams, and got off in Jordaan near the mosque. We walked up and over a few times, but there wasn’t much to look at. I suspect one has to be there during normal working hours to get a feel for the funkiness. Also, given the amount empty wine, Champagne, and beer bottles, the residents of that area had quite a party the night before.
Not deterred, we slowly walked around, taking pictures, making our way back over toward the Old City Center to get to one thing that we absolutely knew would be open — the beautiful, art deco/gothic Pathé Tuschinski theater. Yes, we went to see a movie in Amsterdam. We saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Noah and I enjoyed the movie. Carla fell asleep a few times, so I suspect she’ll need to “see” it again. We actually timed seeing the movie so that we could take the evening canal tour at 8 pm. It was raining, light but steady, so we were a little concerned about how much we would be able to see from the canal boat windows (if they weren’t fogged up). Fortunately, the rain let up just enough so that we could pull the windows back on the boat and see the sights. The tour lasted about 9o minutes. Amsterdam is absolutely beautiful at night, particularly when viewed from the canal. After the canal tour, we head back to the hotel and ordered room service. We, again, endeavored to stay up all night to realign our bodies for the time change. Noah fell first, Carla hung in there until about 2 am, and I stayed awake the whole night.
Day 7 — Headed Home
There is really not much to say about this day. We were up and in a taxi at 5 am for a 7:30 flight from Amsterdam to London. We had nearly a three-hour layover in London, which we used to grab breakfast and a nap. Much to our surprise, when we approached the gate to board the flight to Washington, all three of us were bumped up to Club World seats. Woot! Perhaps a sign that we had a good trip was me hitting a Royal Flush on the poker game on my video console.
So there it is. Seven days in Amsterdam, give or take. We had a really nice time, and I look forward to the opportunity to return to see and do more things. I am sure the city is beautiful in the spring. Until then, I’m on to planning our next trip. Tokyo, perhaps? Stay tuned.
