Amsterdam Travel Guide


Amanda and I flew from Gothenburg, Sweden to Amsterdam. My luggage flew to Istanbul. 
I was super disappointed when my bag didn’t make it to Amsterdam.
I didn’t let that ruin our trip! I filed a report with the airline and crossed my fingers!
We hit the ground running in Amsterdam.




Day One

We stayed at the Mercure hotel.
It was a great location! We were able to walk most places.
The room was huge and had a nice bathroom.
The breakfast every morning was delicious. My favorite was the fresh squeezed orange juice. They had a machine that juiced oranges when you pushed a button. YUM!

Our first stop was at the Amsterdam Tourism Office to pick up our I amsterdam city cards.
The cards gave us free public transportation and entry into many museums.
We could also take a canal cruise for “free” with the card.
I highly suggest getting one!
It was totally worth the price. 

Dinner was at Burger Bar.
The burgers and fries were SO good. 
It was a welcome change after all the seafood in Sweden.
The location we ate at was very small. Only a few seats at the bar inside.
Fortunately, we were able to get a table outside (right next to a coffee shop).
Day Two
We got up bright and early and went to the Van Gogh Museum when it opened.
Admission was included with our I amsterdam card.
I loved the museum!
I saw several paintings that I had never seen before.
I snuck a picture of the sunflowers.
It was a real treat!

After the museum, we headed to Singel 404 for brunch.
I loved it! 
I got the chicken, bacon, tomato and cheese sandwich.
Amanda got a bacon, brie, honey and walnut sandwich. 
Both were delicious! 
I am making a copycat of Amanda’s sandwich for lunch this week. 
Look for the recipe soon!
House boat with a view of “The Dancing Houses”.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Amsterdam.
We stopped at several spots to take pictures.

We also made some time for a few treats!

Van Stapele Bakery makes one cookie. 
A chocolate cookie with white chocolate stuffed inside.
It was buttery, gooey and delicious!

I want to cruise the canals in this car boat!

We walked around the Red Light District.
It was like nothing I have ever seen! 
I was shocked that there was a church in the middle of it all. 

I decided that I want to live on a houseboat in Amsterdam.
Aren’t they awesome?!
Day Three
We got up super early and headed to the Anne Frank house.
I read Anne Frank’s diary as a kid, and it made a big impression on me.
It was incredible to see the house in person.
It gave me chills as soon as I walked in.
After the Anne Frank house, we had some breakfast at The Pancake Bakery.
Dutch pancakes and Poffertjes. 
The pancakes were bigger than my head! Fortunately they were really thin. More like a crepe.
The poffertjes were amazing! They were like a puffy American pancake.
We got them with butter and sugar – YUM!
We took a Holland International canal cruise.
It was included with our I amsterdam city card.
It took us all over the city.
We stopped in at “the pie place”, Winkel 43.
Everyone had a piece of apple pie on their table, so we had high hopes for the pie.
It was THE BEST apple pie I’ve ever tasted.
It had a cookie crust and wasn’t runny.
Amanda and I devoured it!
My bag finally arrived in Amsterdam!
I couldn’t have been happier to see it!!!
If only I could have gotten the SkyMiles.  ðŸ˜‰
I changed shirts and we went to dinner.
We ate at a little Italian place, Lo Stivale D’oro
We LOVED it!
I got a pizza and Amanda got gnocchi with a sage sauce.
It was a family restaurant. One of the owners was playing guitar while we ate.
Everything is homemade. Mama makes the pasta and bread daily.
We would have gone back the next night, but they were closed.
Dessert was a liege waffle topped with Nutella and whipped cream.
Day Four
We took the train to Haarlem to visit the Corrie ten Boom house.
It was about a 15 minute train ride from Amsterdam.

The hiding place in Corrie ten Boom’s bedroom.
It was the perfect hiding spot!
Haarlem city square.
After we toured the Corrie ten Boom house, we went looking for breakfast.
We found this cute tea shop.

We got hot chocolate, lemon cake and some scones.
It was SO good.
I wanted to steal the plate the hot chocolate came on! SO cute!!
I sampled a croissant from this bakery.
I got ham and cheese. It was delicious!

We headed back to Amsterdam for the afternoon.

We went to the Diamond Museum.
It was free with our I amsterdam card.
We walked through the Flower Market
I wanted to take everything home and plant it in our yard.
It was time for dinner.
I looked up places on Trip Advisor and Cafe de Klos had 4.5 stars and over 600 reviews.
We decided to give it a shot.
BEST RIBS EVER!
The ribs were better than any ribs I’ve had in America.
We split them and still couldn’t finish them all. 
It came with slaw and two sauces. Both were delicious.
I highly recommend it!
Last Morning
We took a quick walk in the morning before heading to the airport.
I hated to leave!
I loved Amsterdam.
Waterlouge Photos by Katherine

The canals are beautiful and the food is great.
If you going to Europe, you should consider stopping in Amsterdam for a few days.

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Comments

  1. What an absolutely beautiful city! I am a big WWII buff so visiting the Anne Frank would be an amazing experience for me. And that chocolate cookie? Can I get one shipped my way?? Please? lol! 🙂

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