Amsterdam

After patiently waiting for me to finish flight attendant training for almost seven weeks with a new airline, I let my boyfriend pick our first destination, and his pick was Amsterdam.  I wasn't NOT excited, but I guess I didn't realize how much I would love the city.  It is incredibly clean and safe.  Definitely a peaceful and relaxing vibe that I wasn't expecting.

Pro-Tips for traveling to Amersterdam:

1.  When traveling  I usually only set a few goals per day.  And if time allows, I leave the first day as open as possible.  You never know if you'll have slept on the flight, have a lengthy delay or how you'll be feeling upon landing.  To me it's nice to keep from starting out the trip stressed out from rushing to (or missing if a delay occurs) events when totally exhausted.  My first stop in Europe is always at a cafe where I can soak in the ambiance, take a moment to appreciate where I am and to set a slight agenda for the day depending on how I feel.  Just look how tired my boyfriend looks after that seven hour flight below!

  

2.  If you want to go to Anne Frank's House book MONTHS in advance or you'll be stuck hoping for a ticket by waiting for hours in line.  

3. Bikes pretty much have the right of way, so be sure to keep out of bike lanes when walking and to not be THAT tourist that steps out in front of a fast moving bike.   

4.  Whether it's good news for you or bad, The Red-Light District is pretty small, and totally avoidable is that's not your thing.  The famous marijuana coffee shops are also avoidable except for a few areas along the canals.  Many people assume the city is taken over by both, but they are a small portion of the overall experience.

5.  Although I went most places with my boyfriend, when walking alone I quickly noticed that Amsterdam is one of the safest feeling cities (it's statistically the fifth safest city in the world) I've ever been too.  Women ride bikes on the streets alone late at night and into the early morning, there were very few homeless people (the social programs in The Netherlands take good care of its people), and I was never harassed, cat-called or threatened.  I highly recommend as a solo-travel destination as well. 

See what I mean by leaving a day free to explore, and to find your bearings?!  If we'd had an itinerary we would never have wandered into the Moco Museum.  It ended up being both of our favorite stop in Amsterdam as it is what used to be an interesting house now full of Warhol and Banksy's.  

Where To Stay:

We stayed at The Alfred Hotel (https://www.thealfredhotel.com) which is hip, affordable and a good location in the South District of Amsterdam.  Everything was walkable, or you could take the trolley downtown.  It's very close to Museumplein (where most of the museum's are), and a lovely/less-touristy area to explore near the huge Vondelpark, a 19th century park with playgrounds, ponds and an open-air theater.    

Coffee Shop Reviews:

Most Chill: Bas Joe (pictured above) is a great coffee shop with a nice variety of the local speciality as well as coffee drinks and space cakes.  It has a nice ambiance and is in a fairly chill/yet still beautiful location. 

Most Famous: Green House Seed Co. is one of the most famous coffee shops in Amsterdam and seems to be where the all of the celebs go.  However, it is very crowded and packed with tourists.

Local Favorite: Blue Bird (pictured below) is where locals in the know claim is the best you can get in Amsterdam.  It has a nice ambiance in a chill area across from a nice bookstore.  

Worked up an appetite yet?

Where to Eat:

Amsterdam is FULL of great food.  Of course you have to at least try a waffle, and I'm sure anywhere will do for those.  All of the waffle shops looked great.  

Keep scrolling for my favorite bars and restaurants.  

Restaurant Café de Waag.  We sat at the terrace of this beautiful 1488 city gate house and drank beer after grabbing some local cheese and flowers at the market nearby.  The restaurant inside is candle-lit and serves hearty fare (https://www.indewaag.nl/menukaart).   

Roest.  Roest came recommended to me by a good friend that had lived in Amsterdam the previous year, or we would have never discovered it.  It was an Uber ride from our hotel and is an artsy area of converted industrial buildings.  In the warmer weather you can sit outside in picnic tables in the sand.  I would be sure to check out their schedule for live music and events like Chess & Jazz or Afro Latin Connection night.  However, it's worth a trip at anytime and the food is excellent!  My boyfriend ordered the chef's sampler.  I'm not sure what it all was, but it was all delicious.  

The funky/eclectic atmosphere at Roest.

The Chef's Sampler.  I think it changes daily and is a connection of whatever the chef feels like throwing on the plate.  

Instock.  One third of all food is wasted, and Instock (https://www.instock.nl/en/) is working to change that.  Not located far from Roest, this restaurant has a beautiful atmosphere and uses grocery store surplus (e.g. produce that is not a perfect shape or past the sell-by date but still edible) for its food!  Dutch Albert Heijn Supermarkets largely subsidies this operation in order to reduce food waste.  We had a delicious beer made from unsold potatoes and an appetizer plate, and a rhubarb apple bread dessert.  

The Red Light District, or De Wallen.  The district is actually pretty small, so if you want to keep the trip PG or family friendly, it is possible to avoid by looking at a map beforehand to avoid the area (keep in mind there are two other smaller red light districts; Rosse Buurt and Singelgebied) .

Other mentions:

Heiniken Experience-Actually a pretty cool tour of the Heineken's former brewery.  Pretty interesting how this world power in brewing got started and ends with a tasting experience where you can practice a pour.  

Van Gogh Museum-We'd already hit up a few museums, so skipped this, but it houses the world's largest collection of Van Gogh.

Amsterdam Canal Cruise-These cruises looked great!  We ran out of time and it was a little chilly, but  viator.com has a pizza and beer canal cruise that I will definitely do next time I'm back.