Amsterdam is a city you can always come back to. Whether you’re 16 years old and looking for a place to visit with friends, you want to go on a city trip with your girlfriend of you want to show some of the world to your kids, Amsterdam is the place to be.
Quick tip: for a more concise, easier overview of how we spent our three days in Amsterdam, be sure to check out my new video. (Watch in 1080p!)
Honestly, Amsterdam is probably one of the easiest cities in western Europe to get to from just about anywhere. Schiphol Airport is one of the biggest airports in Europe, the Netherlands have a very efficient public transport system and there are lots of buses and trains that will take you to Amsterdam from nearby big cities.
And that’s what we did. Using FlixBus, we took a bus from Antwerp to Amsterdam. This meant that we had to take a train in order to get to Antwerp. All in all, this one way trip cost us about €20 each. Not too shabby.
Read more: Best Restaurants in Antwerp: The Ultimate Foodie Guide
Of course, considering the fact that I booked the tickets, something had to go wrong. On this trip, the biggest facepalm moment was the moment I realized that I had booked the bus back for the wrong day. But more on that later.
This, however, was not the only mistake I made. You see, in order to get to Antwerp, we had to take two trains. I had a ticket to get from our hometown to Ghent – where we were to transfer trains – but I forgot to buy a ticket to get from Ghent to Antwerp. Luckily, my friend was able to help me out because she had a spot left on her card. God bless her.
After strolling around the streets of Amsterdam, getting lost just a little bit and dropping our bags at our hostel, we met up with my sister.
You see, while I was studying abroad in Spain, she was doing her Erasmus semester in Amsterdam. Visiting her was one of the main reasons I decided to go to Amsterdam.
She showed us around a little bit, sharing her favourite hipster hotspots with us. One of those places was Pluk, a cute little restaurant located in what Dutch people call “De 9 Straatjes“. This neighbourhood is known for its picturesque scenery and adorable little shops and restaurants.
After this, we said goodbye to my sister – until the next day – and we went back to our hostel to check in. Fun little fact about StayOkay: I’ve already stayed in this exact hostel three times, and I love it there. I’ll probably even stay here again the next time I’m in Amsterdam. And no, they’re not paying me to say this.
When we got to our room, we found out that there was nobody else there. We had a six-person dorm room to ourselves. And if you’ve ever slept in a hostel dorm room, you know how amazing that is. If you haven’t, you’ll just have to take my word for it.
We hung out in our room for a little bit, unpacked our bags, freshened up and started getting ready for the other reason why we came to Amsterdam.
Yep. We went to a concert in Amsterdam. And it was awesome.
A little bit of background information might be useful here. A couple of months ago, I messaged my friend, asking if she wanted to come to a Quinn XCII concert with me. The thing is, she didn’t know about this guy until I messaged her about this concert.
She looked his music up, and (needless to say, but I’m going to say it anyway) she fell in love. This should come as no surprise, because I honestly feel like my taste in music is pretty good and I knew it would be something she would like.
So, that’s the story of how I convinced one of my best high school friends to come to Amsterdam with me.
I don’t have any footage or (decent) pictures of the show, but I can tell you this. It felt amazing to see an artist singing his songs and pursuing his dreams after following and supporting him for years. I’m very happy that he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves.
It was also my first show in a small venue, which gives it a very different atmosphere than it would be in a big stadium or venue. Everyone there feels like family, because you’re all there to support the same person and you have similar interests.
After the show, my friend and I got a quick snack from the wall, and we headed back to our hostel for a good night’s sleep.
On day two of our three-day adventure, we set out to Coffee & Coconuts (another one of my sister’s recommendations!) for breakfast.
My breakfast burrito in Coffee & Coconuts (Amsterdam)
When we were good and energized, we continued our journey. Pretty much the only thing we had planned for this day was to visit the Albert Cuyp Market, which is said to be the largest daytime market in all of Europe.
Can I put “photographer” in my Instagram bio yet?
After getting through this street market, we didn’t really know what to do. That’s why we asked one of the vendors where to go, and he told us to visit Waterlooplein, where we would find another flea market. He gave us directions on how to get there and we went on our way.
While walking to this square, we encountered an abnormal number of pigeons. Just thought I’d throw that out there. We also went into a small vinyl and record store, where we stayed and looked at the impressive collection of vinyls in the basement for about 10 minutes.
The flea/street market on Waterlooplein was nothing too impressive, so we continued our journey.
The Amsterdam Food Halls was something we both really wanted to visit. After all, we had both been in Amsterdam before and visited the main tourist attractions. We even did this on the same school trip.
Anyway, the Food Halls can be described as “indoor food markets”. It’s a place where hipsters can get their fix of new, exciting and exotic foods from food stands and trucks.
After leaving the food market, we met up with my sister again for dinner. This time, she took us to Cannibale Royale, a restaurant – or “brasserie extraordinaire”, as they describe themselves – known for its wide assortment of meats and burgers.
We all opted for the ribs, which my sister recommended. And God, am I glad she did. They were the best ribs I had ever eaten. I mean, they quite literally fell off the bone when you picked them up. I don’t think it gets much better than that.
When our bellies were full and our moods were lifted, my friend and I went back to the hostel and my sister went back to her apartment. This was when we found out that we would have roomies that night.
Between leaving the food market and going to dinner, we went to a grocery store and we bought a bottle of wine and some snacks to eat at the hostel after dinner. When we went to drop these off at our room, we noticed a suitcase standing near one of the other beds in our room, so we knew that someone was going to be sleeping with us that night.
When we came into the room after dinner, three other people were there. One older Japanese man, a Taiwanese girl who studies architecture in Prague and an Australian guy who was traveling Europe. They were all very friendly and easy-going, and luckily, none of them cared that we were eating and drinking in the room (which we weren’t actually allowed to do).
Our last day in Amsterdam, we were supposed to catch a bus back at 5 pm, so we couldn’t do a whole lot. What we were able to do, however, was visit Noord. That’s North in Dutch. It’s the neighbourhood where there’s a lot of graffiti, street art and hipsters. And not a whole lot else.
First, we went to a small islet with the EYE – a museum about cinema and film history – and the Lookout tower – a tower with a 360° view of Amsterdam and the highest swing in Europe.
In order to get to the top of the building, we took an elevator, with a built-in light show. It was actually more interesting than I thought it would be. (You can see this experience in the video)
Of course, we went on the swing.
After taking some more pictures up top, we went back down with the same elevator and we were treated to a slightly different version of the light spectacle.
We made our way to an industrial-looking lunch restaurant and had some food. Of course, this restaurant was another one of my sister’s recommendations.
After lunch, we went back to the main part of Amsterdam. My sister went back to her apartment and my friend and I went back to the hostel to pack our bags and chill in the lobby until we had to go.
This is where I tell you the story about how I booked the bus back for the wrong day. You see, I had booked the return ticket for both me and my friend. However, when we were on our way to Antwerp to take our bus to Amsterdam, I realized that I had booked the bus back for 24 January instead of 23.
That’s a bit annoying, isn’t it? My friend made fun of me for about ten minutes (and rightly so, I probably would have done the same). Soon after, I told her I’d fix my mistake that night in the hostel.
Fast-forward a few hours, and we’re chilling in the hostel room that night. I go on the FlixBus website, and try to find a way to undo my mistake. Luckily, I found it. There was an option to re-book the bus for a fee of €6. All in all, a pretty small sum for a pretty big mistake.
We were eventually able to make our way back home safely. I had a lot of fun and chances are I’m going to go back to Amsterdam some day (even though I’ve already been there four times now).
I hope you had some fun reading this blog post. And as always, thanks for reading!
-S
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