Amsterdam is an amazing city, and one I am always in favor of visiting.
In December 2018, two of my closest friends came to Switzerland. We spent a few days visiting a variety of Christmas markets throughout the country, and had so much fun doing it.
In October of 2019, they jokingly discussed making their Euro-adventure an annual thing, and before I knew it, we were booking a long weekend in Amsterdam. Well that long weekend has come and gone, and I now get to reflect on that fun trip.
We arrived early Sunday morning and spent our first few hours together enjoying a delicious and leisurely brunch. Dignita was near enough to our hotel to walk but we had to wait outside for a bit before we could get a table. The menu made it worth the wait. I had the salmon royale which sat on top of crispy potato hash. Delish!
We slowly made our way back to our hotel for a well-deserved nap. It was then off to dinner at the Food Department and then a private night time canal tour. The Food Department is on the second floor of the Magna Plaza. It is a fancier food court concept offering a variety of self-service cuisines.
We then hopped on a small boat booked with Starboard and got a tour of the last night of the light festival. Our two Dutch hosts, Captain Paul and Jan, explained both the history of Amsterdam and the significance of the light installations sprinkled throughout the canals. Each piece was beautiful and unique. The combined reflections off both the night sky and canal water produced an effect I’d never experienced before.
After our great boat tour, we ended the night playing board games at a random bar. Being it was Sunday night, we had almost the whole place to ourselves. We therefore didn’t feel as bad laughing loudly while we enjoyed our local Dutch beers.
I also HAD to introduce my friends to bitterballen – it’s the ultimate bar food!
After a great night’s sleep, we ventured to the Anne Frank house. This is the only museum I have frequented as much as the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It is such a well preserved reminder of the horror of WWII and the Holocaust. For as much as I have visited in the past, this was my first time going as a mother. Anne was so young when they went into hiding. As a parent, what would I have done to protect my family? My heart ached walking through the house in a different way.
We spent a lot of time at the museum and it is something I highly recommend to anyone visiting Amsterdam. Remembering the past is the best way to prevent repeating the same mistakes. I also strongly suggest purchasing tickets in advance.
As the museum is located on Prinsengracht, we took our time exploring the canals and soaking in what we just experienced. We soon came upon a quirky cafe called Pluk and realized a good meal was exactly what we needed at that moment.
Besides Pluk, the side streets off of Prinsengracht also boast incredible shopping. I went back to one of my favorite Dutch brands, Vanilia, and picked up some super cute sale items. This means a fashion blog is coming soon! Took me long enough…
Aside from eating and drinking, my friends and I (all of us mothers) also took advantage of the ability to nap each day. After nap #2, we ventured out for Indonesian food at Sampurna. We ordered the Kuning Rice table which was perfect for sharing. I don’t know all the details of what we ate but I know it was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long, long time. Indonesian food is abundant in Amsterdam as Indonesia was once a Dutch colony.
We ended the night trying more local beer and discussing our plans for our last day in the city.
On that last day, for one of the first times, I ventured outside of Amsterdam. We had heard about two cute cities called Marken and Volendam. They are both seaside towns that are extremely easy and inexpensive to get to. We expected to see all sorts of great sights. However, these cities, while adorable, proved they were better suited for spring time/summer time weather. The only thing open in Marken was a Dutch wooden shoe factory, and while Volendam had beautiful homes and shops to explore, the sea-wind made it too cold to stay outside for long.
We don’t regret going at all, however. The Dutch shoe factory and cheese museum were enough to keep us entertained. That and the apple pie on the ferry over from Marken made the trip worth it!
Back in Amsterdam, we ate as though our grandmother’s were Dutch. Moeders, a trendy restaurant with pictures of mothers plastering every wall, boasts “mother’s menu”. This is essentially full of meat and potatoes. We ordered the Dutch Rice dish (sharing style like our Indonesian rice dish). This included a variety of meat, potato and cabbage dishes, and I left the restaurant feeling like I needed to be rolled out.
The evening ended at one of the fanciest bars I’ve ever been to. Rosalia’s Menagerie served us unique and delicious cocktails that were inspired by flavors rather than types of alcohol. We had to ring a doorbell and wait to see if we would be let in. Rosalia’s does not want people standing around like a typical bar. We instead sat like sophisticated ladies having a very adult evening. Note this was all while sitting just feet away from the seedy Red Light district. It was the perfect way to wind down our trip.
Every time I visit Amsterdam, there is something new to discover and experience. Doing that with my best friends made this trip incredibly special. We laughed and wandered. We ate and drank like queens. We got 8 hours of sleep and napped! I love my besties, and I love Amsterdam for allowing us to have such a special time together.
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