Easter in Amsterdam | 4D3N in the City of Canals
I have always wanted to visit the Netherlands and I seriously can't think of a better season to visit other than Spring! I traveled to Amsterdam with seven other friends during last Easter break (well, supposingly study break aherm but play first study later right HAHAHA). 4 days were definitely insufficient to explore this beautiful country and I really hope to revisit this place in the future :((
Getting Around
We bought the GVB 72hours ticket for €17.50 from a bookstore at the airport. It does not include the Intercity train travelling out of Schiphol Airport so we had to pay an extra €5.30 for that. The Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket is probably more worth it if you're planning to travel out of Amsterdam. Check out this website to find out which ticket suits you best.
Where we stayed
Spring in Amsterdam is a peak period for tourists, hence lots of hotels were fully booked, especially the ones in city center. We booked ours in late February and ended up staying at easyHotel Amsterdam Arena Boulevard although it is a 15-20 minutes train journey away from the city. We were glad that the hotel is clean and the train station (Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena) is just a few minutes' walk away. Their self check-in system is pretty cool too.
Where we went
Day 1 (9 April 2018)
It was all dark out there by the time we checked in our hotel and settled down. We went to this shop called Ramen-ya for ramen (durh) and it was pretty good!
Later on, we walked around the Red Light District. Do bear in mind photos and videos (of the "workers") are not allowed over there. It was an eye-opening experience but you wouldn't want to stay long because the whole street has a really strong cannabis smell.
Day 2 (10 April 2018)
On this day, we woke up early in the morning and headed to the Keukenhof Gardens. Will do a separate post for this so stay tuned :D
After spending half a day there, we came back and explored other parts of the city.
First up, the Albert Cuypmarkt.
It's like a pasar pagi imo HAHAHA but with loads of good fooooodddddd!
1- Raw Herring
This is a really popular Dutch snack and if you love sashimi, you would probably like this too. Of course this isn't for everyone but it's kinda unique (don't think I can finish the whole thing by myself and the pickles and onions definitely helped).
2-Kibbeling
Another typical Dutch street food, battered fish served with mayo/tartar. You can have it with or without bread and it is really good! I didn't get to try the Croquette (kroket) recommended by my coursemate as I was leaving by the time I received her message. Next time it is!
3-Poffertjes (Dutch Mini Pancakes)
Honestly think there's nothing impressive about it and it's pricy :< would rather go for more kibbelings
4-STROOPWAFFLES
Definitely a must-eat especially if you have a sweet tooth!
After all the food, we went into Albert Heijn (supermarket) to get this orange juice. It's really fresh and we also enjoyed looking at the process.
While strolling on the streets of Amsterdam-
Dam Square
For dinner, we went to for this Dutch fastfood at Leeman Doner.
The 1000 calories Kapsalon. We shared this large one among two and it's absolutely filling and yums (and inexpensive!). It consists of fries, döner (kebab), cheese and salad. SO. SINFULLY. GOOD.
(Sorry that the photo isn't attractive enough ahaha)
Day 3 (11 April 2018)
We had our breakfast at Omelegg as I saw many bloggers recommending this place.
I had the "Farm Boy" and I really liked it.
After breakfast, we went back to the central station and took the ferry to the A'dam Lookout. (Oh look at this beautiful building)
We went for a package that includes tickets to the A’dam Lookout, Heineken Experience and Canal Cruise. Tickets are €30 and can be purchased beforehand on their website. The ferry transfer to the lookout is foc :)
We get this free digital photo before going up to the tower hehe
The highest swing in Europe-
It costs €5 (not inclusive of the €30) and they have a limit per time slot.
photo by them as well
At the top-
After that, we went for the canal cruise which brings us to the Heineken Experience. The cruise is about 30 minutes+ and it's a nice way of touring Amsterdam from below! But we got kinda bored in the cruise half way because it travels really slow hahaha.
The Heineken Experience was pretty interesting as the tour is really interactive. Not your usual factory visit!
The evolution of Heineken bottles
The 4 ingredients of the beer
PROOST! (cheers in Dutch)
You get to customize and bring home your own Heineken.
We also get two more drinks at the bar by giving them the token on the wristband wew with clubbing music at 5pm HAHA
(you can get soft drinks/ water if you don't fancy beer)
After that, we headed to the famous Iamsterdam photo spot which is located infront of the Rijksmuseum.
more canals
We had thai food for dinner and went back to our hotel after that.
Day 4 (12 April 2018)
We traveled to Zaanse Schans early in the morning. Will do a separate post on this as well ;)
Before leaving, we went to this famous cookie shop - Van Stapele Koekmakerij.
I was so worried we couldn't get any because it was sold out when we visited the day before. But thankfully we managed to get some and it was SO SO SO SO SO SO GOOD. It's like level 10000 of the subway cookie y'know. You can also buy them back and store it in the freezer.
Till next time, The Netherlands.
$ Damage $
Flight (LHR-AMS) - £50.63
Hotel - £97.66
Attraction Tickets - €60
Transport - €34.30
Food - €63.70
Total ≈ £280
Last but not least, check out the vlog of our trip done by Phoebe!
Photos are all mine, edit creds Li Sze
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