Amsterdam (The Netherlands) - January 2015

Hotel - American Hotel Hampshire Eden

Whilst in Budapest, Clare was suggesting places we should visit for our 3 year Wedding Anniversary, Amsterdam was one of the places mentioned.  Little did she know that I had already bought the flights and arranged the hotel and wrapped it as a Christmas/5 year together/Weekend away to remember Spud present.

Amsterdam has a real stigma associated with it, and it is a place that has never been high on my visit list due to this.  When I told work colleagues and friends that I was going to Amsterdam with Clare they immediately asked, "Will you be trying any of the "cakes" out there?", or "will you be "window shopping" much?"  This stigma was not helped with the fact that on Friday evening we arrived at Liverpool John Lennon Airport and boarded our flight with the absolute scum of the universe.  The "Gentlemen" sat next to me on the plane had headphones on throughout the entire flight, refused to wear his seat belt and left rubbish all over the seat and underneath, he was rude and ignorant to the cabin crew and generally a disgusting person, may be this was me just being picky, but most of the other souls on board were not much better.

We had seen on the website that the easiest way to get from the airport to the hotel was on the 197 bus, it could not have been easier as 30 minutes later the bus stopped right outside our hotel.  This is the first holiday that I have fully booked myself as Clare is our resident holiday guru, and she was a little apprehensive as she had no input.  When we arrived at the hotel I think a lot of that apprehension disappeared, although it was mentioned later that Clare was expecting them to say, "Oh sir, you have come to the wrong hotel, you are actually staying at our sister hotel which is actually a youth hostel and currently being knocked down".




The American Hotel was divine, absolutely fantastic, and the breakfast was superb.  Clare was slightly impressed by my hotel booking skills.

We ventured out on the Friday night for a quick drink before retiring for our day of adventure, as we left the glorious surrounds of the hotel we arrived in what I can only describe as Magaluf, drunks falling over and being sick on the floor, the rife smell of hash in the air and within 5 minutes I had been offered Ecstasy from a peddler stood under a huge sign saying, "do not accept drugs from street peddlers".  Maybe the stigma of the city was well and truly deserved.

We woke fairly early on the Saturday ready for a full day exploring the sights (and smells) that Amsterdam had to offer.  After a filling breakfast we walked towards Dam Square.  It was national Tulip Day in Amsterdam and the Red Cross were setting up a tulip gathering event, the colours around the square really brightened up the morning. From here we ventured up to Centraal, through the Red light district onto the Chinese district.  Getting closer towards lunch and having our eyes opened slightly by the "offerings" on display in the red light district we headed over to the Jordaan district passed the Ann Frank Haus (and it's massive queue).  Here we found a couple of streets hosting a food market with cheese, salami, and stroopwaffels.  The smells and atmosphere here really made my day, and the Stroopwaffel with it's extra syrup was just what I needed.

We then headed down towards Museumplien with the Van Gogh museum and "I Amsterdam" sign.  It is amazing how many people flocked around this sign and the amount of pictures being taken when the city has so much else to offer.  So we joined the trend and took as many different pictures and selfies as possible.




A trek back through Vondelpark towards our hotel ticked off most of what we wanted to see within the city and clocked 14 miles on the walk.  Our legs were a little tired so we headed back for a shower and freshen up before heading out for our evening meal

Clare had found a little Dutch Restaurant near the Centraal earlier in the day so we headed back out for a bite to eat.   Amsterdam seems to have a vast array of restaurants available with a multitude of nationalities, but a lot of them seem like chain restaurants, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, Argentinian, Mexican, American (Burger King and McD's on every street) but very little Dutch choices  The crowd that had been hiding their aching heads for most of the day had started to come out again, but we knew which areas now to avoid.  After a lovely meal, we decided to head back towards the hotel, but enroute we would take in the sights of the Red Light District again, with the added advantage of there being more people around this time of evening and it wouldn't feel as weird.  Again, Clare was a little shocked at what was on display and wondered what the window dancers would put on their CV's for future employers.

On the Sunday morning, our whistle stop tour of Amsterdam was coming to a close.  With our legs aching from the 19 miles we had walked the day before, we only went as far up as Dam Square and the floating flower market and then back for some chips and mayonnaise (as the Dutch recommend).

It is a shame that the city is potentially ruined for travellers such as Clare and I as Amsterdam is a beautiful city.  It's canals, amazing buildings and fantastic markets are tainted by the smell of hash you get on every street you walk.  I think we are glad to have experienced what the city had to offer, but it is not somewhere I would return to in a hurry.