I'd been feeling this pull to return to Amsterdam for nearly a year now. Perhaps, it was because a few years back I decided to pull pictures from my first visit in March of 2001 from a rapidly aging photo album to put them in a much more memory safe scrapbook album or perhaps it was just this random desire to go see the tulips. Both were totally random reasons, but Amsterdam had been on the brain and it felt like it was time to go back.
I remembered enjoying my first visit many years ago; though back then I was far from well- traveled and only recall very little about the few days I spent there. That was also back when we used film to take pictures and I was probably limited to maybe 24-48 pictures for an entire trip! Which makes it a tiny bit harder to recreate every aspect of the trip with so few pictures. Those of you who know how many pictures I now take on a trip know exactly what I mean!
So, as I planned my springtime trip this past May, Amsterdam was always in the cards. After starting my journey in London visiting friends, then three surprisingly enjoyable days in Brussels and Luxembourg, I boarded a train from Brussels bound for the "Ne" in the "BeNeLux" region and headed towards Amsterdam.
May 27th, 2022
I arrived at Amsterdam's Centraal Station and immediately was greeted by hordes of tourists. While the tourist traffic had picked up in Brussels my last few days there, it was quite clear that the quiet, peaceful pandemic travel I had enjoyed during my trips over the past two years was most certainly over. There were two cruise ships in Amsterdam when I arrived and as I made my way to my hotel, the DoubleTree Centraal Station, I quickly learned that there were passengers disembarking and new passengers preparing to get on the ships. It was a Friday and a holiday weekend (at least for those from the U.S.) and the unofficial start to the summer season. To say that it felt like there were people everywhere was an understatement. A bit overwhelmed, I was fortunate to learn that my room was ready when I arrived and as I opened the door to my nearly top floor room, I was greeted with a view that left me far removed from all the chaos on the streets below!
After I settled into my room, I headed down to talk to the concierge and get some ideas of where I could go to get away from the crowds. He directed me to the nine bridges area assuring me that once I got past the main "Dam" area there would be fewer people milling around. Fortunately, he was right, and I spent my afternoon and early evening taking in the beautiful canal lined streets I vaguely remembered from my first visit. The weather was surprisingly chillier than I expected and had packed for, despite having checked the weather multiple times before I departed the U.S. a week earlier.
May 28th, 2022
Still a bit overwhelmed by the mass amounts of tourists and coming to terms that I had truly been spoiled by the lack of tourists during my previous three international trips during the pandemic; I was looking forward to getting out of the city for the day. I had pre-booked a small group tour to the slightly touristy, but still quite beautiful town of Zaanse Schans and Giethoorn, a small canal lined town deemed the "Venice of the Netherlands" where locals and tourists can only get around by boat, cycle, or walking. I met my small group of all Americans early in the morning and we headed off with our friendly and personable local guide. Seeing several larger buses taking off from the same starting point and heading in the same direction, our guide shared that since we were a much smaller group (~15-18), we'd likely arrive in Zaanse Schans first and many tour groups also head to Giethoorn first instead. Travel tip, when looking for group day tours, I always read the fine print that may say, 'guaranteed small group' as it often means you'll have a bit more time in places as you're not waiting for twice as many people to return to the bus and not feeling as much like you're amidst a cattle call as you wander around the places you are visiting.
I'll admit I was anticipating our visit to Giethoorn more than Zaanse Schans simply because the pictures I'd seen on Instagram often made Giethoorn look so charming and peaceful. While I always enjoy visiting the bigger cities in Europe, I've learned that I truly love exploring the smaller towns. However, Zaanse Schans, again, while a bit touristy is quite beautiful and provided a perfect start to our day. Our first stop in this little town took us to a local shop to learn how cheese was made and the opportunity to sample so many varieties of cheese I lost count. Thinking back, maybe that was another reason why I really wanted to go back to Amsterdam. The promise of the opportunity to taste copious amounts of cheese! I mean, it goes well with wine so it almost goes without saying that I love cheese!
After a few photo stops and more history and local knowledge from our guide, we headed to our next stop, a wooden shoe museum and the opportunity to watch and learn how the famous Dutch wooden shoes were made. After a short presentation we were given ample time to wander through the shop of every size and color of wooden shoes you could imagine and then enjoy some free time to explore the small village. Although a bit chilly, it was a gorgeous, sunny day which made for some lovely pictures. I walked along the path to the famous windmills, wandered in a few shops and stopped for a snack. It was a pleasant and enjoyable start to the day and definitely a place I'd recommend visiting if you find yourself in Amsterdam and need a break from the city!
After a fabulous start to our day, we made our way to Giethoorn with a short stop for a snack along the way. Shortly after arriving in Giethoorn we made our way to the canal boats for an hour long guided tour of this charming little town. While the commentary from the guide was informative, my fellow tourists and I found the immense amount of boats navigating, often not so gracefully, around the canals even more entertaining. To say it was a bit like bumper boats is quite the understatement. Just about anyone can rent a boat to make their ways through the canals in Giethoorn since getting around the town is only possible by boat, cycle or walking on the various paths and since it was a Saturday, likely quite the height of "boat travel." It made me wonder what the little town was like on quieter days. Nevertheless, the ride through the canals was beautiful and as one of my fellow travelers and I remarked several times, there were some quite charming houses we would have loved to have seen the inside of!
After disembarking off our boat tour, we had a few hours to wander around the town on our own and grab lunch. Another solo traveler and I decided to grab a meal of several appetizers before walking around the small towns many walkways that parallel the canals on foot. As we walked, I was definitely intrigued and pictured myself coming back here to spend a long weekend, or maybe a few days mid week when it was likely less busy to enjoy the peaceful calmness of the small town. We made our way back to Amsterdam after a very enjoyable day. It was definitely worth getting out of the city for a bit to see some of the Netherlands countryside.
May 29th, 2022
I had two more full days to spend in the city and while years ago I would have crammed in as much as I possibly could, one thing I've learned particularly during my pandemic travels was that having a few more leisurely days to just explore without a plan is often priceless. Though as the tourist season picked up this spring with countries reopening and pandemic-related restrictions rapidly disappearing, it became clear that a different kind of pre-planning and pre-booking of things I wanted to do was necessary.
One thing I knew I wanted to do when I returned to Amsterdam was visit the Anne Frank House. I very vaguely remembered visiting on my first visit 21 years before, but not enough and wanted to visit again. Thanks to a bit of research and following a few Amsterdam travel related Facebook groups, I quickly learned that advance purchase of tickets, two months ahead of my visit, was the only way I was going to be able to go. Gone were the days of wondering when I booked a tour last minute if there would be enough people for the tour to run; the pendulum had swung in the complete opposite direction and a bit of pre-planning was necessary. I did manage to snag a ticket on the day I wanted and after a leisurely breakfast at my hotel, I set out for my visit.
As I made my way through the original house and then the museum, I only had very fuzzy memories of making my way up the steep stairs, the bookcase that hid an opening in the wall and the preserved pages of her diary on display. While I suspect that the museum has likely been upgraded a bit since my last visit simply due to the age of technology, to say the whole self-guided tour was well done is an understatement. I'm thankful a little bit of research paid off and I was able to visit. If you find yourself in Amsterdam, it's worth making sure you get a ticket ahead of time.
I had nothing planned after my Anne Frank House tour so, like most places I visit, I went with where my feet took me. Just down the street from the Anne Frank House was the Amsterdam Tulip Museum. Since I had arrived too late in the season to see the tulip fields and visit the famous Keukenhof park, I figured a look through the museum should suffice. Seeing how I saw more painted wooden tulips than thousands of live ones growing in fields it was likely not a proper substitute, but hopefully I'll find myself in Amsterdam again someday earlier in the spring!
Just next door to the Tulip Museum is the Amsterdam Cheese Museum, which also seemed to be worth a look. Because...well, cheese. While my visit to the cheesemaker in Zaanse Schans was focused more on how cheese was made, I now was immersed into the history of cheese in the museum. It's not huge, but worth a visit if you want to learn about all things cheese. And buy anything related to cheese and cheese itself!
After having my fill of small museums, I decided to hop on a canal boat tour, which while packed with tourists was a peaceful ride along the canals and a nice way to wrap up my day.
May 30th, 2022
My last full day in Amsterdam was a bit rainy, but I had planned to walk to the museum district, do a little shopping. And, of course get my essential COVID test so I could return home the next day. Yes, at the time negative COVID tests were still required to return to the U.S.; the restriction was dropped a few weeks later. Fortuantely, since this was my fourth international trip during the pandemic, getting tested to change countries had become common place for me and most countries have great systems in place that make it very easy.
After having my 'nose jabbed' I made my way to the Dam Square which was much less crowded than my first visit on the day I arrived and got the essential tourist photo before making my way towards the museums. I stumbled upon the Amsterdam Flower Market along the way and enjoyed the little time I spent there, despite not having a green thumb at all. Hey, I can appreciate what others do with flowers and greenery, right?
Next up was a visit to the Rijksmuseum. As I got closer, I realized I did recall visiting the museum on my last visit and opted not to visit it again this time. I had not pre-purchased tickets since I didn't want to have my time too planned out; but I could have gotten in. Even so, I loved wandering the gardens and areas outside the museum and it felt like the perfect way to end my last day.
Looking back, although my days in London, Brussels and Amsterdam were not as jam-packed in ways I might have when I'd traveled before, I did cram a lot in. I spent my time exploring cities I've been to before and ones that were new to me with this mindset that I'll likely find myself there again. And as I've said before one of the beautiful things about traveling for me is returning to a place I've loved and having it feel familiar and even a little bit like home.
Until we meet again, Amsterdam.
"Travel Hangover- that feeling when you return home after traveling & feel your life will end if you don't go back." - Drifter Planet
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