Travel stories | Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Travel stories | Amsterdam | a week’s getaway
Continuing with my stories as we travel through Europe in Summer. As some of you know GOST is closed August & September to give me a little break. If you want to read more about my travel head to the Stories page and click on August and September GOST news for Vienna and Germany.
Where to stay | My top recommendation is Zoku Amsterdam. Adam chose this as he knows I’m a little fussy. Trust me! We stayed in one place once that was flea infested. We couldn’t have got out of there fast enough! Back to our business style hotel - where travelers can ‘live, co-work and socialize’. We had a Zoku Loft: a spacious micro apartment - clever in design, practicality and beats the traditional hotels where the bed is the focus. Here it’s a living and dining space. We loved it!
Where to eat | Interestingly, we didn’t eat out as much as we thought we would. We chose to eat in to save some money - Europe is expensive. I’d rather be honest and say when everything is almost double in price (the Australian dollar dropped twice in our travels) you have to make decisions.
Stach for home made goodness! Our first lunch was at Stach cafe. They have two corner stores with ‘Lekker’ goodness (tasty in English). The rolls, coffee/tea were spot on for freshness and on the hip pocket!
Lunch at Restaurant Red watching locals ride by and witness a bike prang with a car. ooh! Don’t mess with the riders! The driver was shamed publicly. Perhaps a bit over the top but very entertaining. I spied Croque Monsieur on the menu and as Adam had never had one I said trust me. Oh! Man! was he happie chappie. All I can say is, this is the place to go for French cuisine (it was much classier inside with the beautiful people sipping their wines and looking very stylish).
What to do | We stayed at the Rijksmuseum from 10am to 5pm. We planned lunch/afternoon tea as our breakout’s. We go our separate ways to do what we are most interested in. My only regret was not having long enough in the Museum Shop. It was hands down great for gifts for any ages. I think Adam was mildly relieved as we travel lightly - carry on particularly for trains/planes. Tip: book your ticket the day before especially in Summer - it’s peak season and you don’t want to turn up disappointed. We had to queue but worth the wait especially if you love all things art!
Lunch wise - we both recommend the Het Cafe for lunch, glass of wine and later their specialty apple pie.
Amsterdam is walkable. Everything is flat (well almost…there are lots of uneven cobbled pavements - so eyes cast low when walking as to not trip and eyes cast wide for bicyclists as to not get slammed in - you get the drift!)
As for shops! Oh! My! Amsterdam is dotted with fashion/design from upmarket to vintage everywhere. The Dutch are very stylish and even I felt under dressed. The men on their bikes were groomed immaculately and their suits were fresh as a daisy. Our local friend seemed suprised that I was shocked - if it were me or Adam we’d be Sweaty Betty and Freddie! She said no one sweats in The Netherlands!
A hidden gem? I read an article ‘Dutch Courage’ in an Australian magazine by journalist Amanda Hooton. I’m one of those obsessed people who cut out clippings from magazines, newspapers anything to do with travel. She wrote about The Mauritshuis in The Hague. I also read other journalists that recommended spectacular architecture in Rotterdam and historic cities go to Haarlem, Leiden or Delft. See my dilemma! By chance, Australian painter Jane Guthablen happened to be on Instagram in the wee hours of the morning so I asked her. Anne - you must go to The Mauritshuis and 9 streets! The latter for boutique galleries and shops. That was awesome!
I hope you enjoyed this little story. As you can imagine I have so much more to say. But over to you to dream and visit one day.
Anne xx
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