Remember that weekend travel series that I started and then never continued? Well, here it comes!
In October, I paid a visit to lovely, canal filled Amsterdam with friends and had a wonderful experience. Once again, our good friend FlixBus came in handy for cheap tickets to a new destination. Driving to Amsterdam was super nice, with lots of countrysides and pretty views all the way.
We decided for this trip to stay with a local student through the website, YesStudent. It’s a cool website where students can make side cash hosting travelers and travelers can get meet new people on their journeys. I was a little iffy on the idea but our host was really cool and she had a beautiful apartment not too far from all the action.
We arrived late at night into the city so our exploring was only limited to finding food. It was quite cold but the beautiful canals and the lively night streets. There were so many yummy treats, like the tiny pancakes and stroopwafels, but we kept it short since we knew we’d be going to a flea market the next day.
Saturday was thankfully much warmer. We headed straight for the flea market in the morning and boy was it impressive! It spanned the entire street and had endless shopping and street food. I had this really good Turkish flatbread that was full of potato and feta cheese. I was also a little sick on the trip and got a ginger juice shot that knocked the heck out of my cold. I did a lot of my gift shopping there and finally got an authentic, fresh stroopwafel!
We moved on from the flea market and found ourselves wandering down the canals. This is when I really started to love the city. It is just so gorgeous and has such a chill vibe. Everyone is riding around on bikes (oh, the stereotype is 100% true) and having a good time. I didn’t know that Amsterdam was known for their cheese but I quickly found out, as we passed down a row of cheese shops offering free samples!
Our luck with the weather ran out on our last day, as it was much colder. However, we booked a canal tour because you can’t come to Amsterdam without riding a boat down the canals! We picked one that also offered an audio guide to the history of the city. As we passed by key buildings, we were told of all the tales of the various buildings surrounding us. It was a nice hour of taking in the beauty of Amsterdam but admittedly, I was so relaxed that I nearly fell asleep!
All in all, I had a super time while in Amsterdam. You better believe I’ll be coming back again one day. Hopefully in a warmer month when I can see the famous tulips!
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