After our late arrival into Amsterdam, we were itching to explore the city the next morning. We made our way through the streets and over the canals to a cute breakfast spot near the flower market. The word on the street was that Dutch pancakes were a must get, so The Pancake Company seemed like the perfect fit for our first meal in Amsterdam. I ordered the pancake while Isaac went with the poofs. Perhaps the biggest pancake I've seen in my entire life, I finished it way faster than I’d like to admit... Don’t ask me to pronounce the name, but we headed over to the neighborhood of Reguilersbuurt. We soon realized that Amsterdam was one of those cities where you could turn down any street, with no destination in mind, and end up in the most enchanting places. We may or may not have found this hotel because we needed to use the bathroom, but it had the cutest cafe. I feel like this style really sums up the aesthetic in Amsterdam - cozy with a touch of wood and plants. The hotel was situated on the edge of Oosterpark and had lovely views of the gardens. As we were walking out of Oosterpark, we came across this painting gallery. The work was beautiful and we got to meet the artist when she was mingling with guests. Most of her paintings were inspired by nature scenes in the Netherlands. Weaving our way through the city, we came across the city’s zoo. While the main zoo is gated, there is a portion that is open to the public. De Flamingo Serre at Artis is a popular spot to sip coffee and take in the sight of the flamingos in the pond. A row of beautiful house in Weteringschans. One of the famous museums of Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum. It is the national museum of the Netherlands and features Dutch arts and history. We decided to pass on the museum as we were a little burnt out from the museums in London and Cambridge ("I swear, if I see one more artifact I'm going to burst") The area around the Rijksmuseum is known Musemplain as it is surrounded by three of the prominent museums in the city: Van Gogh, Stedelijk, and the Rijksmuseum. Our hotel was right around the corner which was a prime location to shops and activities but quiet in the evening. The one caveat was that you had to go up the steepest, narrowest staircase I've ever seen. I was dreading the day we had to leave and haul our suitcase and backpacks down... Instead of going to a museum to look at more artifacts, we opted for the House of Bols (tour for Dutch gin, also called genever). It was an interactive tour with a brief history of genever, a tasting, a flavor smell test, and a cocktail of your choice. The bar at the end of the tour was located in a room of mirrors which was trippy (in the picture it looks like the bartender has Isaac's legs). My cocktail was green and I was convinced it was straight out of Shrek's swmap. We stumbled upon the 2023 World Press Photo Contest exhibition and this was probably one of the most heart-wrenching and emotional exhibits I've ever been to. The contest recognizes and celebrates the best photojournalism and documentary photography produced over the last year. We were able to see the winners of the photo of the year starting with the year the contest was created, along with the winners of the various categories for 2023. This is a traveling exhibit that starts in Amsterdam, where the project is headquartered, and moves around the world. If you ever get the chance to go, it is an absolute MUST. But be prepared for some very scarring stories. One morning we found Rainbows cafe, a cute, modern spot with health food. We got the most aesthetically pleasing acai bowl (if you know me, you know I would do anything for an acai bowl), and it was almost too pretty to eat. We went on our first free walking tour with Guru Tours. Basically you get a free tour and you tip what you want at the end. We loved the city and our guide was knowledgeable, entertaining, and provided local insight. She gave us our first stroopwaffles which became our newfound obsession. Also, our tour guide gave us a good explanation of the difference between a coffee shop (cafe) and a coffeeshop (a spot to buy and smoke weed). Obviously we had to try out both... On our tour we walked through Jodenbuurt, formerly the Jewish quarter. Later that day we booked a canal tour to see the city from a different perspective. We caught the sunset from our boat. Would 12/10 recommend a canal tour in Amsterdam. Full moon over the canal. As you can see, I couldn't stop taking pictures on the canal tour - it was all so beautiful! A shot of the famous leaning houses. I celebrated my birthday in Amsterdam and we kickstarted the day with coffee from Polaberry cafe. We took a lovely coffee walk along the canals. We wandered into the Noordenmarkt, the second oldest market in Amsterdam, that was filled with a variety of products and food, accompanied by live music. Of course I needed a birthday stroopwaffle from the famous Hans Egstorf! For lunch, we picked up a few things from the market and headed to Vondelpark for a picnic. One of the best spots for people watching - so many bikers and fellow picnickers enjoying the park and nice weather. We were surprised that most of the parks in Europe have cafes on the grounds. Honestly a brilliant idea and not sure how it isn't more common in the US? We came across Waterside cafe at Vondelpark, which is the perfect place to have a drink. We so happened to sit next to another American couple from DC who engaged us in conversation (aka eavesdropped on Isaac's and my debate and took my side). Our last morning we went for a stroll in the De Pijp neighborhood (my favorite) and watched the sunrise. Proof of the ridiculously steep, narrow staircase in our hotel as mentioned earlier. On our way to Brussels with our snacks in tow!
