Leaving Germany was tough due to the friends we got to see along the way. Fortunately for us, Amsterdam was full of familiar faces as well! Some of my good friends from Shanghai had moved there years ago and actually work at the HANS BRINKER HOSTEL! Although we didn’t end up staying at this hostel, we spent plenty of time there having some beers and catching up while they worked. It seemed like a really fun and unique place to stay! If you’re looking for a fun place to crash, this is definitely a good spot, especially if you’re younger. We stayed in a hostel called StayOK and it was a really good setup. Fun common area and we ended up bunking up with some travelers that were really cool. As mentioned before, who your roommates are can fluctuate dramatically. It’s really all luck. We also stayed at an Airbnb that was great! It was only a bedroom but had a perfect setup and was perfectly located.
We traveled to Amsterdam from Cologne by bus. It was the most cost efficient way and we really weren’t in a hurry. To get into Amsterdam it was about 3 hours and typically you need to take some metro’s to get into the heart of the city and your destination. It’s extremely easy to navigate and quite a bit of the population speaks English and is helpful. I will preface this blog post and say that we have been to Amsterdam several times and it is one of Rain’s favorite cities in the world. If she had it her way, we would move there tomorrow and never look back!
Amsterdam is really one of the greatest cities to just walk around and explore. The people watching is incredible as you come across everyone from all over the world. The first morning we were there we had a amazing brunch at Greenwoods Singel. There was quite a wait so I do recommend getting there with the right expectation, but know it’s well worth it. A fun spot to stop at is the Heineken Brewery there. It’s walking distance in the city and is really interactive.
Our restaurant selections were heavily driven by our friends there. Constantin and Luna were so helpful with this! Well as Rain would probably say, way more Luna, and Constantin helped a little 😉 Bo Nam was a really good Vietnamese restaurant that we randomly came across that had great dishes a good gluten free option for Rain. If you want an assortment of everything, I really recommend checking out De Hallen. WARNING: if you are an indecisive person when it comes to picking something to eat, this place will not help. There are so many incredible options, and no matter your decision you cant go wrong. It’s like a big/hip food hall with all different stalls. It reminds us of the stop we made in Berlin at the Markthalle Neun or in Barcelona at the La Boqueria. Another gem for some great Ramen is VattenRamen. My last recommendation has to be Bhatti Pasal. It’s not often you’re able to get Nepalese food so we took full advantage. It was such a good choice!! You really can’t go wrong in this city with food choices. It all really depends on what you’re in the mood for.
We checked out the Van Gough Museum while we were here as well. Like I’ve mentioned before, Rain and I really aren’t big museum people but this was really cool to see and appreciate. It was also a really rainy day so we also just took advantage of trying to escape some gloomy weather. The Museum is also in really cool area with other options. We walked by some great parks and a really cool looking Banksy exhibit.
Overall we loved this stop in Amsterdam and it was great to see Constantin, Luna, Alex and Janina. Amsterdam is more of a touristy site, but of course lives up to the expectations!
Chasing Rain 