When a packed Norwegian airline can provide me with only a middle seat in the aircraft but my co passenger gently asks if I would like to take her window seat, I instantly know this is a sign of an amazing trip ahead.
Amsterdam, in Netherlands or Holland, as the traditional folk like to call it, is piquing with energy and bursting at its seams with tourists during all through the year! But thanks to our penchant for curating ‘the local vibe’ kind of itineraires, we managed a rather relaxing and easy holiday for ourselves!
Haarlem, from our BnB apartment window
Since the idea always is to avoid the hustle bustle of the city, we chose our airbnb in this quaint, laid back, green city of Haarlem, a beautiful city, about 30 minutes from Amsterdam city centre and 20 minutes from the airport.
A silk cover of green meadows and trees where ever your eyes float, red brick and glass houses with porch gardens of exquisite orchids and a canal right across the city, at the first glance this is a city straight out of the imagination of a nature lover.
The Jordaan district
Highlights of the three day travel:
The Jordaan (or the main city square) is the heart and lifeline of the city. Lined with some of the most prominent tourist attractions in the city, this place is always over flowing with people, local and otherwise and piquing with energy. Its quite possible to spend your entire day lazily walking around this place, but since time is limited we have to move. The best part of this place is the Amsterdam Canal Ring, which cuts through the heart of the city and connects all the important places in the city. As a tourist, taking an hour long canal boat ride (highly recommended) will help you mark all the important places in your list. If you are history lover, you will fall for Anne Frank’s home (beware the serpentine queue), Van Gogh museum & Rijksmuseum are a must for art lovers and the Heineken experience is for commercial beer lovers.
For us however, it was all about taking the boat ride, wandering around the streets of the city, admiring the old and new architecture of the houses, clicking pictures, eating their local food, visiting their local markets, chatting up with localities and getting free cupcakes as souvenirs (they are gregarious and happy people) and watching the people of Amsterdam celebrate summer traveling in the personal boats or sipping wine on their house boat decks.
Missing out on Wester Cafe by the canal ring, its out of the world Irish coffee and house made carrot cake and brownies is a sin one is not supposed to commit. After a hearty meal a walk along the canal road takes you to Noodermarket, a pop up market, where the rustic opulence of the city and its laid back charisma is on full display. Everything from fur jackets, trendy hats to beautiful orchids and scrumptious sea food and local cheese is on sale and display.
Scene from the local Noodermarket
Albert Cuyp market- De Pijp is the hipster area of the city, buzzing with cafes (you get amazing hash brownies in this area), pop up shops and countless eateries serving local delights. A walk for us here included, trying the famous gelatin ice cream from one of the oldest shop in the city (Monte Pelmo), devouring the street food and taking a sneak peak into the 70’s store, the “Kilo shop”. This shop is rather interesting as it sells hand picked stuff from the 70’s and once you enter you feel its a walk in closet of a highly fashionable bunch of 70’s people. Buying some cool stuff from here is recommended.
The very famous Amsterdam Cheese- albert cuyp market
Cuisine: Must tries are all their bakery products beginning with the house made pancakes, cranberry and praline chocolates, waffles, carrot cake, sausage rolls and so on, the pickled herring sandwich (strictly for avid fish lovers- its raw fish), the famous chicken and beef spring rolls, the Argentinian steak (Dam area), the world famous hash brownies and space cakes (have it only if you do not need to wake up early next morning), the spoilt for choice of cheese, the delirious spread of red and white wine, this place is a gastronomical heaven. For a sea food junkie like me the fresh oysters cut out from their shell was a drop of heaven on my lips!
Recommended eateries: Glou Glou (for wines- De Pijp), cafes along Jordaan (for pancakes), Desa (Indonesian cuisine- De Pijp), eateries/ shacks along Zandvoort beach.
Sea food on display at a local market square
North Holland: the final day was dedicated to North Holland, the country side, as if a whole new world, living inside its oyster (okay I am obsessed with oysters) right in the middle of a country otherwise bustling with tourists, people and trade.
Beginning with Zaanse Schans which is primarily a windmill area, some of which are still functional, we travelled to the country side of Voolendam, dotted with numerous summer cottages and the famous cheese factory and finally to Marken, a fisherman colony and a place which redefines the words, beautiful, serene and peace. The black, green and deep blue houses stand at a stark contrast against the clear powder blue sky and the crystal clear lake water.
Windmills & Tulips: trademark Amsterdam
Just an hour drive from the main city, it is strange to believe a place so different can thrive embracing its own history and art. (The place houses the wooden shoe factory that is no bigger than a one-room house).
This day trip is again high on our recommendation list. Along with this you can also squeeze in the trip to the tulip garden (Keukenhof– functional only for 2 and half months of summer)
This was a short glimpse of our trip to Amsterdam. Since I tend to fall in love with a particular characteristic of every place I visit, this place was no exception. And though as a practice, we gave most of the tourist places a miss, but Amsterdam played its unique charm on us nonetheless.
Marken
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