72 Hours in Amsterdam

I feel l should explain how I ended up in Amsterdam 10 days after I got back from India.

I sat down on the sofa after 20+ hours of travel with my flatmate, and our conversation went something like the following.
“Hey Nomes we’re going to Amsterdam this weekend, you should come”.
“Oh I don’t know. I’m really poor and I should try and be responsible".
“Nah do it. I’ll just call the hotel and see if we can get an extra bed in the room”.

And there we have it. I was actually so torn that I text my mum to get a “grown up” opinion. Even though I'm 25. She said what the best Mums do. "You only live once and you know you want to. You'll work the rest out". So I booked a ticket to Amsterdam. I just had porridge for breakfast and dinner for the third day running. Mmmm tastes like adult decisions.

We stayed at Pension homeland. I was genuinely alarmed, thinking we’d booked a home for the elderly. However a Dutch friend helpfully explained the definition to us, pension is an older dutch word for Guest House. It all makes perfect sense now! I thought we were about to have a whole new 'Dam experience. 

Back to our 72-hour rundown:

Xtra Cold Icebar. I never usually do these kinds of things. Most cities have an Ice Bar, it's not exactly unique to Amsterdam, but I think we were feeling impulsive. It has a pirate theme and the photo-taking potential is off the charts. It's pretty cool (excuse the pun). You get 3 free drinks included and can make all the ice-related puns you like. You will want to leave after about 30 minutes because your toes and fingers will freeze.

Anne Frank House. Even though I’ve been before, it doesn't have any less effect. Actually, it was much quieter the second time around so worth booking in advance. I've queued for 2 hours before! It probably is one of Amsterdam's must see if you're going for history or culture.

Museum of Prostitution. We had some spare time and this was actually an interesting way to kill an hour. It tells you everything you could ever want to know about prostitution. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, such as how many clients might one see on a daily basis. Super educational if I'm considering a career change. There's also a big focus on human trafficking, some of which really surprised me. Go if you want to be enlightened, or just see the inside of a brothel. 

Obviously, we eat a lot when we go away. I feel I've neglected to mention that's a big pastime of mine.  All my friends are foodies for a reason. You can’t sit with me if not. And my blood was definitely 25% pancake batter by the end of this trip! We ended up in Bagels & Beans a lot, go for the best bagels ever ever.  I would recommend specific places for sweet food but pancakes and waffles are everywhere and I've never been let down yet by an Amsterdam waffle. Yet. 

Of course we had to squeeze in an Amsterdam night out. Rude not to right? We ended up in a pub/bar called Taante Roosje. This was fun, imagine lots of Dutch people swinging around pints while singing Dutch songs. We had no idea what was going on. Locals taught us how to say stroop waffle and I lost an arm wrestle. I also had my phone stolen and returned by a friendly local to remind me not to leave it on the table. Thanks. Club wise, we ended up in a small club called Prime. I wasn't too fussed, the bouncer was rude and that always puts me off. On a previous trip we went to Escape, a bigger club with a good vibe, I'd recommend, from what I remember.
Oh and when I was drunk I paid 8 euros for a waffle. It was amazing, but sober me was mad. 

Also of course, don't forget the giant Amsterdam sign. I mean did you even go to Amsterdam if you didn't walk in on everyone’s selfies?

This is one of those cities you can easily cover on foot for hours. It's pretty small, easy to navigate and incredibly beautiful. Amsterdam is full of surprises. I feel like every time you go you'll see something that you didn't see last time. I would put this in the group of cities that you can't get bored of no matter how many times you end up there. We loved it so much that we missed our flight! We stayed in the Ibis Budget and probably cried. Don’t do this, it’s where dreams go to die. So it wasn’t technically 72 hours in Amsterdam but let’s not let facts ruin titles.