20 SPRING TIME AMSTERDAM
April/May 2022 Travel News ‘DAM GOOD VIBES THIS SPRING
The Netherlands have become one of the latest European countries to fully open its doors to travellers without the burden of any covid restrictions, so why not check it out this Spring? NI Travel News’ Sarah Pickering took a 3 day trip to explore the colourful city...
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ANALS, friets, trams and ice cream? It always feels good to be back in the Netherlands. 5 days on the busy streets of Amsterdam gave myself and
my partner Matthew plenty of time to explore what this cultured city has to offer.
Day one was spent mainly in the airport and hotel
due to an afternoon flight from Dublin and arriving in Amsterdam around 5:30pm local time. Schiphol Airport is an impressive standing building yet well signposted for the traveller and therefore you’re unlikely to get lost. You can book hotel transfers to basically any hotels based in central Amsterdam from the airport, or take the public transport into the city which is super easy too! We ended up taking the bus which leaves every 7 minutes from outside of arrivals, and it dropped us off at about a 5-minute walk from our hotel. The stop also happened to be right outside of the Rijksmuseum, so we got our first glimpse of central Amsterdam just before the sun disappeared.
Before arriving, we didn’t really have a set plan on where we were looking to explore and (stupidly) didn’t have any tickets bought for activities. However, having been previously, I knew what was worth going back to , without having a set out day to day plan of what to do; A spontaneous trip in the Dutch capital. We opted for a stay in a hotel right beside Vondelpark meaning we were away from the noise of the city but within walking distance of everything, which was ideal. We stayed in the Apple Inn Hotel for all 4 nights and it actually exceeded our expectations; The hotel is located on Koninginneweg, a small road with tall homes, local bakeries and antique shops, with the tram stop 2 and 12 just around the corner. For the first night, we decided to walk into the city just to get our bearings and plan the next day ahead, which took us through Vondelpark and straight to a cultural dinner at McDonalds. These two tired heads walked to Dam square and around the Red Light District before calling it an early night, hopping on the tram, and into bed.
The next morning, our McDonald’s breakfast trip
was spent planning what we were going to do on this day. On most corners around the main central area you’ll find tourist ticket shops where you can buy tickets for pretty much any activity. We went in for a look and all tourist ticket shops have deals and discounts on most activities which is good because most activities are around the €20 mark; the deal of the day was actually for the Heineken Experience and the Ice Bar, two things I knew we were wanting to do, so we went with that and booked time slots for both. We recommend spreading each activity a few hours
apart because 1. You do not want to be running about tipsy at 11am and 2. You are able to walk to the ice bar despite both attractions being quite far apart, but it gives the chance to squeeze in some food too. For me personally, the Heineken Experience is one of the must do things in Amsterdam, especially if you’re going for a short break. It takes about an 1.5 hours to get around the
entire self-guided tour and you get three drinks included with your entry tickets. I am not going to ruin what’s included within the factory but even if you do not like beer, it is definitely a worth-while tour and no, it’s not just a standard brewery so make sure you check it out on your next trip.
After a few hours had passed, an Irish pub stop for some Bitterballen (so good by the way!), and yet another McDonald’s trip, we made our way to the Ice Bar. The Ice Bar is a totally different experience compared to the Heineken factory and much smaller in size. I still recommend going and doing the ice bar, especially for some for the nicest cocktails you’ll find in Amsterdam, but it will only take around half the time of the factory; Despite this, the ice bar isn’t really what you expect either in its own respect and is a very well organised event. 3 drinks are also included in your ticket, with one being outside of the ice bar itself and there are plenty of selfie opportunities within the bar to make use of! In terms of price, the ice bar is less for your money than the Heineken experience but with the discounts you can get with the tourist shops then it is still well worth doing; for example, we paid €15 each for each of these activities from the discount store, rather than €18 for each which is actually very good.
Day three was match day. The main reason Matthew and I headed off to the Netherlands was to watch Northern Ireland play Holland. This gave us the opportunity to explore outside of Amsterdam- To Rotterdam we went. If you are planning on going to Holland for a longer period than a weekend, a day trip is a great idea and, again, tickets for day trips to the tulip fields and windmills are easily got from the tourist ticket offices or you can even get trips to close cities like Antwerp and Paris.
To get to Rotterdam we headed for the train station; Our hotel is about a 45-minute walk from the Central Station so to get there we hopped on a tram. Tram tickets are super easy to use and get in Amsterdam with ticket booths close by in every neighbourhood near to the tram stops. You can buy tickets for 1 hour, a day, 2 days, 3 days and so on. The 1-hour tickets cost about €3.20 and the all-day tickets cost €8 but the best thing about these tickets is that they can be used with the tram, metro and bus so Amsterdam is very easily got around. The tram 2 line was right outside of our hotel, so it took us straight to Central station where we were able to take a train straight to Rotterdam (a different ticket from the public transport one). The hour journey through the Dutch countryside flew by and we stopped in central Rotterdam. As soon as we got out of the station it was clear to see that Rotterdam was a totally different city to Amsterdam. High officer block buildings and tall windows made it clear that this city was more of a corporate and industrialised city. To be honest, we did not do much in Rotterdam due to being there for the match and we ended up finding lots
Tulips line the streets
of other Northern Ireland fans along with Dutch fans on this little strip of bars near central hall. With plenty of beers and songs on the go, 6 hours flew by pretty quickly and we jumped on a free tram straight to the stadium. One thing that can be said about this day was how friendly and accepting the Dutch fans were of the Northern Ireland fans and how inclusive the whole day was made, making it a great comfort for us travelling fans in an unknown city.
After a very late train back to Amsterdam, day four called for a well-deserved lie in. We had planned to go to the Anne Frank house but as mentioned, we had not booked any tickets before, so these were merely impossible to get so if you’re thinking of going, make sure you book well in advanced because it sells out quickly. We are both avid football fans and apparently we did not experience enough football from the night before so we booked tickets for a stadium tour of Ajax; Tickets were easily purchased online and there was no need to print them off before arrival- A comfort whilst travelling in a different country.
For this, we travelled in the opposite direction from our hotel and took the tram and metro to the stadium (tip; always check google maps for travel times for trains so you’re not stranded in one destination). This tour was one of the first tours I’ve personally done and despite not having anything to compare it to I thought it was very well planned out and worth doing. You get to see all the things you would expect, and the tour guides are very good with questions. They give you plenty of time for pictures and you can even experience walking out onto the pitch through a new VR experience inside. I believe it was worth doing especially if you can appreciate the effort that goes into these big football clubs to compete at high levels.
When back in central Amsterdam we did a bit of walking and looking through the shops, but the light rain left us not wanting to do much else, so we went back to the hotel for a bit before heading on out. That evening when the rain lifted, we wanted to do something different from what we had planned so we went to the Ripley’s Believe it or Not; located right at
Dam square it makes for a good evening activity as it stays open to 10pm. This also takes about an hour and was around €14. We both really enjoyed this despite not knowing what to expect. It is very interesting and the way the actual ‘museum’ is set up is brilliant- children would absolutely love it. There’s a café on the very top floor where you can sit
and watch what’s happening at the busy Dam square which would be great on a weekend afternoon with all the street performers and people around. After this, the night was still young, so we went back to the Red Light District just to walk about. If you’re planning on going to the red light district, make sure you’re very sure of your surroundings and belongings as this area is extremely busy. Overall, I would say Amsterdam is a very safe city but with such large amounts of crowds in a really small area it’s inevitable that there’s going to be people that want to take advance of that. However, we did not experience any of this when we were there, but it is just something to be weary of. The fifth and final day of our trip to Amsterdam was
a day spent around the shops. I had booked a late flight so we had another full day to explore and we always leave souvenirs to the last day; You will never be stuck for souvenirs in Amsterdam because there is at least one shop on every single road! You can easily buy for everyone because there is so much to choose from but just make sure you price around because in some very touristy areas, just like any city, prices can be increased drastically. After all our presents had been picked out and the rain had stopped for the day, we made our way to the east of the city to see their Jewish quarter. Anyone that knows us will know that we are really interested in the World War’s and we always look for somewhere to explore connected to this no matter where we are. I had done a little bit of research prior to arriving and knew it was something we wanted to explore, however, we were slightly disappointed with how this was set out. There is a Jewish history museum and a Holocaust memorial museum and the adult tickets were €18.50 and student tickets were €8.50. We felt, for a country who had many of their citizens deported and moved to death camps and fleeing to different countries, the museums weren’t incredibly detailed and full of information.
Sarah and Matthew explore the Heineken Factory
We thought personally for the price and what was within the museums made it quite expensive although, on the other hand, it was nice to that money towards the improvement of the museums and it is an extremely important subject to be focused upon. What was within the museums themselves is very insightful and a lot of good information, but it is lacking in exhibitions and hopefully the money they get can go towards improving these two buildings. To finish our time in Amsterdam we booked a
Canal cruise which I definitely recommend doing. We booked with the blue boat company for an hour and fifteen-minute journey around the city which costed €18.50 each. For what they are, the boat trips are quite expensive, but I still think they are worth doing because you learn so much about the city that you wouldn’t know otherwise.
Bridges link the city over the many canals
We also got to see parts of the city that we did not get to see which is always a bonus. If you’re all about photos, then a boat trip should be on your trip list as you get to see beautiful buildings from different angles compared to on the street and it is just a lovely relaxing way to finish a trip to this busy city. Getting back to the airport could not have been simpler and only took around half an hour; One trip on a tram and one on a train with the train station below the airport and we had arrived. Amsterdam was just as beautiful the second time visiting and I am sure you will too.
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