A lastminute trip to Amsterdam
Mr LML and I are on uni holidays vacaying in Istanbul when we make the rash decision to book a trip from Pisa to Amsterdam: the land of clogs, Anne Frank, flowers, the red light district and – most importantly for Mr LML – Heineken.
Our Ryan Air flights cost all of €12 each ($18AUD). That’s an absolute bargain, right? Sure it is, it even makes you forget about the less-than-standard service and the excess luggage fees if you’re a gram over the weight limit.
Not to mention checking in is a mission in itself. Luckily, our family and friends pre-warned us about the super strict baggage regime. It seems everyone in the line except for us is frantically repacking their bags to avoid the hefty excess luggage fees; the bins have seen better days, overflowing with the clothes and toiletries people have had to sacrifice. But after paying €12 and flying over the Swiss Alps it’s still a win! We’re on our way to Eindhoven – one of the southernmost points of The Netherlands
Oh Haiiii, Switzerland
We arrive in Eindhoven on a Sunday so we’re surprised when we spot a man at one of the hire car kiosks.Mr LML and I skip the bus and rent a car instead. Why not, it’s an adventure!
The less-than-professional-looking man leaves us thinking that we may have just handed our credit card details to the wrong person and will soon feature in an episode of World’s Wildest Police Videos. We ‘Thelma and Louise’ our way out of Eindhoven Airport, with ‘Louise’ pulling out onto the wrong side of the road and doing laps of the roundabout until he feels more comfortable about right-hand driving. *insert mini heart attack*
He should probably be concentrating on the road
The countryside is beautiful. I highly recommend finding your own dodgy car rental salesman and driving the length of The Netherlands. It’s amazing to think that 70 years ago the fields were filled with soldiers and littered with bullet casings; cruising along now all you see is acres of flowers and trees dotted with windmills and houses.
TIP: Drop the car off in Amsterdam City, NOT the airport. Schiphol is the most confusing airport to drive into!
Hamburger vending machine, yes please!
After ditching the rental car at the airport, we catch the train to central Amsterdam which takes no time. We stroll past hamburger and hot dog vending machines on our way to our hotel just a short walk from the Leidsplein, the main street of Amsterdam. The further we go, the more I fall in love with the city: Chow Chows bathing in a fountain, cool bars and, more importantly, waffle stores everywhere.
Coolest. Dog. Ever.
After a quiet first night, we opt for dinner at Hosokawa, renowned in Amsterdam for excellent Japanese food. After, we wander our way back to the hotel and leave the real sightseeing for the next day, but not before stopping for dessert.
The chocolate fiend in me is pretty happy with a caramel oozing brownie (the not so Amsterdam kind) from a bakery on the way into the Leidsplein.
We head out the next morning and make our way to the red light district to sit through one of the most awkward experiences of our lives. For those of you who think watching an x-rated show with your significant other will be super sexy and oh-so-steamy – be warned. It really isn’t.
In fact, it’s the opposite. I wish I knew the name of it because it’d be one to miss. We scope out the best seat to ensure we won’t be selected to take part and end up sitting with a small group of guys behind us, another couple to our left and, I kid you not, an old man in a trench coat at the front (ew). The curtain opens and two mature-aged, rotund “performers” take the stage to present what I can only describe as the most awks show ever. As it goes on, the quality of the performers does get better, but we leave feeling a little violated, with a side of ‘What the actual f***?’.
We move on to a more G-rated attraction, The Anne Frank House. Having read her book as a kid this has been on my bucket list ever since. I’m about to be a kid in a historically nerdy candy store. (Fact: I am obsessed with WWII.) We make our way to the bookcase – the same bookcase that Nazi’s once touched, that hid two families for years.
The historical nerd inside of me is quietly dying of excitement.
We climb up the stairs and I am somewhat shocked, funnily enough the imaginary apartment I had in my head was a lot smaller than in real life. It has me thinking, how did people miss this? I’m shuffled through the annexe maze quickly, not only by the huge number of tourists behind us but also by Mr LML who wants to get to his candy store…the Heineken Factory. I would recommend getting to the Anne Frank House before it opens, to try and skip the line and have time to look around properly.
Fact: Aside from the few XXXX Bitters (I’m classy) I cracked open at schoolies, I severely dislike beer. The Heineken Factory Tour however, is totally worth doing. It’s super cool and a really interesting look into the history and brewing process of Heineken. The factory is also fitted out pretty well and has some great non-beer related, interactive stops along the way. I would totally recommend it to anyone visiting Amsterdam.
Please note: this is not actually how we choose to dress; our faces are inside cardboard cut outs.
Our last-minute trip to Amsterdam turned out pretty well. We ate, walked and explored our way through The Netherlands on a whim trip that I will never forget. One of the prettiest countries in my eyes: Holland, you have my heart… for now.
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