amsterdam day 2 | exploring the city

 

monday was our second and last day in amsterdam, and after the rough night's sleep we had to be up early and packed up, ready to leave the accommodation at 11am. we decided to head out to a nearby cafe for breakfast before packing up, so at around 9.45am we took the bikes out for their last ride before we left.

 

the boathouse was situated north of the river and so was out of the way of the centre of the city, and the cafe was about a 10 minute cycle from there in a quiet neighbourhood and was suitably relaxed and calm for us to enjoy our breakfast before heading back out into the more crowded city centre. the cafe was fairly small, attached to the back of a bakery, and was decorated with old coffee grinders, fairy lights and faux garlands which gave the place a similar charm to that of the boathouse that we stayed in. after translating the menu to the best of our abilities, we all settled on 'egg, bacon and bread' which we expected to be served as a sandwich, so we were a tad surprised when our bacon and egg were served fried together on a couple of slices of bread, and even more so when it came with a side salad! if i learnt anything during my visit, it's that the dutch have salad with everything. a side salad with my dinner or tea is fine, but with my breakfast? i had to pass!

after arriving into the city, we decided to hop onto a boat to travel to the anne frank house to check out the queue and whether or not we wanted to battle through the queue to go inside. travelling through amsterdam on its various canals on a boat was a smart choice because a) it was a calm, relaxing way to travel, b) it gave you the chance to see so much of amsterdam in a time efficient manner, and c) it also educated you about the city and its history because the boat had a guided tour voiceover, so if you're ever in amsterdam and are looking for a pleasant way of travelling around the city, i'd definitely recommend paying the 24 euros for a 24 hour boat pass because it is well worth it, especially when the weather's slightly unpredictable and the chance of you getting caught in a shower or two is very high! that said, i'd also recommend cycling around the city as another form of transport because it's incredibly fun (and often kinda scary!) to place yourself amongst the city's traffic of cars, trams and bicycles – just make sure you stick with your group and be prepared to search high and low for a parking spot if you do decide cycle your way around!

after discovering that the anne frank house queue was just as horrifically long as we'd imagined, we decided to stay on the boat a little bit longer and head out towards the various museums amsterdam has to offer. we initially intended to go inside the van gogh museum, but after realising the queue for that was just as long as the anne frank house queue, we retreated to the stedekijk museum, which was a museum of modern art and design. if i know anything about art and design museums, it's that they're all pretty standard and that you really have to try your best to make the most of them, and as i expected, there was a lot of work within the museum that i found little interest in because i just didn't 'get' it or couldn't appreciate the technicality of it – installation art and photography in particular – but familiar work by the likes of picasso, monet and lichtenstein amongst fantastic portraiture by charley toorop – which really caught my attention! – helped to make the experience much more interesting, and in the end, an enjoyable, educational one. the fact that i then found a sara fanelli book in the shop at the end that i'd never before heard of helped to top off my enjoyable afternoon, but i'll try not to place too much emphasis on that... after leaving the museum, we then headed out for a quick bite to eat at a cafe before hopping back onto the boat to head back to the car in preparation for our long drive back to germany, equipped with coffee and pastries (yum.)

The Stedelijk Museum

The Stedelijk Museum

we drove straight underneath a double rainbow during our journey home, and i just thought that it was such a wonderful way of wrapping up our short visit to amsterdam. this year i've also visited new york and london, and after witnessing the madness that is city life in the uk and usa, i really don't know what i was expecting from the netherlands, but amsterdam honestly really pleasantly surprised me. even within the heart of the city where the place is at its busiest, it's still extremely calming to be within and the people are just so patient, friendly and welcoming, which made for such a refreshing change, especially from new york. the new yorkers made me feel like a nuisance, but the dutch made me feel so welcome, so content, and it really helped to ease me into the city and its culture. i know i only spent two days there, but those two days were spent happy; i spent five days in new york, but by the end of just the second i found myself laid in my bed in my hotel room desperately longing for home because i'd not found any glimmer of comfort or happiness throughout my stay, and it honestly really saddened me. if you read my new york write up, you'll know i'm not eager to visit again, but my feelings towards amsterdam couldn't be any more different – we were all discussing visiting again before we'd even left the country!

so, thank you amsterdam for such a wonderful, if short, visit, and i thoroughly look forward to visiting again and exploring more of what you have to offer!

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amsterdam day 1 | staying in a boathouse

if you read my latest sunday synopsis post, you'll know that this sunday i spent the evening in a boathouse in amsterdam. when my dad, his girlfriend and myself arrived in amsterdam and began walking down a dock, it wasn't until my dad explicitly said that we were staying on a boat that it ever occurred to me – in my defence, there was a huge house on the dock and i was convinced that was the 'b&b' i'd been told we were staying in (sneaky) – because i didn't actually know that boathouses were a thing. foolish of me, i know, but i can't particularly say i was ever that clued up on the dutch lifestyle. d'oh.

after i carefully clambered onto the boat and down its steps, i entered the kitchen and living area on the right. it all felt really quaint and rustic and i was pretty convinced i'd entered a time warp; vinyls and old school new york photographs decorated the walls, a television was replaced by a record player, and the yellow curtains gave the place a strange dingy glow that all, to me, felt very 70s. to sum it up, it was adorable. extremely cosy and very different to any other form of accommodation that i've stayed in within the years of my life that i've been old enough to mentally take note.

the bedrooms on the boat were no different, minimally decorated with lamps that were no doubt around long before my conception, garish floral bedding and ceilings so low even a 5'2 person like myself felt like a giant. due to how simply the boat was kitted out, there wasn't really much in it to do rather than to sit around in the kitchen/living area as a family and make your own entertainment, which i assume was a deliberate doing to try and keep the atmosphere of the boat in tune with the decoration of it. it did however have wifi, which came in handy for quickly checking my social media and emails before heading off to bed for the evening; well, you can't completely cut out the modern day, right?

with the boat being so empty, it obviously left room for more inhabitants than just the three of us, and this was made apparent upon our arrival back to the boat late on the sunday evening where we were greeted by just a few too many spiders, and when you're as big an arachnophobe as i am, it becomes something of an issue. luckily for me my dad and his girlfriend swiftly moved the unwanted lodgers on and i was then able to enjoy a cup of mint tea before retreating to my bed for the evening, where the various creaks and rocking of the boat in the wind made for something of a hard night's sleep; i woke up at around 4am convinced that someone had hopped on board on the upper deck, but it turned out to just be the normal noises you experience when sleeping on a boathouse. who'da knew?

the morning after was something of a struggle with restricted sink, toilet and shower access due to the low roof in the boat, so if you wanted to shower you had to head out of the boat to a nearby shower cubicle to get yourself clean for the day, which becomes a little bit of a faff if you've as many shower products to cart over as i do. needless to say, i skipped the shower that morning and did my best in the boat's sink knowing i'd have access to a more suitable shower once we arrived home on the monday evening. a bit of dry shampoo and my hat helped to hide the multitude of sins hiding on my head, so it all turned out alright in the end.

all in all, staying in a boathouse was definitely a different experience. i think for an evening or two it's definitely cosy and would, i imagine, cater to most people's needs for a short trip. if i were to stay in amsterdam any longer than a weekend however, i think i'd have to opt for something a little bit more modern with a more accessible bathroom and a location away from the docks where i could have a peaceful night's sleep without the fear of any unwanted guests attempting to share my bed with me throughout the night (spiders, ahem.) i wouldn't consider myself a massive diva, but staying in a place where everything was simply the bare minimum has highlighted to me that i like my creature comforts, and the option to shower privately and comfortably is definitely one of them. i've camped briefly in the past when attending leeds festival and managed to survive the week without washing properly, but when everyone around you is in exactly the same boat (heh), it all just feels a little less gross. however, when visiting a city and getting on with life pretty much normally, it just didn't feel right to me to have bathroom access restricted as it was, and it all left me feeling just a little bit gross. i've never really been fussy about accommodation provided it's clean, comfortable and provides me with somewhere to comfortable sleep and wash, but i think this brief stay in a boathouse has opened my eyes to the fact that i'm definitely more suited to somewhere a little bit more suited to the modern person. heck, it wasn't even a technology issue for me, just privacy and cleanliness; i'd have traded in the wifi for the night for my own ensuite bathroom!

have you ever stayed in a boathouse or something similar? how do you think you'd fare with such minimal living facilities? i'd love to hear your stories! i'll also be uploading an amsterdam part 2 post on thursday with some snaps i took throughout the day and some thoughts of the city in general, so if you're interested in seeing that, stay tuned!

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