Amsterdam…
I’ve travelled many times to Amsterdam, for different reasons.
My first trip was of course to do it the way most Europeans do it. To get super stoned and visit the Red Light District, with my girlfriend, yeah.
The airport it’s self (schipol) is pretty cool, easy to use and has lots to do on the return if your flights delayed.
Taxis from the Airport can be expensive and I’ve heard a lot of stories about people being scammed when they get to their destination.
Always ask the driver clearly how much the fair will be in total, don’t get caught out and let them tell you they meant each person.
Look out for Registered taxis, they’re usually Teslas, fully electric and really cool. There’s a lot of ‘Fake Taxis’ (not the ones off Facebook memes) that aren’t registered and anything could happen.
If you need help, ask one of the Airport staff to guide you. Alternatively you can use the train, the station is located inside Schipol and is clearly signed.
The first thing we did when we arrived was hit the Coffee shops in Dam central, with our luggage because we arrived before check in.
As you can imagine there’s absolutely loads to choose from but I’m sure you’ll do research else where before you go to find out what you want, I’ll leave it out on this page.
We stayed at The Park Hotel, excellent location and really nice rooms! We got the hotel at a good price too!
There’s lots of good food to get in Amsterdam, mostly sweet snacks believe it or not! Crepés are my personal favourite.
Getting around can seem overwhelming at first, who’s right of way is it!? What ever you think… it’s most likely not yours! Cyclist rule out there!
We visited lots of the popular attractions like:
Don’t forget to Hire a canal boat!
There’s lots more to do in Amsterdam but as long as you see the sights, inhale the lifestyle and explore the City, you’ll have a great trip!
The other side to the Netherlands…
Now, you might need to re-visit for this bit, or maybe stay for a week rather than the usual weekend because this is where it gets even better!
On my second Visit to Amsterdam I didn’t go for a holiday, more personal work.
I went to try Ayahuasca, an ancient hallucinagenic from deep in the Amazon region, it’s more of a spiritual journey than an actual journey.
Anyway, the place i was doing it was in Amarello, basically Amsterdam. But because of a strict pre diet and other requirements I decided to stay out of town and discovered a place called Aalsmeer, so I hired a car from the Airport and set off.
The drive from the Airport was a bit scary at first, I’d never drove on the ‘wrong’ side of the road before and my sat-nav wasn’t working!
I found the place I was staying in the end, called the Blue Mansion Hotel, Aalsmeer.
Situated 22Km out of Amsterdam surrounded by small canals dividing people’s houses and used to commute through the town it’s a lovely romantic setting (unless you’re alone like I was).
I was greeted by a man who looked a bit confused as to why I was there, on my own and he said to me “So, you want to know where coffee shops are?”
Clearly some people go there without researching the location first…
The rooms was spotless and had a modern but comfortable feel with an awesome shower and super comfy beds!
The next day I went on Google Maps and looked for breakfast, they offered buffet in the Hotel but I got up late (Damn you comfy beds). I found a place nearby called Amsterdamse Bos, a large recreational area with some good stuff to see! Also a nice breakfast in the weird shaped building.
Surrounded by forest and lakes, there’s plenty to do and see.
The next day I travelled in to Amstelveen and found a traditional street market with loads to offer, then next to it was the biggest shopping complex I’ve ever been in to called Winkelcentrum Stadshart Amstelveen , it was split into 5 buildings!
After shopping for quite a few hours I headed back to the hotel and discovered there was a beach nearby! It wasn’t the ocean, it was a lake with a large landmark and a nice restaurant.
The next day I was leaving back to the UK, I’d done what I came to do and I felt great! But my flight wasn’t until 20:00!
I went on Google and found a place called Kennemerland National Park
This was by far the best place I’d been so far, I hired a bike for about €12 and set off on a 14Km bike ride, top off, sunshine beating down through the National park, perfect.
I decided to take a ‘V’ route that was sign posted and easy to follow called Parnassia, as I didn’t want to miss my flight, at the end of the first leg of the journey I reached Parnassia aan Zee, a restaurant by the beach!
After a quick dip in the sea, pint of Orange juice and a Baguette I set off back to the bike hire place, passing wild animals and unbelievable picturesque scenes, with no selfie stick.
The airport was a nice easy stress free part of the trip (and has been every time I’ve visited the Netherlands), I handed the car back, damage free and got my €1900 euros back on my credit card, Phew.
Hi, I would love to hear more about your Ayahuasca trip!
Hi, very nice website, cheers!
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