NETHERLANDS : Our Great Trip 2015 – Part 3 (last part) – Amsterdam
Amsterdam is so magical it just makes me want to return again and again.
So what if it’s almost always very expensive to fly there from Israel and I already checked off almost all of the tourist attractions during the previous two times I visited? If you ask me where I feel like flying – Amsterdam will always be at the top of the list.
The last time I was in Amsterdam I was with my girls and it was almost three years ago; since then, I’ve been telling Daniel non-stop that I want to go back to Amsterdam! No matter what, I won’t give up – at some point we're going to Amsterdam.
So we ended up starting our long trip to Europe in Brussels, continued to the Werchter Festival and decided to end our trip with a long week in Amsterdam… after all, only a relatively short train ride separated us from the desired destination
There’s no doubt that in order to find a good place to stay in Amsterdam – which is also central, spacious and beautiful, you have to spend a lot of money. No matter if it’s a hotel, an apartment or even a hostel, lodging expenses are very high in this city.
So just like we did in Brussels, we decided to give up on the hotel in Amsterdam and rented a cool apartment through Airbnb. It wasn’t very cheap, but compared to the hotel prices in the same area and in the style we were looking for, we received an excellent value for our money.
The apartment we chose was in my favorite area in Amsterdam called DE 9 STRAATJES, or in English “The nine streets”. The area consists of nine magical side streets full of special small boutiques, quiet cafes and galleries. I think this is one of the most beautiful areas of the city and it’s also fun to walk around aimlessly, go into design and fashion shops and galleries or just sit in the cafes and soak up the atmosphere.
The apartment itself was really out of a dream!
It was very spacious with a large balcony overlooking the rooftops in the area and windows overlooking the river, with a modern-Gothic style and full of all sorts of little and cool details and a variety of vintage furniture.
So as I said, I already got to know Amsterdam quite well during the other two times I was there…
So most of the time we spent wandering the city's most beautiful streets, wonderful vintage and design shops, and of course hanging out in cafes and the many restaurants the city has to offer.
But enough with the talking, let's let the photos of this amazing city speak for themselves, and after I’ll give you all of my recommendations 😉
And now – my recommendations!
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A unique and charming shop that was really close to our apartment {not far from Anne Frank’s house}, called Kitsch Kitchen. If you’re a pitchefkes (small cute things) lover, you really won’t want to miss this store.
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In the restaurant field, Amsterdam has a lot more to offer than just junk food, in contrary to what I thought on previous trips there.
The first restaurant I have to recommend is Kantjil & de Tijger – we found it thanks to tips on the Israeli travelers website “Lametayel”.
Before each trip abroad, I check the website and prepare a detailed file with places recommended to visit {let’s face it, these tips are mainly about restaurants… ;)}…
I was never disappointed after visiting a place that was recommended there, but I really choose the places carefully and search the internet to check if the place has more than one recommendation.
This Indonesian-Indian restaurant is around for over 25 years and is located between many restaurants and bars in the center of Amsterdam.
The restaurant offers an exceptional “rice table” experience – a combination of unique and interesting flavors from different parts of the East… if you ever enjoyed a delicious meal at Taizo {in Tel Aviv}, then you’ll understand what this is about…
This restaurant serves fresh food in different levels of spiciness and the service is excellent.
You definitely shouldn’t miss it!
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We got to the second restaurant, SAL, by chance on our last day in Amsterdam – and we managed to eat there twice! Lunch and dinner – yes, it’s just that good!
I found the two things I love most recently at SAL’s – amazing sangria {red and white} and excellent ceviche {5 different types!}.
Their sangria was so beautiful that I decided to adopt the fruits in the recipe that I posted here. And the ceviche, oh the ceviche… Lately I have a weakness for raw fish, and they made the most perfect and delicious ceviche Daniel and I ever tasted.
We ordered the classic ceviche – just the freshest fish they had in a wonderful marinade.
If you also love raw fish you must order this dish.
Besides that, which we ordered in both meals {about 4 hours apart ;)}, the restaurant offers a variety of South American food – empanadas with different fillings, steaks, seafood and even vegetarian dishes.
And a little word of the restaurant’s design – SUPER chic!
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Even from the other side of the food field – the supermarkets, Amsterdam captured my heart.
Since we chose to stay in an apartment and not in a hotel, many times we preferred to eat a light and healthy breakfast in the apartment, before running around the city streets, and shopping at the supermarkets was also a very enjoyable experience.
Just like in the rest of Europe, supermarkets in Amsterdam are arranged like a museum, everything is fresh and there’s a wide variety of packaged fresh food – salads, spreads and more…
The most common chain is Albert Heijn and you can find it on almost every corner.
Another chain worth walking around is called marqt and has more of a boutique style.
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They have such perfect pineapples in the supermarket… a dream come true!!!
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If you're also into music, you should prepare your cash before visiting Amsterdam 😉
Amsterdam is full of record shops that also sell used and new vintage records. You’ll also find a wide variety of different cool record player designs that I definitely couldn’t be able to find in Israel.
We couldn’t stop ourselves so we bought a Crosley record player and left the store with a ton of records!
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Between all the city tours and eating out, we decided that a week in Amsterdam is too long without doing any tourist attractions.
So we sat down and made a list of things that I still haven’t done in Amsterdam
1.Amsterdam Canal Bus Hop-On Hop-Off – A great way to see all of the interesting areas in the city and also get to sail the canals of Amsterdam.I usually don’t like very touristy things, but what’s good about this boat-bus are the brief recorded explanations about the places you pass during the ride and the fact that you could get on the boat from different areas of the city for 24 hours.
So it’s a fun attraction that doesn’t require any commitment, and on the way, it helps you transport around the city.
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2.Body Worlds Amsterdam – An amazing exhibition on the human body, also called “the happiness project”, that tells the amazing story of our bodies and the effect of happiness on our health. The exhibition features more than 200 real body parts, which show the complexity, durability and vulnerability of the body.
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3.Efteling Amusement Park – Towards the end of the trip we decided to go to the Efteling amusement park, which isn’t far from Amsterdam.One thing I learned from this trip to the park – I’m a huge coward! Poor Daniel – he wanted to go on all the roller coasters the park has and ended up getting stuck on all of the kiddie rides
Note to self – I'm not cut for any kind of extreme activities… not even the kind that 6 year olds love.
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So that was pretty much our trip to Amsterdam
If you’re traveling to Amsterdam soon and want some advice, don’t hesitate to ask me questions.
I still have a lot to say about this wonderful city ♡
4 Responses
Hi, which Air BnB apartment did you stay in The 9 Street? Thank you.
Hey Patty! I checked the link once again and the apartment isn’t available anymore :/ I guess they don’t rent it anymore…
Hi Tamar, I really enjoy your blog! My husband and I will be traveling to Germany late September for about 2 weeks in 2018 for Oktoberfest and plan to head up and stop in Amsterdam and Brussels. This will be our first time in Amsterdam, do you have suggestions for absolute must sees?
Thanks!
Karlee
Thanks Karlee! I’m so glad that you’re enjoying my blog!
Your trip sounds so much fun! for more recommendations for things to do in Amsterdam check out this post I wrote last winter 🙂