An Amsterdam Birthday

Ahhh Amsterdam…what a weekend.  As my 30-year-old fingers type away, I am reminded of all that we experienced in this great city.  Everyone knows that Amsterdam is well known for it’s “open” stance on a number of morally taboo and controversial activities.  But to be honest, if I lived in Amsterdam, I would be rather annoyed that this is the first thing that comes to mind when one hears the word “Amsterdam.”  Yes, the presence of these things can be quite apparent depending on where you go, but Amsterdam is SO much more than this. 

I’m sure in the 13^th century, when fisherman built a dam across the Amstel River, they had no idea that an entire city would be built around this site and on the water.  Today the city, once the home to famous artists Van Gough and Rembrandt, is filled with hundreds of canals, connecting bridges, museums and fantastically old buildings.  It would be the perfect place to ring in the big 3-0.

We arrived in Amsterdam on Thursday night and after settling in to our hotel, we headed out to begin exploring.  Katie and I both had one thing in mind that we just HAD to have while we were outside of the UK.  We knew that Amsterdam would have just the cure for what we were craving….Mexican Food.  After strolling up and down the shop-filled streets, we found a great Mexican restaurant, complete with a man in a large sombrero waving people in from the street.  Let’s just say the food was amazing and we were both reminded of how much we missed good Mexican food. 

Friday morning, we started the day with a great breakfast at our hotel and headed out for the day.  What we really wanted to do was bicycle around the city, but since it was only about 35 degrees, we decided it would be a little too cold.  Incidentally, out of a population of 738,000 people, 600,000 of them have bikes, definitely a very “green” city (for more than one reason).  As a result we decided to get around the city by hopping on and off of canal boat line that had multiple routes running throughout Amsterdam. 

"I AM STERDAM" letters in front of the Rijksmuseum

We were both so fascinated by the fact that a lot of the houses were 5-6 stories tall and some, only about 30 feet across.  We learned on the canal boat that most houses were built that way during the 17^th century because the owners were taxed only on how wide the façade of the house was.  This resulted in a lot of houses that were very skinny, but very tall and very deep.  

We decided to hop off in an area known as Leidseplein, which is the very popular neighborhood for nightlife.  After a short stroll, we stumbled across a bar that was playing nothing but college basketball.  Since, it was my birthday, we even got to stop in for a quick drink before continuing with the day.  Not surprisingly, this bar was filled with Americans…mostly large groups of study abroad students who traveled to Amsterdam for a weekend of shenanigans. 

After a pint of Heineken to build up our courage, Katie and I knew we finally HAD to experience first hand what draws so many people to this city….the museums.  We made our way back over near our hotel, which was only a few blocks away from the Anne Frank House.  After waiting in line we were able to go in and explore the house where Anne Frank and her family hid during WWII when German troops occupied the city.  During this time over 100,000 Jews were deported almost completing wiping out the Jewish community.  It was not the most uplifting birthday activity, but so interesting. 

A Vodka-Red Bull night...enough said

After a short nap at the hotel, we headed out for the night.  Since we were in Amsterdam, I knew it was time to finally do what I have only done a few times since college….go out for sushi.  You know that it had to be my birthday if I got to drink during the day, watch college basketball and have sushi for dinner : )  Fortunately, on the same block as our hotel was a fantastic Japanese teppanyaki restaurant where we both had a great dinner.  From there, we headed out for the night were we had a few drinks, danced and heard a song that we haven’t stopped playing since we left Amsterdam.  Everywhere we went in Amsterdam, they were playing a song called “Hello” by Martin Solveig & Dragonette—still can’t get it out of my head.     

Now THAT is a public restroom

Needless to say, we had a great night out and we spent most of Saturday sleeping in and then doing some more exploring.  We also spent the majority of the afternoon shopping (yeah, my birthday…definitely over).   Since it was our last day in Amsterdam, Katie and I made a pact that we would take full advantage of what Amsterdam is best known for….waffles.  On every street corner, there were bakeries that sold waffles of all different flavors (chocolate, strawberry, frosted, candy sprinkles, etc.). Katie was slightly obsessed.   

After a great dinner on our last night we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest before our long journey home the next day. 

Mmmm...Waffles.....one of many

Needless to say, we had a great time in this truly beautiful city.  I have to admit that going into the weekend, I had this image in my head that Amsterdam would be kind of this seedy place where you would have to watch over your back everywhere you went—but I was pleasantly surprised to find it was just the opposite.  It was beautiful, very clean and filled with some of the nicest people we have met on our travels so far.  I can’t think of many better ways to spend the last days of my 20’s and the first days of my 30’s.  

Below is a link to more of our photos in Amsterdam if anyone is interested:


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