Amsterdam: Venice of the North or Vegas of Europe?

Amsterdam has been on my list of places to go to for a very long time, especially considering its just 45 minutes by flight from London. But as is always true with things which are easily do-able, my trip to Amsterdam has taken a long time in happening. So I was very excited when the trip was finally finalised, a short weekend trip from London, to celebrate my birthday in a different city. In a city that I have heard a lot about for a very long time...

The start of the trip wasn't as great for us though; the cab to the airport did not come on time, the flight got delayed and then we took a very expensive taxi to the city instead of the train that we were trying to take (which we learnt later was because Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards don't work in the machines of Netherlands!). Thankfully, that was not a sign of things to come for the rest of the weekend. Everything else went as per plan starting with our hotel room being upgraded!

For a change, I had spent a lot of time picking just the right hotel located at just the right location to make the most of the two days we were in the city. And turned out I had booked just right. Our hotel, the Albus, was located within the canal zone of the city center, within walking distance of all the places of interest and located right next to the buzzing square of Rembrandtplein. It turned out perfect for us and impressed on me the importance of booking the right hotel for every trip. I had used tripadvisor's 'where to stay' feature and was impressed by how spot-on their description was. Have become a fan of this feature and am planning to use it everytime in the future from now on!

The first thing that happened when we reached our hotel was that it started to snow! It was a big surprise for us given that the weather forecast had predicted it to be a sunny day. It made up the next day though, when a cloudy day turned out to be perfectly sunny and clear. Anyways, the snow did not hamper any of our plans, as we just walked in the snow taking in the views of the brown city covered with white snow.

Dam square

For the next two days, we spent most of our time walking around the city centre, through the small roads next to canals, through the squares and parks; just exploring and feeling the city. We saw the tulip flower market next to the canal, the Dam square which looked like a grand city center and the shopping areas around. Among the places which are a definite visit is the Van Gogh museum which was an absolute treat to visit. Even though the museum is a small two-floor one, there are enough paintings there by the great master to hook you to his work and his life's journey. 

Rembrandtplein

In the evening we had dinner in Rembrandtplein which was a lighted up square with a statue of Rembrandt in the center and multiple cafes and restaurants all around. 

We zeroed in for dinner at an Indonesian restaurant called Indrapura which we had mistaken for an Indian restaurant from afar. Still turned out a welcome surprise for us when the waiter started speaking to us in Hindi! The food also was a huge surprise for us, we ended up having one of the best vegetarian spreads we have ever eaten outside India. There were multiple dishes being served, all vegetarian. Eating that, we realised how much we missed not having variety in vegetarian food when outside India.

There were lots of cafes all around to just sit and enjoy a hot cup of chocolate with the warmth inside while watching the cold snowfall outside. All the places to eat served either Heineken or Amstel; both native beers of Amsterdam. And then there were the coffee shops everywhere where weed was being sold freely. Even though I had heard about it earlier, seeing it in real life still felt unreal and weird.

Since we had gone for a short trip, we did not do a lot of the touristy stuff that is advertised in the guide books. But some of them surely looked interesting and worth doing. Among the museums, there are the Rembrandt and Heineken museums and Anne Frank's house which are worth visiting. Among the places to eat, there is a Supper Club near the Dam Square which looked really interesting. There are many organised day tours also available to nearby places in Netherlands; to the sea dykes, the miniature gardens just outside the city, a peek at the Dutch countryside, views of the local windmills, visit to the Belgian city of Bruges etc.. Maybe some other time.

Centraal station

While leaving back for London, we took the train rather than the taxi and found it to be a lot cheaper and more convenient. Also, the Centraal station added some colour to our photos, and looked quite pretty and bright even though it did not look as grand in reality! I think the sunlight added to the bright look.

Getting around the city was easy; regular trams criss-cross the central city and look fun to travel in. There are lots of locals buys to shop for, Van Gogh memoralibia, Dutch shoes and tulip bulbs. I would suggest buying at least one of these as a souvenir. And the people were all helpful and spoke perfect English, so that was a boon. All in all, was a very convenient city to visit.

But to be frank, my first impression of Amsterdam was not as 'wow'. The roads were narrow, the canals had dirty water and the buildings all looked brown and dirty. It made me wonder why Amsterdam felt so different than a lot of other European cities? It did not feel as inviting or beautiful or warm at all like a lot of the other cities. It seemed almost like a downtrodden city, old and unkempt. As we spent more time, it did grow on me but still, I found it lacking. Maybe its a lot different in the summer?