Amsterdam, buds, beers, canals and more!

Our last 2 weeks in Innsbruck spring had arrived and we were spoilt with really warm days. However this made snowboarding a little difficult as it was too warm by the afternoon the snow was super slushy. We managed to get up a few mornings though, the park was loads of fun and even the run to the bottom of the mountain was good until our last day when we only just made it ridding the dirt slush.

We packed up all our snowboard/winter gear and shipped it home so we would not have to carry it all around Europe with us, which all went smoothly. After a quiet good bye dinner with Anna Lena, Andy and Vreni the 27th of March had arrived and it was time to leave Innsbruck and start our 12 week journey home.

Day 1: We had booked some cheap flights from Innsbruck to Amsterdam so we did not have to drive back to Munich, this also meant that we got to fly out over the alps! Innsbruck airport was tiny and so was the airplane left in. The flight to Amsterdam was amazing, only a short hour flight but the views out the window were incredible. First we flew over the alps and small mountain towns, flat farm lands, passed a dozen other airplanes, then the Netherlands farming land which was surrounded by canals of water and in some places appeared to be flooded but I guess this is what happens when a country has about 25% of it's land below sea level and 50% only 1 meter above sea level!

The flight went smoothly however getting into Amsterdam we had managed to get onto the wrong train (must have been out of practice!); no big drama it just took us a little longer to get to the central station. We had 4 nights in Amsterdam, luck had shone upon us again and we had scored a couch to surf. Our host would not be home until that evening so we locked our bags up at the train station and headed out to explore the city.

Grabbed some corn on the cob for a late lunch at Neiuwmarkt then strolled to the palace of Amsterdam. On the way we accidently walked right through the heart of the red light district, which was a bit of a surprise, as I was not expecting to see so many ladies on display early afternoon!

Amsterdam palace was very different to all of the other places we had seen, not very grand on the outside or in but still interesting to see. The palace was still used today as a town hall and the bedrooms were used to accommodate important guests of the city.

Next we continued to walk around the city; stopped in at Mals for a delicious falafel, checked out the Tulip market, sampled some delicious Dutch cheese and stoop waffles, walked over the oldest bridge in Amsterdam, checked out the beautiful house boats on the canals and I even managed to get hit by a bike (no major damage to me or the bike, just a bit of surprise and a sore shoulder)! 

Late afternoon we collected our bags from the station and made our way to meet up with our couch surfer for the next few nights. Our host Mike lived very centrally and had a lovely apartment and spare room for us we were stoked. After sharing some stories we settled in and then went out for dinner at ‘Burger Meister’ that was only a 5-minute walk from Mike’s house. The burgers were delish however did not come with fries which was a little weird. That night we kicked back at the house watch some TV and had an early night.

Day 2: In Amsterdam the main mode of transport is by bike and staying with a native Dutch man, Mike had 2 spare bikes we could use while we were in Amsterdam. This was great news as saved us having to hire bikes. However one of the bikes had a flat tier that we dropped off at the local bike shop to get fixed at the fraction of the price of full days bike hire.

Bikes ready we took off for our first destination for the day the Van Goh Museum. It was pretty early in the morning so the line and crowds were not too bad. We both really enjoyed the museum and learning about how Van Goh became an artist and how he only really became well known after his death. As the museum was created and run by his family the museum focused more on the art rather then the troubled life of the artist (Marc was a little disappointed that there was no mention about why he cut off his ear) but all in all we had a good time.

Next we made our way to the Pancake bakery for some lunch; a satay pancake for main and traditional dutch pancakes for sweets, delicious lunch that we enjoyed in the sun next to a canal.

Back on the bikes we continued our tour around Amsterdam, we rode past the house of Ann Frank (crazy line so decided to give it a miss) then made our way to Brouwerij’t IJ brewery for some afternoon drinks. The brewery was great not only was it next door to a windmill but the beers were fantastic. After one too many beers in the warm sun we had to make our way back to the other side of town to pick up some groceries. On our way out I thought that there was a free sample plate of the famous 'Goat Cheese' (the goats are fed the malt dregs from the beer to enhance the cheese flavor). So I grabbed a sample from the bowl and excitedly turned to Marc to let him know that there were free samples… however silly me had actually stolen some cheese from someone’s plate oops. Marc thought this was hilarious but was grateful that we got to taste the cheese (it really was delicious). The bike ride home was loads of fun, I nearly fell off a couple of times as for some reason my balance was not as sharp as it normally was.

We picked up some food for dinner then made a meal at home that we shared with Mike as a way to say thanks for the hospitality. Later that evening we decided to go and check out our first coffee shop just around the corner. A really strange experience walking into our first coffee shop and I’m sure we looked like 18 year olds walking into our first nightclub legally! Not really knowing what to do we checked out the menu and picked out the novice pre rolled joints that Marc then went up and ordered. It was the weirdest thing ever but when in Rome… do as the Romans do. The rest of the evening was a bit of a giggle but someone had too much and ended up going to bed pretty early.

Day 3: Road trip! We had organised a hire car for the day and as chance would have it our friends from Germany were also in Amsterdam at the same time and were joining us for the day. After 2 amazing days of sunshine the weather had turned rainy and cold.

We picked up Karti and Jim then made our way to the Amsterdam Harley Davidson. The traffic in Amsterdam was a little crazy but we managed to make our way out of the city without hitting any cyclists. It was cool to see another amazing Harley Davidson store and pick dad up another pin for his growing collection. After a short drive we had made it to our first destination of the day ‘Keukenhof’ tulip farm. We were a little early in the season so the fields of colourful flowers were still in sprout stage but the farm did not disappoint. None of us had every seen so many tulips and orchids before they were beautiful. Even though it was a little cold we really enjoyed our walk around the grounds… however poor Jim had forgotten a jumper and was freezing by the time we got back to the car.

Next we made our way to the famous ‘Kinderdijk’ to see the windmills, the drive was a little longer then expected. After a quick stop at the worst possible place for lunch (mmm microwave burgers), we arrived at the windmills. It was well worth the drive to see them but the wind was a blowing so our time there was pretty short. A quick walk up and down we got some great photos and made it back to the car within 30 min.

Last stop of the day was ‘La Trappe’ brewery for Marc. Unfortunately the brewery was only open for 30 more mins when we arrived so each of us ordered 2 beers kicked back and enjoined the trappest beer, which was delish and extremely strong… lucky we only had 2 or none of us would have been able to drive back.

Just like that our road trip was nearly over, the drive back to Amsterdam went quickly as we were all a little happy after the beer. 

We arrived back in Amsterdam dropped the rental car off then made our way back into old town to explore the city at night. Amsterdam at night was really different to the day with all the tourists, coffee shops and the red light district the feel of the city became a lot seedier. Still had fun enjoying some more beer and walking past the double level windows filled with young/pretty and then some not so young/pretty ladies or even cross-dresses. I think the thing that amazed us the most was the hospital clean smell the came from the open doors as everything was so sterile… didn’t really seem like a very sexy place at all.

Day 4: After a very big day yesterday a slow start to today was on the books. The weather was still a little wet so we strolled around the famous Albert Cuyp market. Enjoyed checking out the stalls but as normal the food was our favourite part we enjoyed some fresh stroop waffles, poffertjes (Dutch pancakes) and Marc enjoyed a pickled herring roll.

We still had the bikes so made our way to Vondelpark park and rode around stoping to check out some of the scenery on the way including a really weird goose duck whose legs were too big for it’s body.  We continued to explore the city and stopped in at ‘Gassan’ for a free Diamond Tour (great to learn and see how diamonds are cut so they sparkle), strolled through the Rembrandt district and Hippy Market then stopped in for some more boutique beer at another cool bar Marc had found in his never ending beer search.

That evening we caught up with Karti and Jim again for some dinner and drinks. We found a great place (with the help of a local) for dinner at ‘De Blauwe Hollander’ a traditional Dutch restaurant; Dutch food is delicious, all comfort food with meats, gravy and mash and we were glad to have made the decision to stop and try it out. After dinner we stopped in at ‘Lux’ lounge for some drinks before making our way back to the red light district so Marc and Jim could check out a live sex show while Karti and I stopped in at another bar for a nightcap. Marc and Jim thought the show was more of a comedy then an erotic performance and enjoyed the experience.

Day 5: Last morning in Amsterdam we strolled around the market one last time and ran into Karti and Jim again for one final good bye. After the purchase of a couple of souvenirs we packed up our stuff, thanked our wonderful host for letting us stay then made our way to the airport for our second flight and destination Dublin!