Amsterdam

We arrived into Amsterdam a bit later than expected. First because we missed our flight, and then the train was delayed about 30 minutes. It had been quite a long day, so we decided just to grab a taxi to our hotel. When we got in line at the taxi stand, we noticed that at least three out of four taxis were Teslas.  We hopped in a Model S which Josh was pretty excited about.  We heard that the city provides incentives to taxi owners that choose to buy a Tesla over a gas vehicle.

We finally made it to our hotel, The Hotel Espresso City Center. It was a great location and there was a cafe in the lobby, but it was the smallest room we've ever stayed in. After talking with a few other people, this seems to be quite the norm for Amsterdam. Our room had a king size bed, but with our suitcase on the floor, we basically had to scoot sideways around the bed. So when visiting, expect to have a pretty small space. Other than the size, the room was quite nice. Luckily, the city is so great that you'll not want to spend much time in your room.  After getting settled, we decided to crash for the night and make a full day of it the following day.

The next morning we headed out to grab some breakfast. The Dutch are famous for their pancakes so we decided that we had to try some. We found a place that was just a few blocks from our hotel called De Vier Pilaren (The Pancake Place). It was right on one of their famous canals, and we got a seat by the window overlooking the water.

We had delicious pancakes at this cute place right on the canal

The pancakes were amazing, not like anything I've had before. We tried savory dutch pancakes. They are very thin, similar to an open face crepe. We also had some sweet mini pancakes called poffertjes served with butter and powdered sugar; they went especially well with the deliciously strong coffee.

We had savory and sweet pancakes with a view

One nice thing about Amsterdam is that almost everyone speaks English, so ordering at restaurants, buying tickets to tours and museums, or asking someone on the street to take a photo for you are all very easy.

After breakfast, we walked along the canal to the Museum District. The Museum District is basically a park near the canals with famous museums sprinkled throughout it. It is also where the famous I Amsterdam sculpture is.

The iconic I Amsterdam sign

We made a bee line for the Van Gogh museum shortly after it opened in order to beat the rush. We were told to get there early as the lines get pretty long in the afternoon. We were glad we listened because the line seemed to double or triple behind us in the short time we were waiting. The tickets cost 18 Euros each and it's generally recommended to buy them in advance because they often sell out. If you can't purchase them in advance, try to go early in the morning.

Once we entered the museum, we had to wait in line again to leave our backpack at the coat check. They do not charge for this service and require you check anything larger than a handbag. You can also check coats there as well.

There museum featured many of Van Gogh's famous paintings including Potato Eaters, Sunflowers, Almond Blossoms (which hangs in our home), and several of his famous self portraits. However, it was some of his lesser known works at the museum that became our highlights.  One painting called Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette was one of our favorites.  It's rumored that Van Gogh painted this as a self portrait in reaction to his self-inflicted declining health. 

One of our favorite paintings at the Van Gogh Museum

After the Van Gogh museum we walked underneath the Rijks Museum but didn't have time to go in and explore. It will be on our list for next time. Next, we hopped on a canal cruise and headed north to take in the beautiful sites along the way including the Langlois Bridge that Van Gogh featured in several of his paintings.

Langlois Bridge

The canal tour we booked was a hop-on-hop-off tour. Pro-tip: This is a great option for getting around a new city while taking in the sites, especially if you aren't quite sure what you want to see. If you see something interesting, hop off and explore.  In most cities, the hop-on-hop-off tours are double decker buses, but in Amsterdam it's a boat. That is exactly what we did, so we hopped off at Central Station and decided to check out the area and grab a bite to eat.

On the hop-on-hop-off canal tour

We wandered around the streets a bit before stopping into a little shop for lunch. It's worth mentioning that service in Amsterdam doesn't seem to be a priority. It takes a little getting used to but if you know what to expect, it's fine. Servers don't tend to come check on you as frequently and you will usually have to request your check. Also, they do not offer free water, only bottled and it's quite expensive. It was often cheaper to drink a beer than water in Amsterdam.

After lunch, we hopped back on the tour and got off near the Anne Frank Museum. The lines were just too long for us to handle on such a short trip, so we didn't get to go inside. We walked around the neighborhood a bit before jumping on the canal tour back toward the Museum District.

Near the Anne Frank House

There are so many bicycles there

There was a Banksy and Roy Lichtenstein exhibit at the Moco Musuem that didn't have much of a line since it was only about an hour before the museum closed. We are both big fans of Banksy and Josh is a big fan of Lichtenstein as well. We decided to walk through it since we wouldn't have to wait in line to get in and it was a rare opportunity to see some of our favorite artists' works.

Banksy Works

Part of the exhibit included a 3-D room that made it feel like you were actually in a Lichtenstein painting. The room is Lichtenstein's interpretation of Van Gogh's famous painting 'The Bedroom.' This museum turned into a highlight of the trip, so we're very glad that we stopped in.

3-D Lichtenstein Room

That evening we headed to the Red Light District (De Wallen) just to see what all the hype is about. We caught the last run of the canal cruise as the sun was setting and the city is especially beautiful at twilight.

Twilight along the canals

Sunset over Munttoren Clock Tower

The red light district is actually an area along a few canals. Walking around the area was quite strange although it did make for some interesting people watching. It was quite apparent that many people had come there to party. This wasn't really on our agenda that night, so we wandered through the area and then made our way to the Royal Palace at Dam Square.

National WWII Monument at Dam Square

We did a bit more wandering, then finished up the night with a waffle covered in pistachio/white chocolate coating that was nothing short of heavenly. After that, it was time to head back to our hotel because we had an early flight back to the states the next day.