Reaching Happy Heights in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a really beautiful city and has a lot to offer any traveler. It is easy to get to, by plane, train, car, or even boat. With all of the canals, parks, and museums it should keep anyone happy. Then, of course, there are the many things that make the city, oh, so unique. Such as the famed Red Light District, where women are on display in glowing red windows awaiting their next customer, many gawk as they pass them by. Then, of course, there is the drug scene, which is most easily tapped into by entering one of the coffee shops. Just walk up to the barrista and ask to see the menu, if it is not already on display, and he will show you the selection of marijuana and hash that they offer. You can also have your fix from baked goodies, if you prefer ingestion to inhalation. And there's always a variety of drink selections available for your purchase as well.

Just like any other metropolitan city, there is quite a great selection of places to dine finely, or simply, if you'd like. I recommend you find yourself an authentic, Dutch place and order up a pancake... whether you choose sweet or savory, I'm sure you will be more than satisfied. Of course, there are all types of cuisine available to you—and plenty of places to quench your thirst as well.

The hot spot at night tends to be at the Leidseplein, where you will find yourself surrounded by bars, and as long as it's not a Tuesday night, the area should be thriving.

There's plenty of culture to be seen as well. You can take your pick from the many different museums that range from sex and drug topics, to the more conventional Van Gogh, and Anne Frank.

Of course, if you'd like to just enjoy its beauty, you can arrange for a canal tour, or just wander the lovely streets by foot. And, of course, the parks are worth your time if you have it.

After two trips to this city I can safely say, it has a lot worth experiencing and I look forward to the next time I find myself on its canals. Go for carnal pleasures, or to take it easy, whatever you're looking for, you are sure to find it in Amsterdam.

Quick Tips:

The Red Light District is not for the faint of heart, so make sure you are prepared for what you are getting yourself into. It is probably better to go earlier in the evening, since there will most likely be less creepsters staring the girls down.

Best Way To Get Around:

Foot, tram, or bike—the most common way for the locals, and probably the most fun. Bike paths and lanes are all over this city.

One of the better hostels I've been in—it's decor is fun and different. The rooms and the entire hostel are all very clean and comfortable. The lounge/bar is a very cool and welcoming environment, with a TV if you want, or just several good areas to socialize in. The rooms are very nice with lockers, a toilet, and a shower all in the room with you. The chance of getting a room with a view is very good and doesn't cost extra. Laundry facilities are easy to use and easily accessible. Breakfast is very nice, since it offers more than just bread and butter. And for a few more Euros you can ask the cook to prepare an even more filling dish, like eggs if you'd like. It's in a prime spot as well. Just steps away from the Dam square, as well as the red light district. And it is certainly very easy to get wherever you need to go by catching a tram—making it a simple trek from the main train station. Staff is also very helpful, they make sure you feel at ease as they don't let just anyone roam up to the rooms. Late nights they might even check your keys. So, although, the price may be a little higher than your average hostel (€16-136, higher prices for private rooms) it is well worth it.

So the food wasn't good, the service was worse, and we noticed that there was a tourist tax. They were writing in additional amounts after their computer calculated not only the tax and total, but the gratuity as well. It seemed they were only doing this for English-speaking tourists. We argued with them, but they were being ridiculous, so in the end I think we just gave them what they wanted. Please do NOT waste your time at this place!

We went to the wax museum, only because as we were on our way to the Anne Frank House we were given discount happy hour passes for later in the day, so we went with pretty open minds. It was only a few weeks before that I had been to the one in New York with my mother, who's a New York City tour guide. But, right from the start, I noticed the differences.

When we first entered we were told we could have our picture taken with the Governator Schwarzenegger. We didn't care too much about the picture, but we went with the flow anyway—and had it been a nicer photo of us, it could have been a cool souvenir.

Once you get to the top, which is where they leave you, you are transported into the world of old Amsterdam. This was the major difference between the two exhibits—New York and Amsterdam. This display was very nice and rather informative of the city's history. N.Y.'s immediately brought you into the world of plastic celebrities. And when we got into that section of this museum it was a lot of fun, but it seemed the sculptures weren't done as well as the ones I had seen at home. They were still lifelike and the set up was great for photo taking and all, so I don't really wanna complain about it. There was also a nice spot with a view of the Dam Square beneath you. All in all I would say it's a nice place to go for a bit and have some fun... just make sure you bring your camera!

The Anne Frank House totally lived up to its expectations for me, and then some. I think that one of the best parts was that it wasn't too intense or dramatic as I had imagined it to be. So I left there feeling touched and moved, but not depressed. Anyway, although you end up moving around with the same group of people more or less, you do have some freedom to go at your own pace, which is very important when seeing such an important piece of world history.

It's really one of the hardest places for me to describe, as it is exactly what it claims to be: the house where Anne Frank was hiding away with her family. There are pictures throughout and some of the furniture is set up the way it was back then. One of the most impressive parts is the door that leads you up to the hidden home of the Franks. When closed, it mimics a bookcase, and when open, you can see the tightly kept narrow staircase that goes up to the attic/home. The rooms are kept a bit as they would have been during the time of the war, and you can see how the walls were decorated in the room of a teen girl who, although in hiding, was still very much a teenage girl. There are stories about the house and the family, and in the last section of the tour you meet other survivors and their stories through audio and visual footage. You're brought even more into the lives of those who could not bask in the sun if they wanted to.

It was certainly a glimpse back in time, and a great place to reflect and learn. When you come out of the tour, there are a couple different exhibits dedicated to tolerance in general. There are interactive pieces for kids AND adults to play with, as well as videos to watch. The gift shop has a nice collection of postcards and things as well. After the tour, we took a moment to absorb what we had seen along the beautiful canal that runs along in front of the house. Just be aware of what time you are going. It is suggested that you go later or earlier, as you will come upon lines.

Well this is certainly an interesting museum. It takes you more through the history of sex in media or pornography than anything else. There is plenty of sexual art and interesting things on display. There are many different sections, including one that focuses on the darker side of sexual play and pornography. The one thing that I was a little disappointed by was the fact that there wasn't anything in the museum that addressed the city's liberal attitude toward sex or the history of the Red Light District. Other than the lack of that material, it was fun to see and experience and I am very glad my friend suggested it.

Although each of the places we went to in Amsterdam was so different from the last, I can't say that this was the best museum we saw there. But, I can say that it was a very nice one, and as someone who truly enjoys going to museums all over the world, it has remained one of my favorites. However, it would probably not be so if I was not a fan of Van Gogh, and I would not recommend this place to anyone who is not1—being a fan I really appreciated the way it was done. There are other artists' work at the Van Gogh, but the most enjoyable part, for me, was that which was his. Mostly because you don't just see the sunflowers, or self-portaits that he's famous for, but you get a real glimpse into all of the phases he went through. And there are so many beautiful pieces, that typically go unnoticed, that are on display here. My friend and I decided to use the audio tour, which I highly recommend. Firstly, because it's all in your language of choice, and also because it gives you more freedom to enjoy the pieces from a comfortable distance, without having to crowd around each panting trying to read small blurbs on the wall. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the whole thing, we mismanaged ours a little. The gift shop is pretty nice as well.

We arrived at the Central Station in Amsterdam, and the search for our hostel began. A tram and short walk (all in the right direction) later, we got to the Bulldog Hostel. Although it is a bit pricey for a hostel, at €26, it was well worth how nice it was. The toilet and shower were both in the room, along with the lockers. We had a pretty nice view, but I guess that’s not too hard to come by in Amsterdam. Once we were sort of settled, we went out for dinner. We got back to the room and the rest of our roommates were there. They were a couple of Canadians, one girl from California, and one Australian woman. We talked a little and then we tried to get a few things done. Sylvia and I did our laundry while making phone calls. We had decided to stay another night and so we booked the beds. This way we didn’t feel pressured to go out that night.

So, we stayed in the hostel lounge bar with a couple of the other girls in our room. We had a couple of beers, smoked a little (waiting for that weren’t you?), and then went up to the room. The others were all passed out. We planned to wake up at a decent time but we didn’t get to sleep until around 3am or so. I woke up at like 7:30am to the other girls in the room getting ready, and wasn’t able to get back to sleep. I went to have breakfast and was surprised by our choices–meat and cheese and bread without limits. When I got back and Sylvia finally got up, we got ready to go out.

On our way to find food we passed the Madame Tussauds wax museum and when we asked what the price was, the cute boy who told us €23 gave us some cards to come back later with for €10 happy hour. We found an outdoor café and had a perfect little meal, after which we walked over to the Anne Frank House. It was a great exhibit, the whole thing. When we left, it was just about time to get back to the wax museum to take advantage of our deal. We walked back through the lovely canals and streets we had come on. And when we got there, we enjoyed the wax museum very much. Besides the picture we didn’t care for with Arnold Schwarzenegger, we had a lot of fun. And though I think most of the sculptures were better in New York, I enjoyed the display more—and no we weren’t high, although I bet that would have been even better.

After the wax museum we went for some dinner and had a horrible experience at Amsterdam Pizzeria, around the corner from the Dam Square and our hotel. The food wasn’t very good, it was overpriced, and then they added (wrote it in by hand on a computerized check) fake service charge, which I observed as specifically for English-speaking tourists. We went back to our hotel—a little annoyed, had a beer and then got ready to go out. However, once we were ready, we found out that we picked the worst night to do so in Amsterdam. Tuesday nights were just not happening, but we were determined to have a good night.

So, after a little smoke and some beer, we went to the Red Light District. Sylvia wanted to see it, as she should have. Since I knew what to expect, I was with another girl, I wasn’t quite in the same state, and it was earlier—this was a very different experience for me than it had been the first time. Actually, this had been true for my whole Amsterdam experience, and it was not only different, but better as well.

Once our Red Light experience was over, we made our way to the Leidseplein where we were told we’d be able to find whatever kind of nightlife there was to find. When we got there we asked someone about clubs and he sent us to Paradiso, in an old church. But when we got inside we were disappointed. There was a huge dance floor with no one dancing—just sitting at tables and socializing. So we found a couple guys and asked them about this place we found a flyer for, called La Rumba. One of them said he knew the DJ there that night. And although we had been hesitant to leave for fear of not finding a place that would be open later, this guy said they were, so we all went.

We had a pretty good time at La Rumba. It certainly wasn’t the best music, or even atmosphere, that we might wish for, but we were able to dance and that was really all we wanted. The place stayed open past 3am, I'm not quite sure what time it was when we left, but on our way to find a cab we found three British guys instead. And although they were 17, 18, and 19, Sherwin, James, and Michael, we had fun talking with them for well over an hour. Once Sylvia, who was pretty high and a bit drunk, finished her last stogie, we hopped in a smelly rip-off cab and went home. We got to the hostel a little after 6am and even then we were chatting with the guys at the front desk, one of whom was actually kind of cute. Once we were in bed, we were out.

Even though we wanted to wake up at 12pm or so, we didn’t get up until 3:30pm. Convinced that we should reserve a seat for our train to Berlin the next day, we hurried to get to Central Station. We waited for over 1 hour there, and then went in search of food. Learning from previous mistakes we went off on a side street to eat, and we made the right choice as we dined in a comfy little place that seems sort of traditional with only one waiter/bartender working with a dumbwaiter.

After once again getting settled, we decided that despite the late wake-up, we’d see something. So we caught the last canal tour, which was great and relatively cheap. And then at about 10pm when we got off the boat, we went to the sex museum, which piqued Sylvia’s interest of course, more than mine. I’m glad we went, but it wasn’t something that I would urge other people to see. It was pretty cool, I just thought there would be more stuff concerning Amsterdam and its historical liberal views of sex.

Then, we went on a journey to find a place that would serve food. We finally found one and were pleased—mostly because we were so hungry. We went back to the Bulldog and just relaxed for our last night, so we could be productive in the morning. We smoked a little and drank some beer, and then at around 2am we went upstairs to get some sleep.

We were very good this time and we woke up at 8am. We both had breakfast, and then went back to get ready. We were checked out and on our way by about 10:30am. We had to get a jacket for Sylvia (Bulldog souvenir) and then we got the tram to the Van Gogh. Everything took longer than I planned and so on the third floor we decided to leave so we could try to get to the Heineken Experience. But, after all was said and done, we didn’t have enough time for that anyway. So we had a bite to eat near the Van Gogh, which we both really enjoyed (the museum), got back to our hostel, grabbed our bags from the luggage room, and caught our smoky train to Berlin.