Amsterdam
Things to Do in Amsterdam
Amsterdam to me best represents a painted picture of how I envisioned all of Europe to look like. Blonde haired people with blue eyes riding their bicycles in and around the city.
The Netherlands has so many canals. It’s unique that cities were built on top of them without sinking into it.
Get into the Amsterdam downtown area and just start walking around. You’re going to see a lot of food stands selling Herring, it’s the country’s well-known fish delicacy. I went to a spot called “Stubbe Haring.” They cut a tiny fish into little pieces then add onions and pickles for you to eat raw. That’s all I wanted to eat while in town, was herring!
As you walk along the canals, it should remind you of the River Walk in San Antonio, TX but just wider. Businesses and homes are lined along the water turning at every street corner with such amazing architecture. I had to stop for a rest a couple of times and just take it all in. Ask around for the “IAMSTERDAM” sign because it moves around each week.
Coffee Shops in Amsterdam
Coffee shops are a big deal in Holland and i’m not talking about caffeine. More like Indica or sativa if you catch my aroma. These shops are everywhere for your enjoyment. You’ll get the opportunity to smoke weed inside of establishments while drinking a coffee or soda. Remember it’s legal. However, keep in mind that Europeans do smoke a lot of cigarettes. Therefore, in Amsterdam their joints are mixed with tobacco, which is known as a spliff. Coffee shops do sell marijuana joints without the tobacco but the menu is very limited.
As the employee at Amsterdamned told me, “You Americans and your no tobacco”.
The Heineken Experience in Amsterdam
Check out the Heineken Experience because as you may or may not know, that beer is made in Holland. The tour lasts two hours and tickets cost $22 U.S. dollars at the entrance window. You’ll get to walk through the brewery and learn how Heineken came to be. There’s going to be a 3-D simulator room where you walk onto a dance floor with projector screens everywhere. That room shows you how all the ingredients that make up Heineken beer come together. How the bottles are capped and packaged before being placed on boats for exporting to countries around the world. You are in the perspective of the bottle from start to finish.
Then, two doors open suddenly, and you start to hear music playing in the distance of the bar. Inside, the team from Heineken give you beers once entering. Your paid admission covers two free drinks.
I wish they played that “Hallelujah, H-a-l-l-e-l-u-j-a-h” theme song, because it felt like one of those moments when the doors swung open.
Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam
It was a real treat to see Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings up close and only two feet from my face. It’s remarkable that his style of painting consisted of tiny thin brush strokes for all his pieces of work. The amount of time, patience, and effort he took on each piece must have been challenging.
Van Gogh was from the Netherlands and his home country did him right with this two story museum. It’s definitely worth checking out because you could spend the whole day there.
