Tuesday, April 09, 2019

My 29th Birthday in Amsterdam ♥

It's been almost a month and I still haven't gotten around to sharing my delight at spending my 29th birthday in Amsterdam - a city which is very dear to me. I've been going to Amsterdam since I was 16, I've been with all three of my boyfriends there and have had made the best memories in those Amsterdam streets.

I remember when I first went, I was 16 and thought it was so unbelievably cool to be going to Amsterdam with my boyfriend to go to a Radiohead gig. We stayed in a really cool apartment with the most vertical stairs I've ever seen and it was an amazing time.

I've been so many times since then, seeing my favourite band Deftones in the Melkweg, experienced swings and snow on New Years Eve, have walked thousands of steps through those streets, admired the canals and no matter how many times I go, I always find somewhere new and beautiful to explore.

This time I got to stay for two nights and three days in Amsterdam, waking up on the day I turned 29 and having the best day.

Now that I'm older, experiencing the culture of places we visit is important to me and I actually spent my days in Amsterdam this time exploring walled courtyards, the botanical gardens - how could my nature loving self not go again, looking at old and beautiful artworks in the Rijksmuseum, drinking mojitos by the canal and getting my picture taken by some beauty spots.

I highly recommend a visit to the Hortus Botanicus if you're like me and into flowers and nature. If anything it's just a beautiful place to walk around and although I've never been in the summer (it was freezing cold anytime we visited), I imagine it's a gorgeous place to sit out in on a sunny day.

Even if it's raining there are greenhouses to explore, all with something different to look at. There's also a little greenhouse full of butterflies which are amazing to look at so up close.

I had to go to the flower market to pick up a bouquet of roses and some eucalyptus (which I affectionately named Rosie) to carry around the canals with me for photo opportunities - such an Instagram world now isn't it?

The Bloemenmarkt is such a cool place, but I quickly learned that it's the last (or first, depending on which way you approach it!) shop that is the best and probably the only one worth going to if you're looking for something amazing to look at.

The ceiling in there is covered with dried flowers and it's beautiful! It also has the best selection of fresh flowers - not just bulbs. There are signs up asking for no pictures to be taken so I just snapped these casually on my phone. We did buy flowers here though and weren't purely there for photo opportunities. I think it's important to support a place and not just take advantage of it's beauty.

For my birthday breakfast we decided to go to the Happy Pig Pancake Shop because everyone was raving about it. We ending up waiting thirty five minutes for what was essentially just a pancake... it wasn't particularly amazing either - mine was the chocolate and strawberries one and we were starving after so we had to go and get a chip cone!

In fairness the signs in the shop did say you'd have to wait but thirty-five minutes for a pancake... if you have time to spare go for it, but I wouldn't again.

On our last day in Amsterdam it was raining so we decided to walk to the Jordaan district to look at the walled courtyards. To be honest, the ones we found weren't that spectacular but maybe we were there too early in the season?

Jordaan is a really cool place though with lots of beauty spots. It's a much quieter area to explore too, which is great if you want a break from all the tourists. The city was the busiest I have ever seen it on this visit and it made walking through places like Dam Square, the Red Light and the canals in the centre of the city almost impossible at night time.

On this last rainy day of ours in the city we decided to go on a canal cruise but I wouldn't go on another. It was quite boring - only getting facts every 10 or so minutes and the windows kept fogging up because of the weather so we couldn't really see clearly. I think it's much better to explore the city by foot or bike, but at least we can say we did it by boat too.

We decided to spend the rainy afternoon in the Rijksmuesum which, even if you're not into art, is a pretty cool place to explore. The building itself is beautiful with it's big stained glass windows and even though it was busy, it never felt very crowded - except for the Rembrandt exhibition. It's a perfect way to spend a rainy day.

It's place full of beauty, inspiration and lots of interesting things to look at. I wouldn't say I'm a huge museum or art lover but it really is such a great place and well worth a visit if you're ever in Amsterdam.

I feel like this visit to Amsterdam we wasted lots of time in doing things that we thought would be great but that just didn't live up to expectations. It's a shame that we didn't enjoy the things that we thought we would be at least next time we visit we won't be wasting our time with them!

I absolutely love Amsterdam, I love it's laid back atmosphere, I feel safe there, I've made the best memories to last a lifetime there, but I think for my 30th it's time to explore somewhere new.

Until next time Amsterdam old friend, until next time.

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1 comment

  1. We love Amsterdam and go twice a year. We stay just out of the centre, and as you say, there's always something new to find!
    We never queue at any food place though, as there will be something just as good nearby!

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