By Kim
After breakfast (and a quick nap :s) I walked to Museumplein, the area where all the major museums are in the city. I went for Stedelijk museum, (contemporary art. It featured a range, from a video so explicit that half of the crowd awkwardly walked out, to this mirror that makes you look really tall.) but there was also the Van Gogh and Banksy museums in the area too. Entry to Stedelijk was 10 Euros with student ID, which I bought online.
I left the girls I was with to go to the NDSM area, which was dubbed as a cultural haven online. You can get a free ferry from the Central station straight to the NDSM port in under 15 minutes. I don’t recommend going on a random Wednesday afternoon in April though. People seemed to know exactly what they were doing and disperse so quickly from the ferry on foot or on their bikes that after the crows disappeared, I realised there really wasn’t too much to do. But, if you time your trip a bit better than I did, you can do things like bunjee jump from a crane or go to a market. I walked around for a while in the area and saw the ‘Let Me Be Myself’ painting of Anne Frank by Eduardo Kobra and other great pieces of street art. After wandering around the area, I ended up back by the port so sat in a restaurant called Ijkantine for some beer and my book of the month, overlooking the water.
I spent the rest of the time before I had to leave Amsterdam exploring the main city. Top of my list was McDonald’s. I really wanted to go just to see if it was any different to England. My wallet and I were a bit disappointed, as the only difference was the price, a lot more expensive in Amsterdam. On the bright side, they had a Salted Caramel Mcflurry which was banging and the chili mayo was surprisingly spicy.
This week I had four days off of work for no real reason. I reckon it was something to do with Lydia Dinga's Jamaica Vlog I'd seen on Sunday night, but on Monday morning I ended up booking a trip to Amsterdam on my own.
Travel and Accommodation
I was looking for the most affordable options when I booked, which is why I sat on a coach for 9 hours. Bear in mind I only booked this like 19 hours before I went, so you can find better prices if you’re buying a bit more in advance!
- Outbound flights - £43.44. London Stansted to Amsterdam: EasyJet
- Coach to Stansted - £8.90. London Kings Cross to Stansted: National Express
- Return Coach - £33.77. Amsterdam Sloterdijk to London Victoria: OuiBus (National Express partners)
- Hostel - £6.19 + £35.81 at EasyStay Amsterdam/Hostel Croydon (same place, different name inside)
Things to do
When I get excited about something I watch a load of Youtube videos about it just to keep the buzz going. I did the same with my driving test, starting uni, going to a new festival etc. I picked up some ideas of things to do from these videos, from blog posts about solo travel in the city and from things that caught my eye while I was walking around.
- Canal tours in the evening
- Floating flower market, Bloemenmarkt
- Museumplein
- NDSM Wharf
- McDonald's :)
- Things I'd seen around
- A restaurant on the canal outside the Allart Pierson museum (didn't catch the name!)
- Pubs at Leidesplein (went past these on the tram)
Day One - Tuesday 16th April
2AM-7AM, London and Stansted
Thoughts going through my mind after 2 hours of sleep: Why did I book this trip? Is it too late to cancel?
Waking up this early and actually having to get on with my day was cruel punishment. I ended up leaving too late to get to Kings Cross on time and had to get a ViaVan (use my code for £20 free credit! kim7q9).
At Stansted, I realised I forgot an adaptor and had to buy a ridiculously priced 2-pack from WHSmith, but I can only blame myself. TIP - Boots in Stansted sells single adaptors for half the price, I found out too late. Save your coins. 💔
9AM, Amsterdam Airport 🛫
First shock of the day was the security at the airport holding massive guns. They had me second guessing myself when all I was really doing was trying to find my train platform to get to Amsterdam Centraal.
10AM Onwards, Amsterdam
After breakfast (and a quick nap :s) I walked to Museumplein, the area where all the major museums are in the city. I went for Stedelijk museum, (contemporary art. It featured a range, from a video so explicit that half of the crowd awkwardly walked out, to this mirror that makes you look really tall.) but there was also the Van Gogh and Banksy museums in the area too. Entry to Stedelijk was 10 Euros with student ID, which I bought online.
That evening, I went to the Red Light District with some girls from my hostel which was only about a 5 minutes walk from where we were staying. The area was such a weird experience and I didn’t expect everything to be so public. There are also sex shows which you can pay 2 Euros in entry for, the queues were out the door!
Day Two - Wednesday 17th April
I had to drag myself out of bed for a 10AM checkout. It felt hauntingly similar to waking up at 2AM to go to Kings Cross the day before.
With a hot dog to fuel my morning, the girls from the hostel and I explored some of the city, including the area around the National Monument and Anne Frank House. TIP: tickets for Anne Frank House are released exactly 2 months in advance and will sell out. 20% of tickets are made available on the day, so get up early to book tickets if you have to! None of us did this, so all we could see was the door to the house around the corner from the main entrance of the museum.
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| NEMO Rooftop View |
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| OBA Rooftop View |
We also went to see the city from a different perspective, from two of the rooftops in the Oosterdok area. The NEMO Science Museum is aimed at kids and we had to fight our way through the swarm of children, but the rooftop of the slanted building offers some nice views, flowers and water features. (If you want to visit the actual Science Museum, tickets are here.) The OBA Library Rooftop offers an even better view of the city, has a great cafe, and has free entry as well. It’s a short walk from NEMO so it’s easy to visit both.
3PM, Amsterdam Centraal Station to NDSM Werf
I left the girls I was with to go to the NDSM area, which was dubbed as a cultural haven online. You can get a free ferry from the Central station straight to the NDSM port in under 15 minutes. I don’t recommend going on a random Wednesday afternoon in April though. People seemed to know exactly what they were doing and disperse so quickly from the ferry on foot or on their bikes that after the crows disappeared, I realised there really wasn’t too much to do. But, if you time your trip a bit better than I did, you can do things like bunjee jump from a crane or go to a market. I walked around for a while in the area and saw the ‘Let Me Be Myself’ painting of Anne Frank by Eduardo Kobra and other great pieces of street art. After wandering around the area, I ended up back by the port so sat in a restaurant called Ijkantine for some beer and my book of the month, overlooking the water.
6PM, Amsterdam City Centre
I spent the rest of the time before I had to leave Amsterdam exploring the main city. Top of my list was McDonald’s. I really wanted to go just to see if it was any different to England. My wallet and I were a bit disappointed, as the only difference was the price, a lot more expensive in Amsterdam. On the bright side, they had a Salted Caramel Mcflurry which was banging and the chili mayo was surprisingly spicy.
9PM-5.30 AM, Amsterdam Sloterjidk 🚌 London Victoria
I was stood at the wrong stop for about 15 minutes. There was no driver and no other passengers and I was waiting there smug, thinking I was just so early. 4 minutes before the coach was scheduled to leave I figured that I was probably in the wrong place and had absolutely nothing to be smug about.
The coach ride itself wasn’t awful as I was so tired and had a prime sleep spot next to the window.
We got to Calais at around 2AM, and traveled the journey to Dover on a P&O Ferry. There was a bar onboard which was cheaper than a lot of the places in London so I had to get a couple of drinks. It was also an opportunity to meet other people travelling to the UK and hear what they’d been up to.
What I would do differently next time:
1. I wouldn’t leave so early.
Not sleeping properly set me up for failure from the beginning! Even my nap when I arrived couldn’t save me and I was still so tired. Next time, I’d book a flight that's a bit kinder on the sleeping pattern.
2. I would book a more sociable hostel.
This one was just because I was in such a rush to find somewhere to sleep after I booked my flights. I tried to change my hostel before I left, but it was too late to cancel my reservation. The hostel was still okay and the staff were really nice! But some hostels put on events for their guests which you can use to socialise which is important when you're on your own.
Overall, it was a great trip and I'm still surprised with myself that I actually went. More crepes and waffles for sure next time though!
I want to go somewhere new again soon! Where would you recommend? Leave a comment easily below or on the Instagram post.
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