Amsterdam truly has something for everyone.  No matter your tastes, or leanings – be they cultural or salacious, Amsterdam has it all.

We arrived mid day after a red-eye flight from Toronto.  Exhausted and bleary eyed, we made our way to the hostel.  The hostel was located in the Museum kwartier of the city.  It’s located directly across the street from  both the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the Van Gogh Museum and quick walking distance from the Rijksmuseum.  Seriously GREAT LOCATION!

I don’t really have much to stay about the place we stayed at, AnneMarie Hotel, except that the room was clean, the beds were comfortable, and the wifi was great.  The breakfast was a bit ‘meh’ and the ONE bathroom on our floor, along with the ONE shower were both ‘absolutely feral’ – my friend Emma’s words, not mine…though I cannot think of a more accurate description.  I guess that’s to be expected when you stay in a hostel, so you learn to take the good with the bad.

To be completely honest, we didn’t have much of game plan for what we’d do in Amsterdam after we checked into our hotel.  However, we did think to purchase a 48-hour Iamsterdam City Card and it was totally worth it.  For 59 Euros each we were given free admission to no less than 49 museums and attractions, along with free transit on the GBV (Amsterdam’s transit system) and at almost 3 euros a trip, the pass paid for itself in free transit alone.

Now, realistically, there is no possible way to visit all of the museums and attractions available to you with this card, so we were strategic.  We looked over the list before arriving in Amsterdam and made a shortlist of the options available to us with the card and hoped that we would have time to do at least 3 of them to make the card ‘worth it’.  We managed to see the Van Gogh Museum– usually 17 euros  – (fun fact: the Van Gogh Museum was built in 1973, thanks to the support of his nephew Vincent Willem Van Gogh, who established the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation).  We visited Rembrandt House Museum – usually 10 euros – (fun fact: the museum offers free  daily art workshops for kids).  We also took in the requisite canal tour – usually 10 euros (fun fact:  the free canal tour lasts an hour and is bare bones, however, there are many other options for cruising the canal which include everything from an on boat bbq paired with beers and fancy drinks to more intimate champagne tours for two).

The card also gives you discounts at additional attractions, other museums and various restaurants.

We took advantage of the discount and visited the The House of Bols, conveniently located across the street from the Van Gogh Museum.  I had read some reviews on Yelp about this place and it sounded really good…and it WAS!  The tour cost 10 euros, it’s self guided and highly interactive.  You learn all about the history of Genever in Amsterdam while walking through various installations and interactive stations.  The entire place feels like a swanky, ultra modern night club, which is totally appropriate given that the tour ends with a ‘designer’ cocktail and a sample tasting of the Bols products.  Well worth the price of admission! Fun fact:  in addition to being a museum The House of Bols also houses a bartending academy.  The Bols Bartending Academy is an internationally recognized training academy.

Now, let’s be honest – no trip to Amsterdam would be complete without a visit to the Red Light District and one of Amsterdam’s many coffee houses.  I fully expected the Red Light District to be some skeevy neighbourhood, over run with derelicts, however, it was nothing like that.  It was crowded, yes.  There were lots of men (it basically turns into a bit of sausage fest after the sex shows and peep show booths close up for the night).  We checked out the peep show, after downing a couple of pints each at a nearby pub during their happy hour and then later took in live sex show.  I have to say that the live sex show was quite entertaining and more than a little funny, replete with audience participation too.  Everyone seemed to having a good time, there were quite a few couples in the audience and the age range of people seeing the show ran the gammit from early 20s to folks well in their 50-60s.  Even the performers seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Fun fact: Prostitution has been legal in Amsterdam since 1988, it’s highly regulated and the working girls have access to regular STD testing, medical insurance and they pay taxes on their income. (Prostitution in Amsterdam)

Now, after the show we wanted to visit the coffee shops, but they were all closed, so we hit up the local clubs instead, making friends with other tourists and staying out until almost 4am – and did we paid for it the next day!  Sambuca shots are NEVER a good idea at 3am…NEVER! The following day was pretty much a write-off, though we did manage to get out and explore later in the day and though part of me felt a little guilty for wasting a half day because I couldn’t lift my head off the pillow, the other part of me was amazed that I could still stay out and party until 4am!

Ok, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the food in Amsterdam.  I love food and I’m always up for trying something new and I did try a few things, my favourite being Dutch pancakes – so delicious.  My least favourite was the Bittenballen -these were probably the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted.  They can best be described as croquettes with a crunchy exterior with a salty and slimy interior.  They should be avoided at all cost.

Bittenballen aside, I had a great time in Amsterdam.  I took a shit tonne of pictures, drank way too many beers, laughed my ass off, discovered a beautiful park, and got lost at least once.  That’s a good trip in my opinion.