After our successful hike of the Inca Trail, we took a 12-hour flight direct from Lima, Peru to Amsterdam. To be honest, Amsterdam has not been high on our travel list. So why Amsterdam? There was a direct flight from Lima and we had a chance to see Bush in concert!
This was our third time to see Bush – previously at CPR Fest in Biloxi and Rocklahoma (that’s a story in itself). We keep seeing them again with the hopes that they will play Lauren’s favorite song. And third time was the charm. Gavin Rossdale sang “Swallowed” in Amsterdam and BONUS it was a special arrangement with just his vocals. One of us may have shed a tear. And it wasn’t Dusty. Bush was so so good. Totally worth the visit to Amsterdam itself.
But there was so much more to explore. We shook off our jet and concert lag and went for an e-bike tour through the countryside with Mike’s Bike Tours of Amsterdam. We rode a short bike/pedestrian ferry from Amsterdam’s CBD and within 15 minutes we were in the lush, green countryside, with excellent bike paths. It’s not just a cliche, the Amsterdammers are serious about biking – they get the priority over cars and outnumber them by a large factor. In addition to the countryside, we visited two small fishing villages just outside of the city – Monnickendam and Broek.
As a treat, we stopped to taste delicious Gouda cheese and learn more about traditional clog shoemakers. We had so much fun riding the e-bikes and taking in something totally different. Also, an e-bike is now on the list of things we need to buy when we get to New Zealand.
We stayed in the Jordaan neighborhood, which was a great location to explore the canals. We had the best time wandering around and taking it all in. But keep your head on a swivel – the bicycles do not yield to pedestrians!
Instead of a traditional city tour, we tried something a little bit different – the Humans of Amsterdam walking tour. We did the normal city and history stuff, but they incorporated visits with locals to give a little flavor. We met Ari who runs a thrift store and is a neighborhood character. He told us hilarious stories and loved mocking our American accent. Rumor is he provided a ton of the midcentury furniture used in the Mad Men set.
We also met Warren the Flower Bike Man. He is the one responsible for decorating all of the bikes around Amsterdam with flowers. He told us the story of why. Warren is originally from Florida but has family in Amsterdam. Years ago he and his wife decided to have an adventure and move to Amsterdam. Shortly after she arrived, she had a stroke and suffered from memory problems. He decorated the bikes to help guide her on her route. It was such a touching story and his love for his wife came through clearly. Before the tour we noticed the flower bikes all around the city and loved getting the scoop on how they got there.
Multiple people recommended that we visit a local brewery, Brouwerij’tij. There are a ton of breweries in Amsterdam, including Heineken. But this one was special because it employs people who have been diagnosed and treated for various mental illnesses. They told funny stories about the bartenders and servers being blunt with customers or taking things too literally. But people come there with the understanding that this place is different. The beer was really good and it was great to support a progressive business that helps support underserved members of the community.
As has become our habit, we booked a food tour. We had Dutch staples like bitterballen (deep fried bar food) and jenever – the grandaddy of gin as it was explained to us. We also went to a brown cafe or brown bar. These are old-school pubs that have a sense of “gezelligheid” or coziness. And maybe they’re called “brown bars” because they all seemed to have low lighting, dark wooden furnishings, and tobacco-stained walls. We ate a delicious sausage and mashed potato dish at a brown bar. If we lived in Amsterdam, I can see us hanging out in brown bars often, especially when it’s cold outside. Plus, we had apple pie, which is everywhere in Amsterdam. Maybe not so American after all? We never got the story of why apple pie is so big, but it was great and everywhere.
Check out our video documenting our Amsterdam visit. You can find it on our You Tube channel or here:
We had a great time exploring Amsterdam and are very happy we went. But we are very excited for our next destination – Croatia! Thanks for reading and following along!