Amsterdam- A Love Match

If I were to come across Amsterdam on a certain dating app, I would definitely swipe right, as Amsterdam is my travel match. It has been saddled with the reputation of being a city you go to if you want to smoke a bit of the other stuff, but last year was voted as the culture capital of the world. I fell in love with Amsterdam when I read Jesse Burton’s The Miniaturist. I have wanted to visit Amsterdam for some time, so I was particularly pleased when I got the opportunity to go last year.

We went to Amsterdam in the spring, so I spent the days before my trip planning by looking at pictures of tulips online. This was my first mistake, as there weren’t any tulips in March, however, we did go down to the flower market and I bought some bulbs. I’d already had my preconceptions challenged. No tulips in Amsterdam. Right.

The thing about Amsterdam is that it’s got a little bit of everything. It is a concoction of assorted styles, from the alternative to the historical, with a little bit of seediness sprinkled in. We spent the first day trying to fit in as much as possible by using the sightseeing bus as transport. We hopped off at one point and went to the Sex Museum. Apparently, this is far superior to the similarly-themed Erotic Museum. It is fascinating what people find arousing, to be honest. There was an attempt to be a serious museum, including exhibits about Toulouse Lautrec and Marilyn Monroe. I mean it’s not, but it does try and was worth the couple of Euros that we spent.

Another thing to remember about Amsterdam- if you want to go to the Anne Frank House, book a long time in advance. I tried to book two days in advance, however, realised we wouldn’t be able to get in for about 6 more weeks. If you want to visit, make sure you do book at least a couple of weeks or even months beforehand. Be prepared to queue, or alternatively, we went on the canal trip which I really enjoyed (also highly recommended).

Amsterdam is packed full of art museums and whilst in Amsterdam, remember to schedule a visit to one into your itinerary. The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum are two of the most famous ones. The Van Gogh Museum is worth a visit and we spent several hours wandering around gazing at the works. I’m a bit of a Van Gogh fangirl, so spending my morning gazing at his Almond Blossom was my idea of heaven. Not my friend’s, however, so afterward, we took a stroll around Vondelpark and enjoyed watching Amsterdam’s blossom.

We spent our last morning visiting Body Worlds, which uses human specimens, including whole-body plastinates and organs (except I didn’t realise that until three- quarters of the way through that they were real). Telling the amazing story of our bodies, the museum provides an imaginative spin on its concept by presenting it as a Happiness Project and pondering the influence that the emotional phenomenon of happiness has on our health. It is impressive to see how the human body moves and uses its muscles.

We spent about three days in Amsterdam but honestly, we could have been there so much longer. There was a lot of things to see and do- and the food! Did I mention the food? Because of Amsterdam’s location and its history as a trading port, there was a selection of food types, from Indonesian to Dutch.

Amsterdam is the perfect mini getaway. Remember to visit later in the Spring if you want tulips though!