Evening Walk in Amsterdam
The last stop on our amazing 2023 cruise around the Baltic Sea was Amsterdam. This was absolutely one of my favorite cities and we only had a few hours to explore so we will absolutely be back!!
We do have some of our Amsterdam adventures documented in the main Baltic Sea post (here), so if you haven’t already read that I highly recommend it to get the full experience, especially any airport details.
If you want to jump to a specific section of our adventures in Amsterdam, here are some quick links:
~ Hover or select an image to see navigation arrows ~
The Way In
With all the planning and preparation I do for a trip, Amsterdam was the third time I never considered how different getting to a port would be.
After cruising the Caribbean for years you get used to the concept that you travel in the night and when you wake up you have arrived at an island but 50% of your view is still open ocean. Amsterdam is NOT like that, and it was just as great as the other times I have been surprised.
Similar to Stockholm, Amsterdam is not on the coast facing the ocean. If I knew anything about geography I would probably know that but I don’t so 🤷🏼♀️.
Instead, you have the Noordzeekanaal, or North Sea Canal, which is 25km (13.5 nautical miles) from the North Sea to the heart of Amsterdam.
The cruise ship starts out in the morning going through a set of locks, which was a nice reminder of our time through the Panama Canal. Then the ship has to go sooooo slow to not cause a wake that it takes until 4:00pm in the afternoon before you can dock.
This made for a day of beautiful views as you passed by the variety of everyday culture while slowly making your way to the craziness of downtown Amsterdam!
We had sailboats passing us;
watched the many ferries transporting people, cars, and even a tractor across the canal;
and the freeway actually went underneath the canal, which I would LOVE to try out someday.
Around 3:00pm as we started to approach the the Amsterdam dock, we realized that this wasn’t just a ‘pull in and park’ scenario. The ship did a 180* rotation in front of the dock, which thankfully was slightly wider than the canal we had been sailing in all day, and then docked. We basically ‘backed in’ to our spot so that it would be easier to leave the next day!
Such a fun and unique experience!!
Also, for those who may not know we actually got incredibly lucky. Amsterdam is no longer going to accept cruise ships as an effort to reduce pollution and tourists. While we fully support them in this decision, it is sad that we won’t be able to have that same experience again but are so thankful we were able to do it at least once!
Bikes and Central Station
We had decided that we wouldn’t spend any time in the city after we disembarked as we were staying at the airport, and with the crazy reports of waiting 6+ hours to get through airport security, we wanted to get there and make sure we had a plan before heading to bed early.
All of that to say, we only had a few hours in the evening to explore as much as we possibly could.
The first thing we noticed was that it was hot! Granted not Arizona hot, but it was unusually warm and we were arriving late afternoon so the hottest time of day. This really impacted Nathan’s view/memories of the day but I surprisingly did great.
The next thing we noticed was how many people there were!! I believe this was the busiest place we have ever been to and that includes major US cities.
The number of bikes alone was astounding!
I have NO IDEA how you would ever find your bike in this ‘parking garage’ again in that nightmare. It was multiple stories and crammed with bikes.
Plus the entire city is 100% designed to support bikes as the primary transportation. There was more bike space than other was for vehicles or pedestrians.
Then it was time for history and beautiful architecture! Just like Berlin, we need to spend days here to see and learn everything there is in this city. Since there was so much, my stories are limited so make sure you go through the full list of pictures at the beginning to see everything.
Here is just a taste of it with the incredible Amsterdam Central Train Station.
While the front entrance is incredible, it was also interesting to see the very different vibes from each angle.
The front is a historic and regal view.
Inside is trendy modern with live plants and a very airy feel in the ticketing area.
From the back, you have the actual trains and track area covered by a massive Amsterdam-labeled cover.
We did spend a little bit of time scouting out Central Station to make sure we knew where to go and what to do for our morning train ride out to the airport. Honestly, it was not super clear. We ended up buying the ticket we thought we needed and we were just lucky it was the right one!
Surprise!
Then we just picked a direction and started walking! I had a few key sights to see but it was mostly wandering around until we found something that looked interesting.
Unlike Stockholm which felt historic but still uniform, Amsterdam buildings were a bit odd. Leaning in different directions, forward/back, etc. It gave it a unique vibe but felt a little more haphazard.
The buildings never stopped either. You can see in the first picture that we ended up on a street that had a 90* curve and there wasn’t a break or alleyway between these buildings.
And the canals! They are just as picture-perfect as you would expect and they really were everywhere!
So time for a funny story…
We are walking along this street, the road curves and that is where this canal is located as well. We got to the first bridge in the background and we were talking about finding the Red Light district to check it off our sightseeing list.
It was about that time that we really started to pay attention to the detail in the buildings around us. Every window had ‘Rent By Hour’ signs and we noticed the Moulin Rouge signage.
Surprise! We were apparently in the Red Light district and had no idea. 🤣
During the day it’s a pretty innocent street that honestly looks a lot like every other canal street. Plus, I learned later that Amsterdam’s flag has the XXX and that is NOT an indicator that you are in the Red Light district. 🤣
So lesson learned, Red Light district is not like Freemont Street in Vegas where you KNOW when you get there. Plus it’s rather family-friendly during the day!
Also, that is now my favorite picture from Amsterdam because we truly had no clue where we were when we took the photo and you can totally see the Moulin Rouge sign on the left.
Walking the City
As we continued our walk we saw the Madame Tussaud building, museums, Magna Plaza (under construction), Anne Frank house, and multiple churches.
We actually went inside Magna Plaza hoping it was a mall with a restroom we could use. While it did, it was the worst and weirdest bathroom we used in Europe. I have no issue paying to use the bathroom if it ensures it is well-kept, but that was sadly not the case here. Hopefully, when the construction is complete that will be fixed!
The Madame Tussaud, museums, and Anne Frank house are all on the list to actually go inside and see more of when we return.
De 9 Straatjes, otherwise known as the Nine Streets, was our next scheduled destination. This was also a little difficult to find, and another scenario where once we found the sign we realized we had already been walking through it.
Good news is the area was BEAUTIFUL! So we weren’t all that disappointed we had been walking through it for a while.
After a nice peaceful evening walk, we started to make our way back towards the ship and the people and congestion were still going just as strong.
We decided it was time to grab a bite to eat and you are NOT ALLOWED TO JUDGE US!
You have to remember that at this point we had been traveling for almost 2 weeks in foreign countries with good but different food, and we were starving and wanted something quickly.
…so we went to McDonalds. 😅
Now the good news is that it was different! So we still got to experience something we normally wouldn’t while satisfying our homesick feelings.
The Big Tasty was good, the ‘large’ drink was totally a medium (which was rough as we were both dehydrated and had no refills), and the Frites sauce is NOT fry sauce but a terrible mustard (Fry Sauce = Heaven, aka Mayo and Ketchup or BBQ sauce).
After our meal, we continued walking through the city. While I am sure there are names and history to everything we saw. Sadly it was all in passing so we have lots of cool pictures but not a lot of context or stories. We will make sure to do better next time!
While way too short, Amsterdam was an incredibly unique city. The architecture, history, natural beauty, and modern values make for a great visit and we will 100% be back to explore more.
If you would like to read more about this cruise or the other stops we made along the way, here are some quick links for you!
Berlin Highlights & Sachsenhausen
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