Paleis op de Dam

After a good nights rest we are up and getting ready for Day 2 😁 First things first... breakfast! We had a delicious continental breakfast at the hostel and they had chocolate sprinkles!!!!!!!! Back on the train we hopped heading back into Amsterdam central.

First of all we went on a 1 hour boat cruise of Amsterdam learning about the history of the city taking in sights such as the fanciest hotel we had ever seen and the bridge where James Bond was filmed. It was interesting looking at how grand and tall the houses in Amsterdam were and we learnt that the buildings there are slowly sinking, therefore making them look wonky. After having been dropped off onto dry land we decided to head to one of Amsterdams most famous coffee shops, the bulldog, for a drink.

All refreshed onwards we went thinking what to do next as we browsed some souvenir shops. The sex museum is where we ended up next where Katie and I were as immature as ever laughing at everything we could see.. leah finding it I quote “rather interesting”. The museum was an experience I can say that much... 😂

Feeling rather peckish we decided it was time for lunch so off we went to get a toastie to refuel us in a local restaurant. Next, following google maps (what would we do without it) we decided it was time to find the famous I AM AMSTERDAM sign and the one place we’ve been dying to go.. the duck shop. Half way we came to the shop whereby we all fell in love with the ducks and went on to buy a few🦆🐥

Passing through what I would call the arty area of Amsterdam admiring the unusual paintings and tiny cars that exist in the city we came to the most stunning building, the Rijksmuseum. We walked under the building listening to a street act performing classical music that we actually recognised 😂 to find the sign and a beautiful park with a water fountain, flowers and chairs just out the other side where we sat down to relax for a while.

After a full on day seeing the sights of Amsterdam and all its weird and wonderful things we felt obliged to walk through its most famous area should we say.. the red light district. Again.. another very interesting and insightful experience 😂 (no photos allowed for obvious reasons). Just as it started to rain we made it back to the train. We decided to find a supermarket tonight and buy some microwave meals which we could then heat for our tea in the communal kitchen at the hostel. It seems so normal now to share a kitchen with a load of people you don’t know. The rain continues to pour outside so we made the group decision to spend the evening having some drinks at the hostel bar before retreating to bed.

Amsterdam has been an amazing first stop and I would definitely come back again, it’s weird and wacky ways make it intriguing and interesting and every step you take you discover something new that you’ve never seen before.En savoir plus