Amsterdam, Netherlands

We're excited to share the first leg of our European honeymoon - Amsterdam! We visited three countries/cities on this trip; first Amsterdam, then Brussels, and finally Paris. Our flight out of Pittsburgh was delayed, so unfortunately we lost a day in Amsterdam, but we made up for it during the rest of our time there. It's a beautiful city, even in dreary winter, but we'd love to go back during the spring or summer when the trees are in bloom and the sun actually shines.

Day 1
After arriving to Amsterdam 8 hours later than anticipated, we took the tram to Lloyd Hotel, where we would be staying for the duration of our visit. The Lloyd Hotel is awesome - it's a cultural embassy that offers 1 to 5 star rooms. When you book your stay, you can select the star level you want and pick a specific room if desired. All of the rooms are different - we requested a 5 star room, but wanted to be surprised of the specific room upon arrival.


Our room was on the top floor of the hotel, with lofted wood ceilings, a huge bathtub, and a hanging hammock right in the middle of the room. It was rustic and cozy and the perfect place to wind down after a hectic day of travel. After checking in, we went across the street to De Cantine for falafel burgers, nachos, and local beers. Day 1 in Amsterdam was short but sweet.


Day 2
Our second day would be our big adventure day. We grabbed breakfast across the street from the hotel at Anne & Max before walking along the canals to Amsterdam Centraal and the more populous part of town.


We decided to check out the De 9 Straatjes, which are streets of local shops, cafes, and restaurants. I'd been wanting to visit Pluk for coffee every since seeing the gorgeous interior on designlovefest's Instagram. It certainly didn't disappoint, especially since they had a beautiful white cat greeting guests upon entering.


We checked out Vegabond for a vegan lunch and hit up a local bar for Heinekens before our visit to the Anne Frank House. The Anne Frank House is a must-do in Amsterdam. I read Diary of a Young Girl a few years ago and was so inspired by Anne's writing, even though the story itself is so tragic. Being in the annex where Anne, her family, and others hid for two years was moving and heartbreaking.


Later in the afternoon, we journeyed through the Red Light District, which is famous for its "coffeeshops" and window prostitutes. Cannabis, other drugs, and prostitution are all legal in the Netherlands, and the Red Light District is where this is most prevalent. We visited a couple different bars for local beers until our big reservation for the day - our pizza tour!


Amsterdam is a city built on canals, so I'm sure you can imagine the sheer number of cruises you can book during a visit. It was honestly a little overwhelming to pick one, but when we saw "Pizza Cruise" we were sold. We boarded a boat as the sun was setting and cruised through the canals, admiring the beauty of Amsterdam at night. There were endless drinks, and halfway through the cruise, we were each delivered a pizza all to ourselves. Pretty sure it was the best way possible to end our first full day in the Netherlands.


Day 3
Unfortunately on day 3 I started coming down with a cold, but we were set on making the most of our trip, so we woke up early and walked to G's for a delicious breakfast. We visited the I Amsterdam sign, which was nearby but super crowded with tourists.


For lunch we visited Vegan Junk Food Bar where we shared truffle fries and Amsterdam bitterballen, which are a famous Dutch snack typically made with meat, but were vegan in this case. After lunch we walked to the Jordaan and Westermarkt areas of the city, but went back to the hotel early in hopes of kicking the cold I caught.

The next morning we had an early train to Brussels, but first stopped for breakfast at Pancakes Amsterdam. I had the traditional Dutch apple & cheese pancake and Nick had the goat cheese pancake - they were HUGE and so delicious. Not a bad way to end our time in this awesome city.


There are more photos and videos from our trip on my Instagram (@sawissinger) - I have an Amsterdam highlight saved. It was such an awesome place that we would love to visit again. If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment letting us know! We'll be back soon to share our visit to Brussels!

Sarah & Nick